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At San Francisco General Hospital, a La Casa advocate, who would usually be there to provide in person safety planning and support to victims who have been referred for services by doctors and nurses, can no longer meet physically with victims. Instead, those same services are offered by phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve adapted as best we can to let everybody know, while the advocate might not be there at the hospital, they\u2019re here at La Casa and contacting the individual and connecting them with the services,\u201d said Black. \u201cI don\u2019t want anybody in the community to think that there\u2019s no help available because there is help. Our advocates are answering the crisis phone and text lines and we want to reassure the community that although court systems are shuttered, the courts are continuing to process restraining orders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The continued processing of restraining orders on behalf of victims during the shelter in place order is also something that Emberly Cross, coordinating attorney for the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic (CROC)\u00a0 in San Francisco, wanted the community to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that there was a misconception for a while that the courts were closed, or that legal services were not available and we\u2019ve been trying to get the word out there that the San Francisco court is open. They are processing restraining orders, and legal services are open. CROC is still open. We are still helping survivors file for restraining orders, we have staff who are still working, we have volunteers who are still helping us,\u201d said Cross. \u201cThere were definitely fewer requests for restraining orders filed last week, and I\u2019m hoping that as more people understand the courts are still open, they will feel safer, they will feel better about filling those requests now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In regards to the domestic violence hearings\u2014where the courts determine if a temporary order will be turned into a more permanent order\u2014they are still taking place every Wednesday morning in the San Francisco Superior Courthouse, but only in cases where the victims has children with the restrained party. Hearings for cases where there are no children involved are to be continued after the shelter in place is lifted, though the temporary orders are still being processed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing that has been recently enacted in San Francisco county because of COVID-19 is that people are no longer required to show up in person to their restraining order hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe courts are allowing parties to appear at hearing by telephone, so if somebody is sick or is concerned about getting sick, they can ask the court for the ability to appear by phone \u2026 you can simply call the courtroom clerk and ask for permission to appear by phone and they\u2019ll let you do that,\u201d said Cross. \u201cI was at court yesterday and several hearings went forward and the court did give litigants permission and that morning a client requested permission and it was granted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, advocates understand that these are precarious times for victims, who may not only be experiencing increased violence at home, but also increased isolation from their support networks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbusers might use this as a means by which to further isolate, they may say: \u2018If you go out, I\u2019m not gonna let you back in, then you\u2019re going to be on the streets and nobody\u2019s going to help you.\u2019 Or guilting victims and telling them: \u2018If you go out, then you\u2019re going to bring it back in here,\u2019\u201d said Black. \u201cThose are real fears that people have and they\u2019re afraid to take action, but we want people\u2014victims and survivors\u2014to feel like they can call for help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross echoed similar concerns about how the COVID-19 crisis is augmenting an abusive partner\u2019s power over their victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are concerned about survivors who are now under the shelter in place order, who don\u2019t have any respite that they are to get to get away from the partner who has been abusive,\u201d Cross said. \u201cThey aren\u2019t able to take the kids to school, to go to work, visit a friend, to go to church. They are just stuck at home with this person who has been abusive to them and it can now be much harder to escape.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, Black wants victims to know that their safety remains a priority during these times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf it was a choice between your physical safety and breaking the shelter in place, you break the shelter in place and get help,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want anybody to feel that they should stay. If they are concerned that they\u2019re in imminent danger, then they need to call a hotline to get help or call 911 and get help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Cross, the pandemic highlights the resilience of victims of violence in the face of difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a population that is already vulnerable, that is already stressed out, that is already suffering from PTSD,\u201d said Cross. \u201cAnd to have to deal with the pandemic on top of it, to have to worry about every time they cough or every time their child coughs, I just can\u2019t imagine the extra stress and strain that is being experienced by our vulnerable clients at this time. And I am in awe of their strength, in getting through every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As COVID-19, also known as \u201ccoronavirus,\u201d spreads across the state and residents are being asked to shelter in place, victims of domestic violence are not only having to cope with the fear of the pandemic, but also with the increased risk of being quarantined with their abusers.\u00a0 Frontline advocates are concerned about the safety of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":43282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3570,7],"tags":[18556],"coauthors":[18576],"class_list":["post-43280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news","category-news","tag-covid-19-en","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n