Kent police and Safer Futures shelter weigh in on domestic violence during Ohio shutdown
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the lives of many around the world. The virus has created a multitude of issues impacting the job market, economy and day-to-day life.
Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton enacted a stay-at-home order, which began on March 23 at midnight. However, the Governor essentially asked Ohioan’s to stay home weeks prior to the shut down. Many Ohioans also began working from home before the stay-at-home order technically began. These changes impacted businesses, employment and family life.
What used to be a normal routine structure has been altered dramatically, forcing families to be at home together 24/7.
“We are getting a whole lot of time with our families and a lot more than we are used to,” said Kent Lieutenant and Public Information Officer, Mike Lewis. “So we are recognizing that we’re trying to keep an eye on that throughout the city of Kent.”
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women said there’s been 243-million women and girls subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner within the past 12 months, globally.
According to unwomen.org, “The number is likely to increase as security, health and money worries heighten tensions and strains are accentuated by cramped and confined living conditions.”
Violence Against Women and Girls data shows violence has intensified globally since the COVID-19 era. France shows an increase of 30-percent since their lockdown on March 17. See more data here.
Lewis said he’s seen a slight increase in domestic violence calls in Kent since the the statewide shutdown began.
He said the data shown are incidents reported as domestics. Some of these calls could have been determined as unfounded and this could potentially not include an incident that started as domestic violence, but escalated into a more serious incident such as felonious assault.
“I started to get a little concerned when I saw the increase,” Lewis said. “Is COVID-19 to blame? I don’t know. It could be a contributing factor, so certainly, we’re trying to keep in mind and keep an eye on how families are getting along and how they are processing all of this.”
Director of Domestic Violence & Visitation Services of Safer Futures, Donya Buchanan, said calls coming into their shelter doubled this March compared to the last. Data shows there were 30 people seeking shelter in March of 2019. In 2020, there were 62 people seeking shelter in March.
“There’s been a spike,” Buchanan said. “We know that when there’s a crisis, domestic violence has a tendency to rise because people are home with their partners more frequently than normal; whereas typically they’re getting that break during the day because their partners aren’t there.”
She said the shelter has received calls where partners may have been in the other room, but wants the community to know they are there to help people.
“We are a 24/7 shelter. We are an essential business because we know that there are people that are counting on us and depending on us to be safe,” she said. “We still have a domestic violence specialist here and we have a 24/7 crisis hotline.”
She said the shelter has taken precautions needed to keep employees and victims safe, such as taking temperatures and sanitizing the facility frequently.
“The most important message that I want to get out there is that people know they have support and they’re able to contact us,” she said. “We’ve brought people in to shelter that needed to be safe during this. In terms of providing services to survivors, we are still 100-percent available to do that.”
Kent police also stressed that despite the dangers of COVID-19, they are here to help now more than ever.
“We’re still absolutely here to enforce all the laws and protect our citizens in every way that we can,” Lewis said. “That absolutely and always will include domestic violence.”
Although Kent police are handling calls differently during the COVID-19 era, they’re still taking all calls and encourage the community to reach out for any help needed.
“We are still absolutely responding to all calls that necessitate a physical response,” he said. “If there’s a call in progress, an act of violence; domestic violence, a burglary; something very serious— We’re still going to give that all the service that it requires, but when it’s possible, we’re trying to limit the amount of personal interaction with officers.”
He encourages those to call 911 when needed and said if anyone is not comfortable doing this, there are plenty of organizations and hotlines to reach out to.
“You can speak with somebody– whether it’s anonymous, or if you are ready to take action and get out of the situation, you can call the police,” he said.
The 24/7 domestic violence hotline of Safer Futures in Kent is 330-673-2500.
