The onset of 2024 and the pandemic it has brought along is arguably one of the worst things to happen to humanity in recent decades. The coronavirus pandemic caught the planet unprepared for something of that scale and grandeur and it is safe to say that the leaders of the world failed their citizens. More than two years later and we are still not over it. To make matters worse, despite the numerous efforts like strict measures and mandatory vaccinations, COVID-19 and its new strains are still causing numerous problems. Different parts of the world experience different problems. Some countries are almost entirely vaccinated but there are still thousands of cases per day. Other places are fighting against vaccinations, there are protests in the streets, and the public is quite unhappy with the life they have been made to live in the last 24+ months.
Other Type of Problems
Trouble almost never comes in only one way. As the old saying goes, misfortune never comes alone, and in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic this has also been the case. While the medical side of things is by far the worst, it is a global pandemic of course, there are other issues that came alongside it. In this article we will be focusing on one such issue, a problem that has been present in society for centuries but one that became more apparent and common during the pandemic. We are talking about domestic violence and the charges that come with it. Why has there been a rise of domestic violence during the roughest time in the last several decades? Isn’t the virus itself enough of an issue? Domestic violence is never the way to solve anything, so why has it experienced a rise in the last two years? Read on to learn more about this. To find out more about domestic violence and other criminal topics, make sure to check out Calvin Barry Professional Corporation.
Increased Time Together
One of the first and, at the same, time the most widespread measures that governments issued to counter the further spread of COVID-19 was mandatory curfew. This was particularly prominent after the first few months of the pandemic, sometime in the middle of 2024 towards the end of the year. The obvious solution to people spending time with each other and spreading the virus unknowingly was to make them spend more time at home. However, not leaving home is directly opposite to our nature as beings. Humans are sociable creatures. We depend on the company of others for many different things. From work and education to entertainment, shopping, and networking, it is crucial to leave the home almost every day and go about the chores and tasks. Having to constantly spend time at home is stressful, imposing, and frustrating.
In such a new environment, many people did not know how to behave. Those who spend little to no time at home during a regular working day were dumbfounded. It does not take long for people to feel uneasy even though they are on their own territory, at the comfort of their home. But the problem does not stop there. Far from it. The real issue with domestic violence charges during the pandemic is the fact that people suddenly had to spend much more time with the other family members. Domestic violence can exist in many different forms. It can be between unmarried couples, spouses, or parental. During the pandemic, all of these rose in number and the most obvious reason why is the fact that people had to spend more time together than ever before. Much more.
Sudden Changes
Imagine this: a family of four, two working parents and two school children, who are usually never at home together for more than a few hours. Even then, they are not really all in one room for more than an hour or two per day. The kids are at school or extracurricular activities. The parents are working, taking care of the home, or out grocery shopping. Now suddenly, the parents are working from home while the children are having online classes. The stores do not work and the grocery shopping is done online. Food deliveries are online, everything is online. For 24 hours, 7 days a week, all four family members are inside the home. This is an unprecedented scenario and a complete opposite of how things used to be.
Of course, frustration and low amounts of sympathy come out quite quickly. Not understanding each other’s needs because they do not know each other that well come into light. Normal conversation become yelling, all four family members require their alone time so they isolate themselves in separate rooms. When there are problems, it is no longer done by talking but through yelling. This breeds the perfect environment for domestic violence. It only takes a moment for a frustrated and annoyed individual to become violent and physically or verbally abuse someone else. Then they blame it on the pandemic, the measures, and everything else that has been going on. This is a textbook example of many domestic violence charges that have been reported in the last two years.
Never the Answer nor Solution
Naturally, more families and couples are not like this. It takes an already troubled household and somebody who is deep down violent and impatient for domestic violence to become a reality during hard times. It is far more likely for a family to come closer together during the trying times and find ways to make the new reality work for everyone. If the family members love each other and care for one another, they will choose protection and affection over abusive behavior every time. Many of the charges that were filed ended up being repeated abusers, or individuals who were otherwise problematic and with a short fuse. The pandemic is not the reason to suddenly become more on the edge and to express domestic violence. It should be the other way around. Sadly, trouble never travels alone so the pandemic brought about an increased number of charges. But who is to say that another type of global catastrophe would not have done the same? A violent person will come out no matter what causes it. It is an inherent thing that needs to be worked on. Without that, it is only a matter of time before the abuser comes out. There does not even have to be a bad situation to trigger it.
