Coronavirus (COVID-19): domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls - 30/3/20-22/05/20

11. Children

Services report that, in some cases, children have experienced domestic abuse more severely during lockdown. There have been several reports of children being present in the room during domestic abuse, including physical violence.^[15] Many services perceive that because children do not have access to safe spaces or other trusted adults, there are fewer opportunities for them to report and therefore the perpetrator is less cautious.

Services report a number of difficulties related to engagement with children during lockdown. From the start of lockdown, organisations that provided child support services reported significant difficulties in engaging with children by telephone or other digital platforms, particularly younger children. Particularly in the latter four weeks of lockdown, there were a number of reports of women struggling to keep children entertained and engaged in activities. This challenge is compounded by managing abuse within the home.