We are building a future where safety is a not just an expectation but a guaranteed right for all women, children, and families in their homes and most intimate relationships. Talking about healthy and unhealthy relationships is the first step to stopping abuse. In lockstep is clearly establishing that the person causing harm is solely responsible for their words, actions, and behaviors.
As our community moves into a pandemic recovery stage, La Casa continues our daily work with survivors helping them heal and build back the pillars of strength and stability. “What do you need?” “How can we help?” On buses and in-person, we continue educating the community about the dynamics of domestic violence and the options that people who may be experiencing abuse have.
3 out of 10 people experienced increased strain in their romantic relationships during the coronavirus pandemic (Blue Shield of California 2021). Conditions were hard for everyone, but not equally. According to the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice, rates of domestic violence soared in many communities. Here at La Casa, calls for help are higher than ever. On our 24-hour statewide, toll-free telephone lines, calls are trending 37% above pre-pandemic levels. On our Text Support Line, conversations have surged 200%.
Domestic violence was an epidemic before the coronavirus, a widespread public health problem with many preventable and terrible effects. In the San Francisco Bay Area, prevalence studies tell us that over 200,000 women-identified individuals will experience intimate partner violence just this year (California Department of Health Care Services 2006). Beyond physical abuse, domestic violence—an escalating pattern of abuse in which one partner controls the other through force, intimidation, or the threat of violence—includes threats to harm others, isolation, extreme jealousy, using children and systems to exert power, and economic abuse.
Learn more in our Spring 2022 Newsletter
Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness among families as well as constrained economic capacity: over 60% of employed survivors’ abilities to keep their jobs or progress professionally is impacted by abuse.
It also remains a leading cause of death, cited by police departments in 30% of female homicides. A 2021 study of maternal deaths in the U.S. further found that women were more than twice as likely to die from homicide during pregnancy or the year following childbirth than from hypertensive disorders, hemorrhage, and infection.
To prevent deadly escalations and to insure survivors of abuse are never alone, La Casa is here 24 hours a day, every day. Over the past two years, amid the changing COVID-19 environment, we provided uninterrupted support. We empowered 26,234 Bay Area community members to see and stop abuse.
Through widespread outreach, education campaigns, and conversations across workplaces, social clubs, and high schools, La Casa is shining a light on domestic violence.
What can you do?
If you see something, say something. If you are worried about someone, ask. If you don’t know what to do after you ask, it’s easier than you think: listen, offer support, ask how you can help.
Shine a light on domestic violence by inviting La Casa to share information at your community gatherings and by talking about domestic violence and healthy relationships around the dinner table. You can help us spread the word through your own networks, raise the volume on La Casa’s voice by liking and sharing our messages on social media, or spearhead a team or table for our upcoming events.