Domestic Violence Network (DVN) has released the 2020 edition of the State of Domestic Violence in Central Indiana report. The report examines key data and trends on the state of domestic violence during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations across the board noted that since the pandemic, domestic violence has become more severe.
The new report includes 2020 data collected for central Indiana from various direct service providers in the area, as well as the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV).
Key findings in the report include the following:
- There were approximately 13,500 service calls made in 2020 to five agencies in the region that provide services to domestic violence victims. Shelter capacity greatly diminished across organizations due to the safety measures put into place for COVID-19. As a result, 1,152 individuals were denied service due to capacity issues across three organizations. According to a survey conducted by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, there was a 43 percent increase in shelters that reported being under capacity.
- Calls to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) for domestic violence nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020.
- There were 3,709 arrests made for domestic violence, approximately 300 fewer than in 2019. COVID-19 and the safety precautions put into place for the jail system play into these numbers significantly.
- Of the 41 fatalities in 2020, 83 percent (33 deaths) were caused by a firearm. Forty-one percent of these fatalities were victims of domestic violence, and 59 percent were the perpetrators, family members, and bystanders.
In 2020, there were 41 fatalities in central Indiana. This number is in line with 2018 and 2019, but there is cause for concern in the drastic increase in the use of firearms for domestic violence-related fatalities. In 2018 and 2019, firearms were used in 65 percent of the fatalities, but in 2020 that number jumped to 83 percent. Service providers also observed more weaponry being used, a higher level of violence, and more strangulation than in the past.
“The pandemic has put more stress on the system, causing local organizations to adapt to keep victims and survivors safe when seeking shelter was not an option due to COVID-19 safety measures,” DVN Executive Director Kelly McBride said. “DVN partnered with Children’s Bureau, Inc. and Families First to help in this effort by using seed money and grants to provide 248 individuals with housing, hotel rooms, utility payments, and car repairs. Despite the circumstances in 2020, nearly 7,000 individuals were still able to access safe shelter from central Indiana direct service providers.”
Click here to read the 2020 State of Domestic Violence report.
About the Domestic Violence Network
The Domestic Violence Network is a nonprofit organization that has existed for 25 years to bring all members of the Central Indiana community together to change the culture that leads to domestic violence through advocacy, education and collaboration. Find out more at DVNconnect.org.