COVID-19 and Domestic Abuse: When Home is not the Safest Place

"All those who live in dysfunctional families in these times of self-isolation are at greater risk of violence because the additional stress, frustration and tension that the isolation brings can boost the dysfunctional patterns of behaviour among family members or abusive partners," Stoimenovska told BIRN.

"Thus a violent person can become even more violent".

Figures point to rise in domestic violence

A Romanian elderly woman smokes a cigarrete at the window of her flat that is located at the city outskirts, in Bucharest. Photo: EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT.

While official statistics in some Balkan countries point to a rise in domestic violence, experts and NGOs say the data rarely reflect the true scale of the problem given victims often do not report incidents and some do not even recognise that they are being abused.

The Animus Association, one of the oldest organisations providing support and shelter to domestic abuse victims, said it had received more than 550 calls to its hotline since January 1, a significantly higher rate than normal.

In one case, on April 8, a 42-year-old woman died in the Bulgarian Black Sea port city of Varna died from injuries sustained when she was physically assaulted. Her boyfriend was arrested.

In neighbouring Romania, statistics released by police on April 13 showed a 2.3 per cent increase in cases of domestic violence in March this year compared with March 2019.

In Moldova, in the first three months of 2020 police registered 267 offences related to domestic violence compared to 231 over the same period of last year.

Police protection orders were applied in 173 cases in the first three months of 2020, up from 157 in the first quarter of 2019, Dorel Nistor, head...