On the Bay of Plenty's worst recorded day, there were 52 family harm calls to police. Photo / File
On the Bay of Plenty's worst recorded day, there were 52 family harm calls to police. Photo / File
Family violence in Rotorua is surging during the alert level 4 lockdown, with brutality getting worse and new faces calling for help for the first time.
Social services also fear for previous victims who have not made contact during the lockdown.
Police data shows a spike in family harmincidents reported to police since the lockdown began at midnight on March 25.
Data provided by police of callouts between March 8 and April 8 show that on the first day of lockdown, there were 35 calls to police in the Bay of Plenty which was 12 more than Thursday's pre-lockdown.
The highest number of callouts was on Sunday with 52 calls, 13 per cent, or six more than the highest number of callouts in the weeks leading up to the lockdown.
FamilyHarm
Waiariki Women's Refuge manager Paula Coker said the number of calls to the refuge crisis line had increased and the brutality of the violence had worsened coming into the fourth week of lockdown.
The lockdown had been steady up until this weekend and while violence continued, it was about the same as pre-lockdown, not the spike they anticipated.
Some women the refuge worked with could only contact the service when they were at work.
"Often they [the abusers] don't know their partner has reached out or that they're involved with the refuge," she said.
It was these clients they were particularly worried about. Calling them at home ran the risk of setting off the abuser, and the refuge relied on family members monitoring the situation.
The refuge organised accommodation with five motels before the lockdown in case the safe house, which could fit three families, filled up.
But they had not needed to use the extra rooms yet.
They were, however, bracing for an influx once the lockdown restrictions lifted.
Waiariki Women's Refuge manager Paula Coker said the brutality of the violence has increased in the lockdown. Photo / File
Te Waiariki Purea Trust family harm social workers were seeing new families calling for help with family violence for the first time.
"For those families who are presenting for the first time, victims are saying things like, 'he is not normally like this', or, 'I've never seen this kind of behaviour'," co-ordinator Kiti Ransfield-King said on behalf of staff.
The lockdown was described as a pressure cooker, with issues coming from every direction turning homes into prisons for victims and children.
Women felt more "trapped and isolated" from their usual support systems, Ransfield-King said.
A mother of two toddlers had told staff the lockdown made her feel unable to escape when the violence escalated.
The financial pressures were hitting families from all walks of life, one being a business owner "stressed about having to sort wages".
Alcohol use had increased, used to fight boredom and cope mentally.
Data for the number of family harm calls to police from March 8 to April 8. Graphic / Supplied
Children were also not coping with parents constantly at home, Ransfield-King said, and those used to little or no restrictions were acting out. Siblings were fighting more, adding to tensions within households.
Rotorua police acting area commander Inspector Phil Taikato said when dealing with family harm incidents, police were seeing either new faces or people they hadn't seen for about two or three years.
He said that was a clear indication the current conditions were stressful on some families.
"Some had been in previous domestic violence relationships but we hadn't seen them for a few years. They had worked through their issues with our community partners, including Whānau Ora, Korowai Aroha and Te Waiariki Purea Trust, but were now coming back to our attention."
Taikato said this showed the work the community organisations had done over the years had worked up until now.
A police spokeswoman said family harm calls were taken very seriously, and they recognised it may be more difficult for victims to contact them.
DO YOU NEED HELP?
If you're in danger now:
• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you. • Run outside and head for where there are other people. • Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you. • Take the children with you. • Don't stop to get anything else. • If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay
Where to go for help or more information:
• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz • Shine, free national helpline 9am- 11pm every day - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz • It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz • Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584 • Ministry of Justice: www.justice.govt.nz/family-justice/domestic-violence • National Network of Stopping Violence: www.nnsvs.org.nz • White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women, focusing this year on sexual violence and the issue of consent. www.whiteribbon.org.nz
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