By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 2020

One result of shelter-in-place orders during the coronavirus pandemic is to confine some household members with others who abuse them. By most indications, domestic violence has become more frequent and more violent.

Police chiefs nationwide reported increases of 10% to 30% in domestic assaults in the first two weeks after a national emergency was declared in March, according to a USA Today survey. On April 6, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres implored governments worldwide to address the “horrifying global surge in domestic violence.”

While the number of calls for help in California has varied over the weeks since, “the calls are now indicating a much greater severity of violence, much more physical violence ... strangulations,” compared with past years, said Krista Niemczyk, state policy director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, which helps victims find local shelters and assistance.

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