Sufficient crisis shelter space to house family violence victims during Covid-19 circuit breaker period: MSF

There is sufficient space in crisis shelters to house victims of violence, and there are contingency plans to ramp up capacity if necessary, to cope with the expected rise in domestic violence as circuit breaker measures are in force.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said it is constantly monitoring the "utilisation of the capacity in each crisis shelter". "If necessary, MSF will activate contingency measures to provide alternative accommodation for family violence survivors."

This comes as help groups here have sounded the alarm on the impending rise in cases of family violence, with potential abusers and victims spending extended periods of time with each other. The circuit breaker is in place till May 4.

Family violence specialist centres Trans Safe Centre and Care Corner's Project Start said they have seen an escalation and recurrence of violence among existing clients in the past few weeks, since stricter social distancing measures took effect.

Trans Safe has also seen a 30 per cent spike in the number of inquiries on personal protection orders between February and March. However, the centre said this may not be correlated to the containment measures, and callers had largely sought help for dealing with existing tensions and conflicts in their familial relationships.

Social workers said they are especially concerned for existing clients, as some depend on minimising contact to mitigate the violence.

Trans Safe's centre director Cherylene Aw said some victims were in a state of hyper-vigilance and emotional distress, as they have to be constantly mindful of behaviour that might trigger a violent reaction.

"We also observed that in cases with underlying mental health concerns, both victims and perpetrators are more easily triggered amid the general atmosphere of uncertainty, and are also more deeply impacted," said Ms Aw.

Ms Lorraine Lim, manager of crisis centre Star Shelter, said financial stressors could worsen tensions, such as if a family member's job is affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Star Shelter, which is one of four MSF-funded crisis shelters, has yet to see an increase in referrals.

Tensions may be compounded as people have a heavier care-giving duty, now that children, seniors and vulnerable adults are based at home instead of at daycare facilities or in schools, said Ms Lim.

Ms Kristine Lam, lead social worker at Care Corner's Project Start, said her team has actively reached out to existing clients to talk about their safety plans.

The centre is relying mainly on phone calls, messages and video calls to keep in touch with clients, but not everyone is comfortable with that form of communication, she said.

Moreover, with home-based learning and most senior activity centres closing, teachers and eldercare service providers cannot help social workers check in on children and the elderly.

"In times when someone, especially a vulnerable person, is placed in danger, we'll call in child protection, adult protection or the police to check in on the families," said Ms Lam.

A spokesman for Big Love Child Protection Specialist Centre said it has worked to ensure children at risk of abuse can continue attending their schools, childcare or student care services, which are protective factors for them.

However, social workers still fear that the virus might prevent people from coming forward to seek help.

Said Ms Lam: "It is already difficult for a victim to choose to move out for a while from an abusive relationship, even when there is a recurrence of violence.

"Now that there are concerns about the possibility of contracting Covid-19, there is one more factor to not take that step."