Post-lockdown, there is a spiral in divorce pleas across cities affected by the virus
Man is a social animal and cannot live in isolation for too long. But the reverse is also true and co-existence 24X7 has not been an easy challenge. The extended periods of lockdowns around the world due to the Coronavirus have led to a rise in cases of divorce and domestic violence, with women and children being at the receiving end. China is leading the way in the spurt of divorce cases as couples emerge from the extended lockdowns enforced by the Government. In fact, Xian city, in central China and Dazhou, in Sichuan province, reported record-high numbers of divorce filings in early March, leading to long backlogs at Government offices. According to a report on a Government website in Hunan province’s Miluo, staff members didn’t even have time to drink water because too many couples lined up to file for divorce! Law firms in the UK are reporting that their offices are receiving more enquiries about divorce and child custody rules now amid the lockdown and firms in New York have seen a 50 per cent rise in filings for divorce. According to lawyers, it is not just the lower or middle class couples who have been contacting them. They expect to see a surge in high-profile cases as the net worth of HNWIs erodes and they take this chance to get out of a marriage with lower settlements than they would have had to pay earlier. In fact, such is the surge of marital discord in Japan that a company there has begun offering empty apartments to people to spend some “me time” since April 3. They have had 20 customers since then and the price tag of $57 a day also includes a free 30-minute divorce consultation with a legal official. People have not just been using the service for getting some alone time, there have been cases of women using it to escape domestic abuse. Violence at home amid the lockdown has risen around the world, including India. In Jingzhou, a city in Hubei Province, the heart of the initial Coronavirus outbreak, domestic violence cases reported to police swelled to more than triple during the lockdown in February-March, from 47 last year to 162 this year. In Brazil, the escalation in cases has been around 40-50 per cent while in France cases are up by 36 per cent and in Cyprus 30 per cent. In Italy, which has been bearing the maximum brunt of the Coronavirus after China, there was a 20 per cent surge in texts and emails to activists for help. More than 25 organisations helping domestic violence victims have reported an increase in their caseload since the start of the UK’s Coronavirus epidemic.
India, too, has seen a surge in cases of domestic violence and as per the National Commission for Women (NCW) report, a total of 885 complaints have been received by it between March 25 and April 6. The maximum complaints were reported from Uttar Pradesh (98), followed by Delhi (43) and 22 each from both Bihar and Maharashtra. However, the actual numbers may be much more as women in rural areas don’t have access to the internet and most complaints come by letters posted by them. The world is facing a larger sociological and familial problem that could implode as lockdowns get extended in the battle to defeat the pandemic. The Coronavirus is not just taking a toll of our health, economy and lives, it is killing our hallowed institutions, too. Or is it prompting us to re-evaluate our commitment to sharing our lives with others and test what can push us over the edge or hold tight?