Women’s refuge “eerily quiet”

The number of enquiries to Tórshavn’s Kvinnuhúsið women’s refuge dropped by two-thirds, from 66 to 24, in March compared with February.

This is not a very good sign, says refuge manager Ann-Britt Mortensen.

”It’s obviously impossible to know for certain,” she says, “but one reason for this low number may be that couples are forced to be so close together during the lockdown that women struggle to find a moment to themselves when they can call for help.”

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She adds that figures from other countries reveal a big surge in enquiries to women’s refuges as lockdown measures start to be lifted.

Kvinnuhúsið is preparing for a possible influx of abused women once the lockdown is lifted.

“We are in talks with the Ministry of Social Affairs about introducing some measures that could help ease the pressure in case we receive an unusually high number of enquiries once the corona crisis starts to abate.”

Another reason why women are holding back from contacting the women’s refuge, according to Mortensen, may be that they worry that staying at a refuge could pose a COVID-19 infection risk, but she is keen to point out that the Kvinnuhúsið has suitable infection risk prevention facilities.

Kvinnuhúsið can be contacted by phone (24 hours) at 317200 and on email at post@kvinnuhusid.fo. An online chat function is currently being set up on kvinnuhusid.fo.

Translated by prosa.fo