Leaving Looks Different in a Pandemic
Leaving an abusive partner is difficult under normal circumstances but as COVID-19 continues to spread, abusers are finding new ways to exercise coercive control. Using COVID against their victims, abusers may prey on fears of contagion, isolate them and prevent physical contact, interfere with efforts to care for loved ones, regulate daily activities, and deprive them from the means to be independent or to escape.
Fayette Cares trains police, volunteers, and community partners on the challenges victims face and ways to help keep them safe. “I really had it bad then,” shares hotline volunteer and abuse survivor Shelly Gandy about her past experience in a violent relationship, “but I can only imagine how much worse it could have been for me under these pandemic conditions.”
It may seem impossible to get away when you’re together 24/7, financial stress is mounting from job loss or uncertainty, family and friends are hesitant to open their doors, courthouses and other agencies have changed their procedures, and a virus is endangering your loved ones.
Deemed an essential service, Fayette Cares has been available to victims 24/7 throughout the pandemic and has improved access to services including Orders of Protection, emergency shelter, safety planning, economic empowerment, housing assistance, and more. By working with community partners like courts, police, legal services, and other organizations, victims have safe and discreet options during these unimaginable times.
Free, confidential, and discreet help is available 24/7
800-356-6767 Domestic Violence Hotline
