Coronavirus: Women share horrific photos of injuries to raise awareness on domestic violence

Some women in the UK  have shared pictures of their horrendous injuries to raise awareness of domestic violence, as killings in the home doubled during the first three weeks of lockdown.

The four women released battered and bloodied pictures of their faces on social media as researchers from Counting Dead Women Project told MPs that 14 women and two children had been killed in the first three weeks of the lockdown.

Meanwhile, calls to domestic abuse hotlines have risen by 49 per cent during the same period, as desperate victims seek help.

Sporting a bloodied nose and large bump on her forehead, Claire*, from North America, posted a picture of her battered face.

Telling how she was hospitalized, she urged people to walk away from abusive situations.

“This is domestic violence,” she said.

“Seek help. I’m home from hospital. Don’t be the next victim.”

She – and all the women pictured here – gave Fabulous permission to publish her image, adding: “Speak out.”

While the women’s abuse did not necessarily happen during the coronavirus outbreak, they have posted the images recently to highlight the issue, as cases across the UK rise.

The government has launched a new public awareness campaign. #YouAreNotAlone, aiming to reassure those affected by domestic abuse that support services remain available during this difficult time.

Members of the public are asked to show their solidarity and support for those who may be suffering, by sharing  a photo of a heart on their palm.

Claire told Fabulous how the person accused of assaulting her had been arrested and released on bail.

Jennifer, from mid-west USA, also published a photo of her face where she sported a black eye and stitches across her eyebrow. “Still going through the healing process myself,” she wrote.

“Six months later my left eye is still darker than the other eye.

“Some days it’s still hard for me to look into the mirror without crying. Stay strong. Sending love.”

She said her abuser was charged with domestic battery but eventually convicted of a lesser charge.

Another woman who published a photograph was Kim* who said she knew how hard it was to leave violent relationships.

She simply wrote: “It takes a lot of strength to leave an abusive relationship….this is my picture.”

In it Kim, also from the US, sported two black eyes. She told how her former partner was in prison.

Meanwhile Francesca*, also from the US, posted a series of shocking pictures of her. In them she has blackened eyes and a scratched head.

She said: “There has been a 40% increase in domestic violence cases since this quarantine. Please don’t be afraid to reach out.”

The four join a growing group of women who have raised concerns about the impact lockdown is having on domestic abuse victims.

Earlier this month Becky Bellenie, 35, from Chelmsford, Essex, told Fabulous she feared for abused men and women in lockdown.

Becky, who was raped by her ex Neil Parrish over the course of eight years, said Parrish would have viewed the isolation lockdown afforded “as a dream come true”.

Meanwhile Rachel Williams, who was shot by her ex husband, has spoken extensively of the dangers of lockdown for domestic violence sufferers.

And grim statistics show a concerning pattern. Just days after lockdown was introduced on March 23, a mum and daughter were knifed to death before the body of a dad was found in a house fire in Hemel Hempstead.

The trio were discovered inside the burning home after a frantic neighbor spotted smoke.