HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Crisis Services of North Alabama say there's been an increase in severe domestic violence cases.
The pandemic and the current economic crisis could be playing a role in this.
Adde Waggoner, the Development Director for Crisis Services of North Alabama, says, "unfortunately, we've seen a sustained increase in strangulation in cases throughout 2022"
These severe cases pose alarming concerns, "if they are resorting to strangulation, that moves it into a felony category as well and it indicates the intent to harm and the likelihood of death later on," Waggoner said.
And although there could be many factors as to what's driving these critical cases, "we just lived through one of the biggest collective traumas," being the pandemic and, "the financial insecurities that have come along with that have had a great impact on family life across the board and those stressors associated with job loss or financial insecurity definitely are driving factors," Waggoner said.
CSNA wants those suffering from domestic violence to know they're available to help 24/7 through their crisis hotline.
You can call their hotline at 256-716-1000
"There's resources 24 hours a day it doesn't matter if it's early Sunday morning or late Friday night. There's always somebody at the helpline ready to listen and work to get someone out safely," Waggoner said.
After a person calls for help they, "get screened for entry into the domestic violence shelter, The Hope Place or screened for getting court advocacy or the forensic examination should they need that as well," Waggoner said.
Waggoner also advises those leaving an abusive relationship to have a safety plan in place.
"Leaving an abuser is the most dangerous time, and on average, folks leave seven times before they leave for good. And when they do leave for good, that's when we see the most domestic violence homicides," Waggoner said.
For more information on safety planning you can go to their website at csna.org