Virus-hit countries devise schemes to help domestic violence victims

Since the coronavirus took hold a few months ago around the world, advocates for women have warned of the probability of a spike in domestic violence as couples face being cooped up together, potentially with financial hardship. Their predictions were right, but also led to an innovative path for women to reach out for help safely: Countries like Spain, France, the UK, Argentina, and Norway have devised schemes that allow women to seek help without alerting their partners.

All the plans are focused on pharmacies—a necessary visit, and viable excuse, for many during the pandemic lockdown. On May 1, the UK’s ubiquitous Boots pharmacy announced that victims of domestic violence will be able to access “safe spaces” in their consultation rooms, “where they can contact specialist domestic abuse services for support and advice.” In April, first Spain then France implemented a codeword program in which women can approach pharmacists and ask for a “mask 19.” Alternatively, in France, women can text the emergency number 114.

“These days, when one must remain confined during the state of alarm, the pharmacy ... is the nearest place a victim can go to request help,” Pedro Claver, a spokesman for Spain’s General Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges, told Reuters.

While many advocates have praised the various schemes to help women stuck in domestic violence situations, some have worried that things like codewords may cause confusion. Others have argued that if a pharmacy can be accessed then a woman should be easily able to contact a helpline staffed with professionals instead.

One in three women and girls will endure physical or sexualized violence in their lifetime, says the World Health Organization. More than half of women killed worldwide were killed by their partners or family members, according to a 2018 UN study. It takes about seven times for a woman to finally leave her abuser. Statistics are constantly changing, but there has been a worldwide spike in domestic violence since worldwide lockdowns began. Calls to Spain’s emergency number for domestic violence jumped 18 percent in the first two weeks of lockdown as compared to the same period a month earlier, The New York Times reported in April.

Italy was the first country to lock down in Europe, in early March, and domestic violence rose accordingly. On top of that, shelters would no longer take fleeing women because of the risk of contagion.

“In a normal situation, leaving the house and the abuser is already hard,” Simona Ammerata, who works at the Lucha y Siesta women’s shelter in Rome, told CNN. “Today, this has quadrupled, because you can't go to your friends or family because the government decree says you can’t go ... leaving now is very, very hard. Harder than ever.”