Reports of domestic violence spike

Concerns that stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 would lead to increases in domestic violence were well placed, Franklin County court records suggest.

The number of domestic violence cases filed in Franklin County Municipal Court was up 31% in June compared to the same month in 2019.

Advocates for victims of domestic violence aren’t surprised that the number of criminal cases rose to 394 in June 2020 from 300 in June 2019. That followed a 10% increase in May 2020 from May 2019.

The number of cases in the first two weeks of July were back in line with those from a year ago.

Mary O’doherty, executive director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, said she and others who battle the problem worried that they’d see a surge in requests for help from victims once the stay-at-home orders were lifted.

“To me, this makes sense,” she said of Franklin County’s increase in domestic violence cases in May and June.

Dr. Amy Acton, then Ohio’s health director, imposed the stay-at-home order in mid-march, and throughout May the order was loosened and the state began a phased reopening of businesses.

“People were hunkered down in the second half of March, all of April and into May,” she said. “Domestic violence survivors have been trapped at home with abusers and weren’t able to reach out for resources. Then, as life opened back up, they were able to get help.”

During the first month of the stay-athome order, the Center for Family Safety and Healing at Nationwide Children’s Hospital experienced a 44% decrease in the number of requests it typically receives for help with domestic violence, said Lynn Rosenthal, the organization’s president.

Not only were victims reluctant to reach out while sheltering with an abuser, Rosenthal said, she suspects that they were preoccupied by all the stresses and disruptions caused by the pandemic, ranging from job losses to school and day care closures.

Based on staff members’ conversations with victims, by the time many of them reached out, the abuse had become severe, she said.

“We’re seeing many who were afraid they were going to be killed by their partner,” Rosenthal said.

CHOICES, a domestic-violence crisis hotline operated by Lutheran Social Services, noticed something unusual about the calls it received in March.

That month, 64% of the 371 calls to the hotline were placed by law enforcement officers on behalf of victims. Most months, the breakdown of calls from police and victims is roughly equal, said Sue Villilo, vice president of community-based services for Lutheran Social Services.

Under the protocol followed by Columbus police, the Franklin County sheriff’s office and 19 other law enforcement agencies in the county, officers make a call to CHOICES if, after interacting with a domestic violence victim, the situation is deemed “highly lethal,” she said.

“It appears that in March, victims who weren’t reaching out for help because they were sheltered with their abusers didn’t call until the violence got so severe that the police got involved,” Villilo said.

The 402 calls to CHOICES in June were the most for any month this year, but were pretty evenly divided between calls from police and calls from victims, she said.

Villilo said COVID-19 concerns also kept some women from seeking refuge at the organization’s domestic-violence shelter during the stay-at-home.

The average daily population at the shelter was 125 from November through February, but declined to 120 in March and 91 in April before increasing to 103 in May and 113 in June.

“A lot of them are worried about being in a congregate setting” during the pandemic, especially with their children, Villilo said. “They don’t realize every family at the shelter has a room to themselves. It’s very safe.”

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said the unit in his office that handles domestic violence cases has “felt like it’s getting crushed” in recent weeks.

Not only have cases increased, but so has the severity of the allegations, he said.

His office has worked hard to make victims aware that none of the services available to them has shut down during the pandemic.

“We want people to know that help is always available,” Klein said.

He stressed that domestic violence is a significant problem, even in normal times.

“We have way too many domestic violence cases,” Klein said. “That’s why we have an entire unit dedicated to it. That’s how pervasive it is.”

If you or someone you know needs help, call the CHOICES crisis hotline at 614-224-4663 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. jfutty@dispatch.com @johnfutty