Impact of COVID 19 on Domestic Violence Service Organizations

The following is part two of Amanda Suarez' post on the impact of COVID 19  on domestic violence survivors and service organizations.  Ms. Suarez is a second-year law student at the University of Miami School of Law and a legal intern at the Miami Law Human Rights Clinic directed by Prof. Carrie Bettinger-Lopez.

Domestic violence organizations also face unique problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a lack of resources, privacy issues, and communication issues. Domestic violence shelters face being overcrowded in a time of social distancing, and a lack of cleaning supplies and staff.

Many domestic violence organizations are non-profits that rely on donors or fundraising mechanisms to survive. In times of COVID, this funding can be extremely limited and can lead to organizations not being able to offer all of the services that they previously did. Moreover, organizations face the problem of having reduced staff because of the pandemic. Some staff members may not want to work due to the health risks of the virus, and others may not be able to because they have already contracted it. This means that there are fewer service providers that are able to help survivors as a result. Organizations also face several privacy issues due to the pandemic. Maintaining compliance with HIPAA is a concern that several organizations serving survivors of lower socio-economic status in South Florida have flagged due to the survivors’ lack of access to technology that make signing HIPAA documents possible. Moreover, using video conference platforms come with privacy risks for organizations as well. Zoom has faced scrutiny for allowing people to “zoombomb” meetings. For a meeting between a service provider and a survivor, an occurrence like this can completely eviscerate the survivor’s trust in the organization. Lastly, many organizations have expressed that communicating with clients is harder than ever before. Establishing trust and rapport with a survivor is very hard to establish through virtual methods, and connecting with them at all is also a problem due to a lack of access or fear that their abuser will find out.

            Domestic violence shelters face similar issues due to the pandemic. Because survivors tend to already be living in shelters, they face the unique challenge of having to comply with social distancing measures in shelters that are already overcrowded and have received new survivors as the pandemic worsened. Moreover, shelters have indicated that there are lacking essential cleaning supplies that are needed to properly sanitize the shelters.  Additionally, similar to social service organizations, shelters face staff shortages due to health concerns. This can lead to survivors being left within the shelters with very little staff, which has an impact on which in-house services they can offer and when.

What Needs to be Done?

Actions need to be taken by federal, state, and local governments to take a human rights approach when addressing the problems that COVID-19 creates for domestic violence survivors and organizations. This means a focus on the dignity of survivors, equality, and non-discrimination in the provision of services, and upholding the right to be free from violence.  There are several key stakeholders that should take actions to ensure the safety and well-being of all survivors:

• Federal, State, and Local Governments
  • Governments should take steps to ensure that funding is being provided to domestic violence organizations so that they can continue to provide all of their usual services.
  • Governments should take steps to ensure that all domestic violence survivors who need a place to stay have access to a safe shelter. Other countries have done this by using empty hotels to provide rooms to survivors.
  • Federal and State governments should identify domestic violence as an issue area during this pandemic and provide guidance to all relevant agencies on how to best proceed by using trauma-informed practices.
  • Federal and state governments should publish resources for survivors on different platforms to increase the visibility of all services being offered.
• Law Enforcement Agencies
  • Law enforcement agencies should ensure that domestic violence calls are given high importance and that all officers are responding to calls in a timely and appropriate manner.
  • Law enforcement agencies should build partnerships with local domestic violence organizations so that they can provide survivors with resources if they are called for help.
  • Law enforcement agencies should make sure to proceed in the manner that the survivor wants, deferring when appropriate to survivors’ preferences on arrest, and providing the victim with a “warm handoff” to resources and service providers.
• Courts
  • Courts should make COVID-19 procedures and practices widely available for the public to access, both on online platforms and through other methods like flyers, phone calls, or texts.
  • Courts should work hard to ensure that survivors have access to court hearings and enough time to respond to any inquiries.
  • Courts should ensure that all virtual means used to hold hearings and communicate with individuals is private and secure.
• Prosecutors
  • Prosecutors should consider the detrimental health implications of placing an individual in jail, and take appropriate actions to avoid sentencing individuals to jail time if possible.
  • Prosecutors should make sure that victims are notified and consulted if a defendant is going to be released during the pandemic, to ensure their safety.
• Shelters
  • Shelters should communicate with other institutional players to ensure that survivors have the most up-to-date information about what is going on.
  • Shelters should take steps to ensure that social distancing measures are being taken and facilities are being cleaned regularly to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
• Legal Services
  • Legal service organizations should communicate resources to survivors and other institutional players across all platforms possible to ensure that everyone is well informed about the different services being offered.
  • Legal service organizations should work with other institutional players to ensure that survivors' cases are being heard and given priority.