For more than a decade, *Kathy has kept this secret to herself that she was psychologically abused by her mentally ill husband. And that the pandemic has made it even worse. Her husband no longer leaves the house, monitoring and scolding her relentlessly, day and night. Being one-on-one with her husband was a nightmare to her. 

 

*Kathy was diagnosed with depression and is required to take medicine. She was then referred to the Harmony House by the hospital and placed in a shelter. After moving out from the shelter, she is receiving help and advice on filing a divorce. She still gets upset when the past is brought up. 

 

“After all those years being stuck in that situation, she no longer has any confidence in herself,” said Susanna Lam, the Senior Community Education Officer at Harmony House, “ she talks very softly and will only reply with just a couple words.”

 

Chan Ko-Ling Edward, a social work professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University who specializes in family violence, said for families who face domestic violence even before the pandemic, without getting help from the professionals, the pandemic simply pushed forward the incident ahead of time.

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Domestic violence is a violation of human rights, as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treaties. According to the United Nations, it does not only limited to physical abuse but also psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse.

 

Paul Tong Shui-hing, a social worker at Harmony House who specializes in handling males perpetrators, said people with drug abuse, alcohol problems, love affairs and mental disorders will have a higher possibility of using violent acts. 

 

The virus has killed more than 3,000,000 people with more than 135,000,000 people infected worldwide and is still counting, according to Reuter’s tally. 

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To combat the spread of the coronavirus, around half of the global population, with over 3.9 billion people, have been asked to stay at home either through mandatory lockdowns or voluntary restrictions, as suggested by the database from Agence France-Presse. 

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A recent report released by the World Health Organisation in March shows that even prior to the pandemic, about one in every three women globally have been subjected to domestic violence in their lifetime. And almost one-third of women worldwide aged between 15 to 49 year old reported that they have experienced domestic violence by their intimate partner.

 

However, the situation has become even worse due to the pandemic. 

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“Domestic violence happens to both couples who lived together and those who separated for a long time,” said **Joe Li, the President and founder of Les Corner. Les Corner is one of the few non-profit organisations in the city that support the LGBTQ+ community. The organisation started a project in 2017 to help domestic violence victims within the rainbow community. 

 

**Joe Li said victims who lived with their perpetrator under the pandemic situation, most of the time would be highly monitored, both their whereabouts and their electronic devices. For those in a long-distance relationship, due to insecurities and mistrust, many would demand their significant others to download tracking applications on their phone and even facetime once in a while to report their locations. 

 

“Their actions have amplified the victims’ stress level, and the situation has definitely worsened amidst the pandemic,” **Joe Li said. 

 

Ms Lam said the virus outbreak forced people to confront their “ticking bomb” problems. As there are more disputes about their long-hidden problems, abusive actions may then appear. She added that the additional financial stress, constant fear of infection, travelling restrictions and limited living area have all contributed to the severe domestic violence situation. 

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*Crystal’s happy family has started to break into pieces due to her concern over her family members’ personal hygiene. With both of her children taking classes over zoom at home, she was worn out without any rest. 

 

She hoped that her husband could shoulder the burden. However, her expectations did not meet the reality. Not only did he not help with the chores and taking care of the children, her husband constantly dined out with his friends, ignoring her constant reminder about the risk of infection. 

 

The constant disagreement has become a snowballing effect and turned the disputes into violence. She was later admitted to the hospital. 

 

“It is great that *Crystal did not get any mental disorders, but most domestic violence victims would show symptoms of mental disorders, like depression,” said Ms Lam.

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A study by Cambridge University in April 2020 shows women who experienced abuse from their partner are three times more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety or severe conditions, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. 

 

Professor Chan mentioned that family violence would cause trauma to victims, it might lead to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and even suicide. 

 

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine report shows that the number of domestic violence cases has a three-folded increase in February 2020 compared to the same period a year before. Other countries, such as Cyprus, Brazil and Singapore, have increased at least 50% in the number of reported cases.

 

The UN Women also reported a rise in demand for domestic violence helplines and shelters in the United Kingdom, United States, France, Australia, Cyprus, Singapore, Argentina, Canada, Germany, and Spain in 2020. 

 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the soar in domestic violence in 2020 as a “horrifying global surge”.

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