Shannon Hansen during her presentation to SACPA (Screenshot from Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs YouTube video)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge a ‘hot bed’ for domestic violence, incidents rising during pandemic

Apr 23, 2020 | 1:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A pandemic like COVID-19 can actually cause an increase in domestic violence cases.

That’s from Shannon Hansen, the CEO of the YWCA Lethbridge & District, which operates the Harbour House Women’s Emergency Shelter, a 24-bed crisis unit for women and children suffering from domestic violence.

Hansen spoke at the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs’ (SACPA) meeting on Thursday morning.

She said that during a health crisis such as COVID-19, reporting of domestic violence cases drops “significantly”. However, she said that afterwards, it’s usually found that incidents of severe domestic violence have actually increased – they just haven’t been reported.

“Our statistics at [Harbour House] show that only one in six of the people that we support ever have communication or report to police for support,” she said.

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“What that means to us is Lethbridge is really a ‘hot bed’ for domestic violence and we really are a place that needs to work hard together as a community to solve the problems that we face, including domestic violence.”

Fortunately, Hansen believes that Lethbridge is an “incredibly collaborative community”, noting that there are multiple social service and non-social service agencies available for support.

“I believe that Lethbridge is incredibly resourceful and very, very kind and giving and community-minded, which is why I believe we have a good shot at decreasing the domestic violence and supporting people through this time.”

BARRIERS CAUSED BY COVID-19

Hansen noted that Harbour House isn’t currently seeing a large number of individuals coming through their doors, but cases that do are severe.

“We have people coming to us from [emergency rooms] and hospitals because of the severity of domestic violence,” she said.

“[But] because we’re not seeing a lot of people come through our door, it’s concerning to me. It means to me that there are people behind closed doors, behind walls – partly because of the nature of domestic violence – but now with social distancing, that even becomes a tougher challenge to find and connect to people who are experiencing domestic violence.”

She said there can be many reasons why people aren’t reaching out to Harbour House for support.

“It could be a range of things from that people feel like usually during a natural disaster, pandemic or crisis, that their needs are not as important, considering all of the needs and troubles that people are facing, they don’t feel like their needs actually rise to the top of what’s necessary and what’s important, which is absolutely false,” she explained.

“The needs of people who are experiencing domestic violence are always critically important and we have services that are available 24-7 with the intent to support every person.”

She added that another reasons for under-reporting could be because victims are self-isolating with their abuser. As a result of this, the opportunities for others to actually see the victim in person and notice any possible signs of abuse are decreased.

“Children aren’t attending school, where their teachers and counsellors may see, people aren’t necessarily going to work where their coworkers would be able to see and acknowledge and support through domestic violence. They’re also not able to connect with their social supports – their family, their friends,” she said.

“When people aren’t able to connect with their support systems, this also increases the level of domestic violence, but [also] the feeling of isolation. So, we know that people who are experiencing domestic violence are also feeling more isolated than they would on any given day.”

Harbour House can be reached through a 24-hour crisis line at 403-320-1881 or toll free at 1-866-296-0447. For more details on the shelter through the YWCA, visit https://bit.ly/2VvktAD.

Hansen’s presentation to SACPA can be viewed below.