AV-10 Roundtable: Domestic Violence During Covid-19

My Congresswoman, Jennifer Wexton, had a panel discussion on an topic that is very important to me. I remain scared in my situation not just because of the hypochondriac in my situation but also as I am unpaid next week. I have a second-line manager who is actively trying to fire me for being 75 minutes late when I was stuck in Ubers and Tesla was trying to bankrupt me. I am very stressed right now.

To be clear, my issue is just her having paranoia over SARS-CoV-2 combined with abusive “jealousy” that tries to keep me at home and under her finger which under the Shelter In Place. But my situation is not violent, and I will be alright. I am worried about the mainly women who are with male, physical abusers with no way out. So, please, forget what I’ve said about myself and let’s focus on the real problem here, when women are forced to be with their male abusers 24/7.

Jennifer is joined by Buta Biberaj, Saly Fayez, Mayra Jane Martinez, and Jonathan Yglesias. I was very happy to hear them mention the increased risk factors when an abuser is always home, and how folks who have English as a second language. It was great hearing how Law Enforcement is aware of these issues and are working hard to assess each situation individually and being very mindful of the increased dangers.

One thing I feel most acutely is the problem women face in terms worrying they don’t have enough money to leave. It’s most distressing that it’s money that binds a victim to her abuser, just as a diminishing savings account being the reason I’m stuck. Money has always been a problem for victims to leave, but in this case, her abuser may be unemployed or furloughed, and so money for the whole family is tighter than normal, making things all the more dangerous. What’s worse is with ACTS having to shut down shelters, and with social distancing, it’s been hard to find places to help women in need.

Another serious issues is, without physicians or schools to monitor children to detect child abuse, it means that child abuse is going on under the radar, and thus number are down but there’s no reason to assume incidents are also down.

I’m holding a virtual roundtable discussion on domestic violence during #COVID19 with law enforcement and local service providers. Tune in right here on Facebook to join us for this important conversation⬇

Posted by Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton on Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Ladies, please be safe and know that there is hope, and there are people willing to help. Jennifer is right, you don’t have to live like this. Equal means equal, and we should all be equally free of abuse.