Since lockdown was imposed, many of us have had to get used to working from home.
Domestic abusers, as the adverts remind us, always work from home.
Children and women who are victims of domestic abuse are under particular strain during lockdown and some get no respite from an abusive partner.
Their lives are made intolerable at the hands of bullies and they often feel they have nowhere to turn.
The inevitability of further lockdowns throughout the winter will strike terror into the hearts of these vulnerable women.
Scottish Women’s Aid has seen a huge increase in referrals over the last few months, straining its own resources to the limit as demand for emergency accommodation, child contact and access to justice increases.
There was welcome support from the Scottish Government at the beginning of lockdown but there has not been a uniform approach to supporting local refuges on the ground.
Delays and constraints mean that finding permanent housing or organising child visits has been difficult.
A new report from Scottish Women’s Aid calls for these issues to be urgently addressed in this second phase of covid recovery.
The Government would do well to consider the detail and move swiftly to take these women out of harm’s way… now and in the future.
