Abuse prevention: Isolation, stress spur concerns domestic violence will increase

Families confined at home creates opportunity for abusers, shelter director says

As New Mexico families remain isolated in their homes to help battle the spread of COVID-19, authorities and advocates fear cases of domestic violence and child abuse could spike.

Schools across the state are shut down for the rest of the academic year, and most employees are forced to work from home or are out of work — stressors that can add to existing tensions in a household and trigger people with a history of abusive behavior.

New Mexico’s child abuse and neglect rate has been reported at twice the national average, and it ranks among the worst states in the nation for domestic abuse. An estimated 50 percent of incidents go unreported — “and that’s without the pandemic,” said Anji Estrellas, executive director of the nonprofit Esperanza Shelter in Santa Fe.

The governor’s order for families to stay home as much as possible creates an opportunity for abusers, Estrellas said, who “already use social isolation to control their victims.”

State Children, Youth and Families Secretary Brian Blalock said his team also is concerned that abuse against kids will go under the radar.

“One of our biggest concerns is the lack of community eyes on children,” Blalock

said. “With social isolation, many of the people who would call us normally don’t have a chance to see children.”

Child welfare workers are still responding to reports and performing in-person visits to homes, he said, and the department’s child abuse hotline is operating to take reports and provide information on resources for victims. Estrellas said some resources already are strained. Esperanza Shelter was operating at capacity before the pandemic hit New Mexico, she said, and for victims already in shelters, closures tied to the effort to slow the spread of the virus will make it nearly impossible to find work or permanent, safe housing.

“They will need more time to rebuild their lives from this trauma,” Estrellas said.

“Our economy is crashing, and any person, whether they’re in a shelter or not, is concerned about the basics: ‘How am I going to pay rent, find an apartment, find a brand-new job?’ ” she added.

Esperanza Shelter is still offering counseling and therapy services online and collaborating with other agencies across the state to help those in need.

But shelters statewide are facing challenges such as shortages of basic supplies, said Pam Wiseman, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“Ordinarily, food and cleaning supplies are not a problem. Usually, everyone wants to contribute food — now it’s become an issue,” Wiseman said.

Santa Fe police officers will respond to all calls for service as normal during the pandemic, including those for domestic violence, officials said.

Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said it’s too early to tell whether the number of domestic violence calls has risen in the last couple of weeks but added, “Our personnel understands that our community is dealing with a challenging situation, and people may become frustrated with each other and family.

“We all need to do our part to be kind to each other, help when you can, and show each other mutual respect,” he said.