The world is currently facing a virus that is spreading rapidly. While the virus has made us all stay inside the house, most of us all are spending quality time with our family as well.
On the other hand, this is hell for many people who are currently thrown into a room with their abusers. Many women, men, children are affected mentally as well as physically, but there is nowhere to go for them.
Running away from the house, going to office or school used to be their only option, but currently, they are put into a cage. There is an alarming rate of increase in domestic abuse which is worrying.
“We used to get at least 10 to 15 calls every week but there is a decrease in number now,” said Swetha Shankar, head of psychosocial programmes at the International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC).
The organisation helps domestic abuse survivors and has a 24-hour hotline called ‘Dhwani’, a WhatsApp number, email ID, and a chat feature on their website.
The decrease in number can also mean that the people are locked down with their own abusers and are not able to get in touch with any of the organization.
The victims are also not ready to go to the Police because this only would make the condition worse when the abuser get out of the punishment. Also, they are afraid that the other family members would torture him/her if they go to the Police.
However, it is difficult for the Police as well, who are busy working hard in curbing the Coronavirus pandemic.
Talking to Magesh Prasath of Rebuild Care Counselling Centre, he said that Domestic abuse in Chennai is normalised for a long time now.
While this is one of the factors in Tamil Nadu and other states, people tend to “accept” the words that come out of the abusers. They are just “trained” to lead a life that way.
Some men (people) are addicted to alcohol and normally would beat up their family. Today, with no or less availability of alcohol, they have turned more violent. The worst part is that neither the women (people) have access to the phone nor they know about organizations and the helpline numbers.
On the other hand, the Government has provided a helpline number which keeps ringing, and the numbers are beyond control. This is expected to grow in upcoming weeks if there is an extension to the lockdown which seems more likely.
HELPLINE NUMBERS:
Dhwani- 09840888882
CHILDLINE 1098
Rebuild Care Counselling Centre- 87546 23524
Feature image courtesy: Violence against women in India
