COVID 19 and Violence Increased in Homes in the U.S.
What does the government’s forced home isolation to control Coronavirus infections reveal about the relationship between Covid 19 and the rampant increase in domestic violence and abuse incidents? According to experts and law enforcement officers, domestic violence in the United States has been on the rise in recent months as a result of the economy and the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Unemployment is at a record level, and people are losing their jobs, causing crime rates to climb. Federal and Californian state laws have been tightened to flatten the curve and help people who have been abused.
Are you or someone you know accused of domestic abuse? If the answer is yes, reach out to our San Luis Obispo, CA law firm for help. We would love to help you understand your rights and get help.
805 Law Group has been helping people in Atascadero and the rest of San Luis Obispo County with their legal concerns for over 20 years and has a solid reputation for success in court. Give us a call right now to book an appointment with our criminal defense attorney.
Domestic Violence: What is it?
Domestic violence or domestic abuse is a pattern of behavior used towards an intimate partner to achieve or retain control and power over an intimate partner.
It is the intentional act of emotional, economic, physical, psychological, or sexual acts or threats of actions against an intimate partner. It encompasses any behavior that causes an intimate partner to fear, blame, humiliate, intimidate, injure, manipulate, terrorize, or wound.
Anybody, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status, can be a domestic abuse victim. Relationships can exist, such as those between dating partners, married couples, and cohabiting partners. Domestic abuse affects people from all walks of life.
Domestic Violence Victims: Staying at Home is Dangerous
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has been told to go home and stay there. Countries, states, and cities have imposed quarantines and stay-at-home orders, curtailing people’s ability to leave their homes except for the most basic needs. The stay-at-home order in California has been in force since March 19, 2020. That has brought months of coercion, intimidation, hostility, and physical violence for couples and spouses living with abusive a partner.
Data from throughout the globe reveal that government responses to the pandemic have created conditions conducive to the spread of another public health crisis: Covid 19 and the rampant increase in domestic violence incidents.
- Domestic violence escalates when families spend more time together, such as during Christmas or summer vacation. COVID-19 and the rampant increase in domestic violence have been boiling for months. The National Domestic Violence Hotline CEO, Katie Ray-Jones, told the New York Times:
“We know that if an abusive partner feels a loss of control and power — and everyone is experiencing a loss of control and power right now — it could have a great impact on how domestic violence victims and survivors are treated in their homes.”
- Financial stress can also lead to an escalation in abuse. Abusers who are experiencing financial stress and a loss of power often turn on their partners and spouses in order to regain a sense of control.
- Stay-at-home orders can make domestic violence victims and children feel as though they cannot escape or seek help. Counselors, employers, teachers, and therapists have long been safe havens for people facing domestic abuse. With businesses and schools closed, domestic violence victims may find it more difficult to get support. Abusers could force their wives to remain at home, cancel appointments, or participate in teletherapy where they could hear what is being said. This may hinder victims from seeking help.
California Domestic Violence
California is among the states where Covid-19 and the rampant increase in domestic violence are evident. The state has a strict domestic abuse law that justly punishes offenders while also legally helping victims. Domestic violence encompasses sexual abuse, verbal abuse, or assault with a lethal weapon.
The scope of police reports is limited, and they do not include all cases of victimization. Those who are a victim of domestic abuse may feel reluctant to contact the police. They may be concerned about retaliation from their abusers, losing children’s custody, or police brutality aimed at their partners and themselves. Instead of doing that, victims often go to shelters and resource centers for help.
California Shelters and Resource Centers
California residents made around 17% more phone calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline between March-May (2020). Furthermore, although the number of hotline calls declined in April and May 2019, between 7% – 15% more calls were received.
A San Francisco shelter got 26% more phone calls than the previous year and is currently fully occupied. The hotline for Los Angeles County got 70% more phone calls in March than the previous year, and some city shelters reported higher volumes of calls as well.
In the following months, shelters and resource centers received and logged fewer requests for violence help. This doesn’t mean that domestic violence has decreased. The fact is that there is no safe place or time to call for help. People are moving in a controlled manner as a result of the adoption of stay-at-home and lockdown orders.
Criminal Defense During Covid-19 Crisis
As a topic, domestic abuse is fraught with sensitivity issues. Our law firm has been representing clients in domestic abuse cases for 20 years, and although there are situations when someone is truly suffering from horrible continuing abuse and violence, sometimes it’s simply a question of a situation gone out of hand.
Tempers boil, and sometimes due to an excessive amount of drinking, a partner becomes upset and shoves the other one, or it’s “mutual combat,” in which both parties fight one other. Sometimes there is yelling and pushing, and a next-door neighbor phones the police. Regardless of the situation, here’s what you must keep in mind. The police will separate the two when they arrive there and speak with each person privately.
In California, if one person claims to authorities that the other person placed their hands on them or hurled objects at them and made contact, that other person will be arrested even if there are no injuries. If both parties claim they were scrapping with each other, the person who has fewer or no injuries is usually arrested. And that’s just the way it is in California. The arrested person will be transported to prison, and bail will be determined.
California State Laws
Domestic violence laws in California make it a punishable crime to harm or threaten to harm an intimate partner. The following are common charges for domestic or intimate partner violence:
- California Penal Code 243(e)(1), Domestic battery
- California Penal Code 273d, Child abuse
- California Penal Code 273.5, Corporal harm to a spouse or dweller,
- California Penal Code 422, Criminal threats
- California Penal Code 653.2, Posting damaging information on the internet
- California Penal Code 647(j)(4), Revenge porn
- California Penal Code 646.9, Stalking
A prison sentence is the standard penalty for anybody found guilty of intimate partner violence. According to California state criminal laws, any offender faces the following punishments:
- Participation in the intervention program is mandatory
- Compensation for damages
- Protective or restraining orders
- Loss of child custody rights
- Loss of gun ownership rights
- Permanent criminal record
- Deportation or refusal of entry for non-citizens
Get Criminal Defense Help From a San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, CA Lawyer
Domestic abuse cases are resolvable. People are under a lot of stress right now. What the prosecutors and the court just want to see is that the person charged isn’t a serious risk, that the relationship is not abusive, and that counseling and interventions are in place to ensure that the incident does not repeat itself.
The difficulty, of course, is that even a minor domestic violence conviction can have major collateral repercussions. There may be disastrous immigration outcomes. There may be consequences for employment. Even though the criminal case is ongoing, the couple may be barred from living together or seeing one other.
This is why it’s critical for anybody experiencing allegations of domestic violence, even if everything seems exaggerated, to call a criminal defense attorney who will fight for you or your loved one and seek to resolve the dispute so that it does not harm your future.
Call 805 Law Group now to schedule a consultation with our San Luis Obispo and Atascadero criminal defense lawyer!
