In Australia, a government-supported initiative that provides “safe phones” to women stuck in violent homes is seeing a serious uptick in requests that can be attributed to the virus, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported Wednesday.
Abusers often deprive women of phones and Internet as a means of controlling them.
As coronavirus pushes families indoors, experts are noting a rise in domestic violence from China to Italy. Not only are tensions high—often related to a loss of work or free movement—but women are also cut off from their usual support systems, such as access to friends who can provide refuge.
“They are asking us to send more phones than usual,” said Karen Bentley, the national director at Australia’s Women Services Network, which organizes the effort. The network works with nearly 300 support groups and has given out more than 21,000 phones since 2015. Reuters reported that it is now handing out about 600 units a month.
“It’s common for abusers to control, smash or monitor their [partner's] phone.” Bentley told Reuters, “Getting women their own phone can be really helpful.”women has experienced violence at the hands of an intimate partner, many are now stuck at home with their abuser, deprived of the break that work, school, or other activities would normally provide.
“Women who live with an abusive partner may be even more vulnerable to experiencing violence since there will be more opportunity for violence to occur,” Jhumka Gupta, a professor at the College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University,
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