When will women be safe in their own homes?

Hamilton needs a more multidisciplinary approach to combat domestic violence

The stark reality is that many women are not safe in their homes — the one place that offers the most protection against the pandemic. COVID-19 is holding up a mirror to society, revealing to us truths we’ve been struggling to acknowledge for so long. As physical distancing and stay-at-home orders continue, provincial COVID-19 cases are decreasing and the odds of getting the virus will hopefully follow suit. However, the risk of domestic violence for women and children is ever present as this global crisis places them in a more vulnerable position. In fact, every strategy used to address COVID-19 places women at greater risk, highlighting that violence against women and girls will continue unless gender inequity is constantly and strategically addressed.

According to UN Women and WHO, countries further ahead in their COVID-19 trajectory have seen significant increases in reports of domestic violence. We can expect Hamilton to be no different. News reports, women’s organizations and articles in last month’s Spectator have rightfully focused on providing information and resources to help keep women and families safe.

However, the ability to access these resources may be more limited because of measures taken to prevent the virus from spreading, as well as increased time spent indoors with abusive partners. The situation becomes more dire for women who are further isolated by language barriers, possibly unaware of the resources available to them or distrusting the social systems that have historically discriminated against women like them — most often racialized women, Indigenous women and women with disabilities.

Once we move out of crisis mode, we have an opportunity to rethink our current approaches to domestic violence, particularly the social and health policies that predominantly affect women. While we may think that cases of domestic violence will decrease as stay-athome orders are eased, the socioeconomic impacts of this pandemic will be far reaching and will not be felt the same way by everyone. This means that women and families will still be at an increased risk of experiencing violence in their homes and will need continued support from resources that were inadequately funded prior to this outbreak.

So how can we make a difference to ensure women are safe in their homes? Viewpoints condemning domestic violence have certainly increased in my lifetime, but our actions need to match our words. The sense of community that has arisen during COVID-19 demonstrates that we as a community and as a government, can come together on larger issues, adapt fairly quickly to try and address the safety of those who are at greatest risk. But what about holding those in power accountable for approaches that have not looked out for those same people, precrisis? And it is important to also acknowledge that differences in gender, race and class allow for a different experience of this pandemic and factors into who tends to fall through those cracks in the system.

Moving forward, we should remain concerned about others well-being in our community the same way we have been during this time, even if we are not directly impacted by domestic violence and regardless of our own pandemic reality. A focus on recouping money spent after this pandemic by the municipal, provincial and federal governments will only undo the small step we may have made moving forward. We need to push for improved infrastructure, funding and human resources for organizations that support women and families. Because if we don’t, who will?

Given that this pandemic is posed to surge again sometime in the next 18 months to two years, the City of Hamilton’s strategic response to COVID-19 should include a multidisciplinary and focused approach that also addresses domestic violence. Each sector could offer vital information on how best to improve a response to domestic violence for any future outbreaks, as well as in a post pandemic world. The calls to collect more demographic and socioeconomic data (i.e. race, gender, income) within the city make sense, especially because it will provide a better picture of the current situation for Hamiltonians. Essentially, the more information the better in understanding COVID-19, especially when we know that many women live in fear under constant threats of violence.

Dr. Ruth Rodney is an assistant professor in the school of nursing at York University. Her research is committed to addressing social and health inequities that contribute to dating and domestic violence and community approaches that improve healthy intimate relationships. She lives in Hamilton.