Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

During the current COVID 19 pandemic, Lethbridge YWCA and Harbour House Women’s Emergency Shelter are anticipating the instances of severe domestic violence to increase and staff are incredibly fearful for the safety of women in the community who are in abusive relationships. In a crisis situation people’s fears and anxieties often increase. With a threat to jobs and income, there’s a fear about how their family will survive, and being isolated from their community and normal social interactions, makes it even worse. This leads to situations people aren’t familiar with and those who have been in a violent relationship before, may see the abuse escalate even further. Typically, from what’s know about past crises, people who have never experienced domestic violence before, may be subjected to such during COVID 19. The speaker will elaborate on the local situation and also discuss who are providing the essential funding to this, literally lifesaving, safety net service in Lethbridge Speaker: Shannon Hansen,