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National helpline charity reveals ten-fold increase in visits to its domestic abuse website

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Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..

The number of potential domestic abuse victims visiting the Government-backed helpline’s website has increased ten-fold since lockdown, new figures reveal.

Refuge, which runs the national domestic abuse helpline, said that visits to its website had risen by 950 per cent since Britain went into lockdown two months ago.

At the same time, calls for help by victims have increased by 66 per cent during lockdown.

Sandra Horley, Refuge’s chief executive, said the figures revealed a “sharp and escalating rise in demand” by victims trapped at home with abusive partners during the lockdown.

“While lockdown itself does not cause domestic abuse, it can aggravate pre-existing behaviours in abusive partners,” she said. 

“Women up and down the country are isolated with abusive partners -  and children will be witnessing and in some cases experiencing domestic abuse. This is a terrifying ordeal and Refuge wants women to know they are not alone.”

It follows moves by the Government and charities to set up “safe spaces” in supermarkets and pharmacies that victims can access through codewords or at chemists counters and a £76 million fund to boost refuge spaces, pay for extra accommodation and online support.

Refuge reported a 50 per cent rise in demand to its helpline at the start of the Covid-19 crisis and 300 per cent rise in visits to its helpline website.

Since then, however, it said demand had “spiked again significantly” with the weekly average rise of 66 per cent calls to its helpline and 950 per cent rise in visits to the website where victims could request a safe time to be contacted.

It contrasts with a smaller four per cent rise in domestic abuse incidents reported to police since lockdown, which campaigners believe could reflect the difficulties victims face in escaping their abuser either to call or contact helplines while under their scrutiny at home 24/7.

“The spike in demand for the helpline shows the extent of support required during lockdown,” said Refuge. “The window for women experiencing domestic abuse to reach out for help is ordinarily very limited -  with this window narrowing further when isolating with an abusive partner.”

Developers of the codeword scheme said it underlined its importance for victims to be able to go to a supermarket or pharmacy and use the codeword to ask any member of staff for help before being escorted to a safe space in the store to call police or the helpline.

“It’s designed for those victims who may have no other opportunity to seek help, maybe because their phone has been removed by the perpetrator or they cannot use it in front of the perpetrator or they may not have internet access,” said one of the charity initiators of the scheme.