Due to increased social and physical distancing as a response to COVID-19, many domestic violence victims are at greater risk of abuse due to:

• isolation, through which abuse thrives,

• fewer opportunities for social support,

• fewer public venues and events through which victims may be able to seek help or flee, and

• close confinement with an abuser.

Many abusive partners are also using COVID-19 as an opportunity to further gaslight, control, and isolate potential abuse survivors by:

• withholding and limiting food,

• withholding medical supplies,

• preventing a potential survivor from accessing medical care,

• confiscating a potential survivor's devices, preventing communication with advocates and hotlines, and

• escalating physical abuse for which potential survivors may be hesitant--or unable--to seek medical care due to an already overloaded healthcare system.

Below are some resources for domestic violence victims to utilize during this pandemic.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is still running its 24/7 crisis hotline (1−800−787−3224) with trained advocates and also offers a safety planning guide for victims during COVID-19. https://www.thehotline.org/2020/03/13/staying-safe-during-covid-19/

The National Sexual Assault Hotline is also still running 24/7 crisis advocacy at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and through chat at https://www.rainn.org/.

The Sanctuary for Families offers a comprehensive safety planning list for victims during COVID-19, which includes strategies for maintaining the safety of children, safety within confined households, compiling important documents and an emergency bag, creating social support, and planning with food and medicine. https://sanctuaryforfamilies.org/safety-planning-covid19/

DomesticShelters.org is maintaining a pretty robust list of online support groups to help survivors who don't have access to in-person groups: https://www.domesticshelters.org/resources/online-forums-and-chats

Hot Peach Pages lists an international directory of every country’s domestic and sexual violence programs in 110 languages. https://www.hotpeachpages.net/a/countries.html

The UK Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, is available 24 hours for survivors in the UK at 0808 200 0247 and www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk

The UK Men’s Advice Line is available for male survivors in the UK from Monday-Friday at 0808 801 0327 and www.mensadviceline.org.uk

The Network/La Red offers a 24/7 domestic and sexual violence hotline for LGBTQ survivors in abusive relationships, as well as support groups and legal advocacy at https://tnlr.org/en/ and 617-742-4911.

The National Deaf Domestic Violence Hotline offers 24/7 crisis advocacy for Deaf, DeafBlind, and DeafDisabled callers via email, live chat, and video phone. https://thedeafhotline.org/

The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative is specific to non-consensual pornography and offers a 24/7 crisis line, information on state and international law, referrals to pro bono and low bono lawyers, image removal guides, and more at https://www.cybercivilrights.org/ or 844-878-CCRI (2274).

Badass Army offers similar services to the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, including support groups for non-consensual pornography survivors. https://badassarmy.org/gethelp/

The National Runaway Safeline is available 24/7 to assist runaway youth and teens fleeing abuse, neglect, and dysfunctional home environments at 1-800-786-2929 (text or call) or by online chat. https://www.1800runaway.org/