Cities across the nation are reporting a spike in domestic violence cases related to stay-at-home orders keeping victims and their abusers in close proximity to one another. And although Baton Rouge has not yet seen a reported spike in the number of cases, an official says it’s too early to tell.
District Attorney Hillar Moore says overall arrests are down in the parish because of efforts by the Baton Rouge police chief and East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff to lower the number of people in the jails during the COVID-19 crisis. Of those being arrested, around 25% to 30% of the cases are for domestic violence or for violating a protective order, Moore says. He was unable to give a percentage of how many arrests before the stay-at-home order were for alleged domestic violence offenses.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Police Department reported a more than 20% increase in domestic violence reports from February to March, The Hill reports. Seattle also reported a more than 20% increase. Concerns about a potential increase in domestic violence reached Congress last month, as it earmarked $47 million in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act to help deal with the problem.
Though Moore says Baton Rouge has not yet experienced an increase in domestic violence calls, he says it’s too early to say there won’t be an increase because of the order. Before the order, victims could more easily be identified in public because of bruises, and children being abused at home used to be able to escape to school.
“That’s 1,000 less eyes on domestic violence victims and children because they’re stuck at home,” Moore says.
