The federal government shutdown began on the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness month, and experts say it’s a good time to discuss how financial stress and job uncertainty can factor into domestic and family violence.
The 12th Annual Purple Light Nights held by the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office brought together law enforcement, domestic violence survivors and advocates.
The sheriff’s office believes a preemptive approach is the way to address the type of family violence that, according to federal statistics, victimizes one in four women and one in seven men.
Sheriff John Carr notes experts have determined “financial stress” is a big contributing factor.
An estimated 70,000 federal workers live in Prince George’s County. They and their families now face the financial impact of the federal shutdown and the Trump Administration’s threats of mass firings.
“I do worry about that, and history has shown that when we had the COVID-19 pandemic that it was an issue or problem also when we had furloughs before we see an uptick referring to calls to service when it deals with domestic violence and also filings,” Carr said.
Reverend Linda Thomas is a domestic violence survivor and an advocate for victims. She says it’s important for people to note what she calls “red flag behavior.”
“It’s isolation, manipulation, financial abuse, children,” she said.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says domestic violence is also the third leading cause of homelessness.
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