COVID-19 and Family Violence

Published on 19 August 2021

For many people, including victim-survivors of family violence, being at home is not always a safe place.

Family violence incidents are likely to increase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many people, public health and community containment measures introduced to reduce the spread of COVID-19 such as social distancing and self-isolation, as well as increased financial insecurity and reduced ability to leave relationships, may increase their risk of family violence.

Staying Safe

A safety plan is a personalised, practical plan that includes ways to remain safe while in a relationship, planning to leave, or after you leave.

Public health measures that are in place to contain COVID-19 might require you and your family to stay home where possible and have limited social contact. Having a safety plan can help you to protect yourself during this difficult time. The best way to make a safety plan is in consultation with a support service, in particular a specialist family violence service.

Things to consider for increasing safety during a family violence crisis:

• If you sense trouble or find yourself in an argument, move to a 'lower risk space': rooms with two exits and fewer things that can be used as weapons, where you can be seen or heard from the outside.
• Kitchens, bathrooms and garages are more dangerous than living rooms, dining rooms or bedrooms. Learn - and teach your children - to get positioned 'between trouble and the door'.
• Teach the children how to call police 000 and to know their home address.
• Where possible have a charged phone and a back-up plan in case you are separated from your phone, for example, have a hidden second phone.
• Create signals and/or code words that will let your children know to get out and go to a pre-arranged place of safety.
• Create signals that will let your neighbours/family members know to create a supportive or defusing presence or call 000. For example, a turned-on porch light, drawn shade.
• Have an escape plan and back-up. Rehearse getting out in the dark and with the children. Keep spare keys and important documents where you can get to them readily. Have some money stashed away for emergencies.

• Consistent with their age, their instincts and their skills, develop safety plans for the children - about calling help or getting to a place where they will be safer.
• Do whatever it is you need to do to buy time and/or space, to defuse the situation, or to protect yourself and your children.
• Be extra mindful of good hygiene practices: wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face, minimise contact with surfaces that other people have had contact with.
• Travel restrictions may impact your escape or safety plan – it may not be safe for you to use public transportation or interstate flights may be cancelled.
• Think about the types of essential services you may come into contact with during the COVID-19 restrictions (such as school, GP and other healthcare services, post office, supermarkets) and how you can use them as part of your safety plan.
• Your plan should be flexible enough to enable you to implement contingency plans if your original plan becomes unfeasible.

• For more information about how to make a safety plan and to access online safety planning support, visit the 1800 RESPECT “Safety planning”