(ChurchLeaders) Requiring people to shelter at home might be a necessary measure to combat the spread of Covid-19, but a side effect for many is that it increases the danger they are in. Across the world and in the U.S., the coronavirus and the ensuing social isolation is making it more likely that people will experience a greater strain on their mental health, leading in some unfortunate cases to suicide and in others to domestic violence.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of survivors reaching out who are concerned with Covid-19,” says Katie Ray-Jones, the CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. She told CNN that those reaching out are describing how “their abusive partner is leveraging Covid-19 to further isolate, coerce, or increase fear in the relationship.”