NPR

Domestic Abuse Can Escalate In Pandemic And Continue Even If You Get Away

Loosened quarantine restrictions have given some people an opportunity to flee violence at home, but cyberstalking and high unemployment have also made it harder to completely escape after moving out.
The pandemic and its economic fallout have made it harder for those who experience domestic violence to escape their abuser, say crisis teams, but the <a href="https://www.thehotline.org/">National Domestic Violence Hotline</a> is one place to get quick help. Text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474 if speaking by phone feels too risky.

During lockdown, Kiesha Preston has heard from many people facing physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse that the violence against them is escalating without reprieve.

Stress and isolation create combustible tensions. A lack of privacy subjects many victims to closer surveillance by their abuser, making it difficult to , for example. And Preston worries that high unemployment will make it harder to afford moving out — though she hopes that this won't stop anyone who is being abused from reaching out. There are to help

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