Domestic abuse sufferers are the hidden victims of lockdown

For years, ministers from successive governments have conducted drills for all kinds of pandemic scenarios. But they never imagined a lockdown. It’s a new tool, and its implications — and side effects — have never been properly tested. So no one really thought about the effect it would have on something like domestic abuse.

Before the lockdown, it was estimated that two women a week were killed by their current or former partners. But that was when they could move freely. Now, opportunities for escape are scarce. The only time a victim is alone is when their abuser goes to the shop, or if they’re allowed out for exercise. The abused women (and they overwhelmingly are women) aren’t going into work, and so have little chance to tell colleagues what’s going on, or for anyone to spot signs of physical violence. This is another opportunity for the men carrying out these crimes. They stand far less chance of being found out.

An awful piece of jargon in the domestic abuse world is ‘zoning’. It is when a perpetrator hits their victim only on the parts of the body that the rest of the world doesn’t see. Domestic abuse is carried out behind closed doors — and under clothes. Women go into work looking perfectly normal but with bruises and scars all over their torsos: a pattern horribly familiar to those who work in shelters. Michelle Blunsom, who runs the East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service, tells me she has spotted a shift in the type of abuse: perpetrators who haven’t used physical violence before are starting to do so now. ‘There’s a worrying increase around head and face injuries. They’re not bothering to do “zoning” any more because no one is going to see the women.’