Resources Available For Domestic Violence Survivors As Case Numbers Rise

According to police statistics, domestic violence incidents have gone up since the pandemic started.

The YWCA of Oklahoma City is working to serve their clients while adapting to social distancing.

“Domestic violence is all about control. It’s all about them wanting to exert their power to control their intimate partners. So, in a situation like this that we see with COVID, where we’ve lost so much of that control, where so much of things are being determined by something else, then that can be really challenging in situations with perpetrators,” Angela Beatty, senior director of domestic violence victim’s services at the YWCA said.

The OKC YMCA emergency shelter is still open with some changes in place such as mealtimes, to allow for distancing.

However, much of what the YWCA does extends beyond the shelters.

For instance, a computer lab at the headquarters building allows clients to communicate or look for jobs without a perpetrator checking online history.

The lab is currently closed, but Beatty and her coworkers found a way around this, using donated computers and tablets remotely.

“We have received some great, gracious donations of those items,” Beatty said.

Other services such as counseling, are now being done remotely.

“We’re still able to meet with them, provide advocacy, safety planning services, assistance with protective orders and things like that over the phone,” Beatty said.

Beatty recommends calling the hotline at 1-800-522 SAFE, to get started with finding help.

The YWCA is also asking for donations and volunteers, who can be trained via video conference.