Surge in calls to NSPCC’s domestic abuse helpline

Since the height of lockdown in April, the helpline has received 4,500 calls from members of the public concerned about domestic abuse.

In August alone, the helpline received 818 calls from people raising concerns.

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“The helpline figures highlight how the risk of domestic abuse intensified after measures were put in place to tackle Coronavirus and that concerns raised to the NSPCC are still up compared with pre-lockdown levels”, the NSPCC says.

One member of the public who called the helpline for advice about their neighbour, said: “I used to only hear them late at night or first thing in the morning before I left for work – now I’m working from home, I realise it’s happening throughout the day. I sometimes hear the toddler crying as the parents are fighting. It pains me to think the child is having to live like this – can you help?”

The organisation’s Domestic Abuse Recovering Together (DART) service has also seen a spike in demand.

The programme supports mothers and children to help each move forward through the impact of domestic abuse.

However, the NSPCC is now calling on other organisations to get in touch if they can help deliver the scheme due to increased demand.

Tilly* and one of her sons were referred to DART after sustained domestic abuse by her husband culminated in an attack that left her with a broken nose and cuts to her wrists.

She said: “I didn’t see myself as a domestic abuse victim, but I agreed to attend the two-hour sessions, once a week for ten weeks.

“In week one I didn’t have much to say, but when we got to week five the DART group looked at the controlling and isolating side of domestic abuse, and it hit me that my life had been terrible for years and I was a victim of domestic abuse.

“I realised that there had been a breakdown of communication between my son and I. DART really has helped me and my son a lot. The NSPCC saved me and saved my relationship with my son.”

The call comes after the NSPCC and other charities successfully campaigned for the government to amend the Domestic Abuse Bill and recognise the damaging impact domestic abuse can have on children.

However, there is currently no legal requirement to provide specialist support services, which are crucial in helping children recover from domestic abuse and move forward with their lives.

With the bill expected to have its second reading in the House of Lords next month, the charity is calling for an amendment that will place a statutory duty on local authorities to provide community-based services for children experiencing domestic abuse.

Emily Hilton, senior policy and public affairs officer at the NSPCC, said: ‘‘By amending the statutory definition in the Domestic Abuse Bill, the government has taken the important step of recognising the profound and long-term impact domestic abuse can have on children.

“They should underpin this by creating a statutory duty on local agencies to provide specialist community-based services for children impacted by domestic abuse. This must be backed up by funding for local agencies.

“The pandemic has shone a spotlight on children who are living with the daily nightmare of domestic abuse. Now more than ever it is crucial the government grasps the landmark opportunity offered by the Domestic Abuse Bill to ensure children get the protection and support they need.”