Domestic violence ‘on the increase’

The National Organisation of Women (NOW) says it is receiving more reports of domestic violence during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) curfew, while intimate partner violence is also showing signs of an uptick.

President Marsha Hinds-Layne said people were opting to call NOW rather than the police, as they were receiving more calls for assistance.

“The systemic response to domestic violence coming into this pandemic was not great. The system is lacking in a number of ways and so the pandemic exacerbated those gaps in the system. 

“However, I must say that individual officers in the police force and at the Welfare Department have been going beyond the call of duty to facilitate clients and to facilitate us to be able to facilitate clients,” she said. (GC)

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