Crisis agencies brace for surge in calls as isolation continues

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This article was published 24/03/2020 (2202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some crisis phonelines have been relatively quiet as many Manitobans self-isolate at home, but local agencies working to stop family violence are bracing for a pandemic-related surge in demand.

“Some folks aren’t calling at all because it’s not safe to do so,” said Veroniek Marshall, Klinic’s clinical director of counselling services. “Some folks, we’re noticing, are just kind of hunkering down and waiting until they’re not stuck in the house.”

At Winnipeg-based Klinic, there’s been no increase in calls related to domestic violence in the past week, Marshall said — even while clients are increasingly urged to talk to a counsellor over the phone instead of in person to try to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“A lot of times, when we do get those crisis calls, they’ve left the house. If they can’t leave the house, there’s no place to make the calls.”

For some, showing up in person has been the only safe way for them to get help.

At A Woman’s Place legal help centre, staff have noticed “a slight uptick” in calls, as well as in-person visits, said Elizabete Halprin, community development co-ordinator in social work.

Staff are screening people with coronavirus symptoms and those who’ve recently travelled internationally or interprovincially, and limiting the number of clients coming in at a time.

“We’ve noticed an increase in the amount of calls we’re getting, but we anticipate that if things continue as is, with people in quarantine, it could increase substantially. So we’re kind of planning ahead to make sure we’re able to meet demand,” Halprin said.

Everyone should try to check in as much as possible with their friends and loved ones to see how they’re doing, she said. Though bringing up violence, or sending text messages to that effect, is not advised, in case the person’s partner is monitoring their communication.

“Some women have disclosed that right now, they’re staying at home with their abusive partner, because right now they don’t want to make that big life change,” she said. Others had already left, and are now trying to stay safe in a new space. Some have gone back to abusive partners during this pandemic, Halprin said.

“These types of situations — added anxiety, isolation from other people, maybe coping mechanisms that aren’t considered the healthiest — can be… kind of like a melting pot for situations where violence is more likely to occur,” she said.

“Relationships which might have seemed manageable prior to this, compounded with all those different things… not having access to people that you did before as social supports, that heightens the situation and increases risk for family violence.”

It’s too early to tell whether the need for social isolation has led to increased calls for service to police, including for domestic-violence incidents, a Winnipeg Police Service spokesman said Tuesday.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay