BY DALIA D

Lockdowns introduced in Australia in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19 have led to a rise in domestic violence.

In July, a survey by the Australian Institute of Criminology revealed 11.6 per cent of Australian women had experienced domestic violence by a current or former cohabiting partner.

Two-thirds of the women said the attacks started or escalated during the pandemic. For women with previous experience of physical or sexual violence, 50 per cent said the abuse had become more frequent or severe since the start of the pandemic.

Counselling psychotherapist Karen Philip said lockdown pressures were catalysts for conflict and violence.

“The violent offender is now restricted to outlets they need to displace their aggression, anger and frustrations, they therefore take it out on those present and locked in with them,” Ms Philip said.

The risks of trauma caused by lockdown in these situations are more severe for victims.

“They feel trapped, stuck and isolated. They often feel so alone while being hounded how useless and worthless they are,” Ms Philip said.

“This causes deep depression and a devalue of their own self-worth.”

Ms Philip said necessary support to protect victims at this time is not available.

The Crime Statistics Agency revealed a significant increase of family violence offences for the year ending 31 March 2021.

One in five of 532,271 offences recorded was family violence-related (21.1 per cent), an increase of 11.3 per cent to 112,432 offences.

Education is a big part of women's recovery of strength and self-worth, Ms Philip said.

“A perpetrator does not like it when no fear is shown, therefore, society needs to speak up, not ignore what is happening,” she said.

“Women can be better educated when young that this type of intolerant behaviour is unacceptable on every level.”

“We must mandate men attend counselling groups or services to learn new ways to display displeasure and find techniques to control their child-like lashing out behaviour.”

Domestic violence survivor Anne Miles said domestic violence is directly linked to depictions of negative stereotypes in media, marketing, and advertising.

“I know for myself that living with a man who expects you to be home doing all the housework and serving them like a servant while they sit back and watch TV was harmful to me and created a lot of conflict,” she said.

“To survive I ended up trying to do everything, and that was beyond exhausting.”

A survey by VicHealth revealed 76 per cent of Victorian mothers were primarily responsible for looking after their preschool aged kids, compared with only eight per cent of fathers.

The survey also found that three in four Victorian mothers spent the most time helping their kids with remote learning, compared with just one in four of fathers.

According to Our Watch, a national leader on the primary prevention of violence against women, rigid gender roles and stereotypes are one of the main drivers of domestic violence.

Last December Officeworks came under fire over a back-to-school campaign, which targeted mothers and fathers separately, reinforcing the depiction of gender inequality in the media.

The advertisements featured mothers doing the ‘back-to-school’ shopping, while young girls played with pink stationary, and young boys played cricket with their fathers.

In response to questions about the motivations of this campaign, Officeworks released a statement saying that the aim of the campaign was to convey the excitement of returning to school.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2021 revealed 44 per cent of Australians spent more time on phones, computers and watching TV during the pandemic.

Ms Miles explained that the way people are depicted in the media is “a really easy fix” that can have a huge impact on people.

“[People] must complain if they see something that isn’t right in the media, no matter what kind it is,” she said.

Family law solicitor Brooke Vitnell said she had seen a rise in female clients pursuing divorce, citing domestic violence as the reason, since the pandemic has started.

“We are noticing an increase in coercive control. Perpetrators are utilising applications and software to further monitor their partners,” Ms Vitnell said.

A lot of women have been reaching out to her for her services via social media.

“Some of them message my personal Facebook account, not my business account, so that they can get an immediate response or advice,” she said.

During lockdown, Ms Vitnell has remained working from her office via teleconference - a format that has not been easy for her clients.

“I know that many of my clients are struggling without face-to-face contact and in-person support,” Ms Vitnell said.

“For some of them, a visit outside of their home to a solicitor’s office feels like a safe refuge, even if only for a short while.”

Family lawyer Cassandra Kalpaxis also saw an increase in the demand for legal services and support service referrals.

She said the government was not really prepared for the outcome of the pandemic, or the lockdown.

“The government has not done a very good job of being clear that if you are unsafe and need to leave, you can do so,” Ms Kalpaxis said.

“There are clearly a lot of women living uncomfortably at the moment and that is a significant concern.”

She said that many of their crisis housing providers needed support and funding prior to COVID-19.

“It is not easy needing to turn away people in need, and it’s really important that more funding and resources are allocated to these lifesaving organisations,” she said.

Joanne Welsh is the founder of 4voices, an outreach service for women who were experiencing isolation due to domestic violence, said there was no real “concerted national or global effort”.

“Until we can mobilize the population at large and a mass of organizations to acknowledge the extraordinary pandemic of domestic and family violence and work collaboratively and determinedly to find the “vaccine” we will be forever talking,” she said.

Despite the federal government’s $150 million in additional domestic violence funding announced in March 2020, there has not been enough resources to meet demand for chronically underfunded support services.

In the 2021–22 Budget, the Morrison Government announced a package of around $3.4 billion new measures to improve outcomes for women’s safety, economic security, health, and wellbeing.

The 2021-22 federal government budgets have allocated more than $1 billion in funding to reduce and prevent all forms of domestic violence and supporting survivors.

If you or another person is in immediate danger, call 000.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800- RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.