Domestic violence grew 'more lethal' in Sacramento County amid pandemic, officials say

Feb. 10—Sacramento County had eight deaths linked to domestic violence in 2020, up from two in the prior year, according to a report that the District Attorney's Office gave to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Dawn Bladet, the assistant chief deputy district attorney for the sexual assault and family violence bureau, said that her team "quickly recognized that the isolation of (the COVID-19) quarantine put domestic violence victims in a much more vulnerable place — often trapped within the same walls and unable to communicate for help."

Amid the pandemic, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert devoted two of her Justice Journal podcasts to discussing how her office, law enforcement, community-based organizations and other district attorneys statewide are attempting to reach men, women and nonbinary individuals who are being abused in their homes.

In one podcast with Schubert, San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan said: "Our communities are all ready to act when they hear about a stranger pulling a child up a street. You see people on alert, ready to help that victim, but when crimes are committed by someone who's known to the victim, whether it's domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, which is often by known perpetrators, that is when the community relaxes. They're not as vigilant. ... This is a time when we (district attorneys) are all trying to make our community realize what is happening behind closed doors, (in) closed facilities, it is on us to make sure it is brought out into the light."

Schubert also adopted an initiative that Los Angeles-area grocers pioneered along with L.A. County DA Jackie Lacey that put fliers in supermarkets all across the region, admonishing the public to "Hear. See. Suspect. Report." The notices contain websites, phone numbers and names of agencies where people can go to report suspected cases of interpersonal violence.

Locally, the fliers steer the public to WEAVE, My Sister's House, the Black Child Legacy Campaign, the DA's Office and the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center, among others. Representatives from both WEAVE and the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center also made reports to the supervisors on Tuesday.

Allison Kephart, WEAVE's director of legal services, said her agency is seeing increased demand for housing, legal services and counseling.

"We are seeing ... barriers that victims previously didn't have to deal with (that) they now have to navigate," Kephart said. "They need to navigate accessing services when they share a residence with their abuser, and pre-pandemic there were a lot of different reasons to leave the house to go get services."

Many are experiencing additional financial stressors related to income losses amid the pandemic, she said, and a number of them are more isolated from support networks they might have found among co-workers or relatives.

She and Bladet said victims report there is an increase in the frequency of abuse and the seriousness of injuries. Although WEAVE and other agencies have reported an increase in people seeking services, Bladet said, the Sacramento County DA's Office reported that fewer cases were filed in 2020 as compared with the prior year: 5976 versus 6032.

"(The) lack of increase in criminal cases means the crimes are not getting reported to law enforcement," she said.

Joyce Bilyeu, director of client services at the Family Justice Center, noted that her agency saw a 73.9 percent increase in in new clients in 2020, with 1,857 new faces seeking services. The agency had even more returning clients with 2,558 people coming back for help in 2020, compared with 1,006 in 2019.

"These families have children," Bilyeu said. "We had 5,713 kids under the age of 18, and 2,534 of those were under the age of 5."

The Family Justice Center provides services that include therapy for abuse victims of all ages, safety planning, crisis intervention, danger assessments and a number of legal services.

Several trends became evident as the agency compared data from 2020 and 2019:

— The number of veterans seeking services rose by nearly eight times those served in 2019.

— More than double the number of African Americans sought help in 2020 than in 2019.

— Nearly five times as many parents came in to seek legal assistance after a partner kidnapped a child.

— Stalking and harassment cases more than doubled, and child abuse and neglect rose by nearly three times.

— As a result of domestic violence, the number of people leaving their home with no place to go rose 421 percent.

"The level of abuse ... is more lethal, which makes for a higher risk of homicide," Bilyeu reported, "and individuals getting out on bail are committing more abuse, and that abuse is becoming more severe while they are out on bail."

The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential assistance to anyone affected by domestic violence through a live chat and a free 24-hour hotline: 800-799-7233.

___

(c)2021 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)

Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.