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(Sipa via AP Images)
TROUBLING TREND
As the coronavirus forces people to stay inside and self-quarantine, cases of domestic violence across the world rise.
- Calls to Spain’s emergency hotline for reporting abuse rose 18 percent.
- In parts of Britain, reports went up by 20 percent in the week after the country imposed its lockdown.
- In Paris, France, domestic violence reports increased by 36 percent in one week.
- An official in Rio de Janeiro estimated calls went up by 40 or 50 percent since people have been in isolation.
- Reports in Malaysia have doubled, and Lebanon saw twice as many calls in March 2020 as they did during the same time last year, according to the United Nations.
Calls to police across the U.S. have also increased.
- Eighteen police departments contacted by NBC News reported they had seen a rise in domestic violence calls.
The rise in France prompted the country’s Interior Minister to create a “code word” system for people to safely and stealthily alert authorities if they are in trouble.
- People who are accompanied by their partners can use the code word “mask 19” at their local pharmacies.
- The strategy follows one implemented by Spain last month.
The UN called for a global response to the domestic violence problem, citing the extreme nature of the situation.
- “All of this is happening against a backdrop of health and social services that are overwhelmed, under-resourced, and have shifted to manage the implications of the virus,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.
- Because shelters are full — and taking extra precautions to stem the spread of the virus — authorities in France and Spain have converted some hotels into temporary sanctuaries for those in need.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
— Andrea Valdez
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Wisconsin's primary pits voting against safety
By Errin Haines
This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.
On the eve of Wisconsin’s expected primary, activist Angela Lang had one eye on the state’s elections officials and the other on the black voters who have become among the most vulnerable residents amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Lang, who runs the Milwaukee-based Black Leaders Organizing Communities, cheered Gov. Tony Evers’ decision Monday afternoon to postpone the primary to June 9, but by that evening, the state’s Supreme Court overturned his decision. The U.S. Supreme Court then overturned a lower court ruling that had expanded absentee voting through April 13.
Wisconsin’s primary is now scheduled to proceed as planned on Tuesday.
“We’re doing the best we can to get the word out [about the latest development], but it’s incredibly difficult when things are changing by the hour,” Lang said. “It’s irresponsible and unethical to drive people to go vote in person.”
As many states — including some of the most severely impacted in the country — have moved to postpone their primary elections due to coronavirus concerns, black women activists are balancing concerns over voter turnout with the health and safety of voters headed to the polls in the midst of a pandemic that is severely impacting black women, the Democratic Party’s most loyal base.
“It’s irresponsible and unethical to drive people to go vote in person.”
Voter turnout for black women has consistently been at least 60 percent since 2000. In both the 2008 and 2012 election, black women voted at the highest rate of any group regardless of race or gender. In 2016, despite being the second-highest voting group behind white women, 94 percent of black women voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, compared to 52 percent of white women.
But black women are also more likely to be caregivers for children or older relatives, in jobs that put them in closer contact with potential carriers of the coronavirus. Almost 30 percent of black women work in service occupations, including personal care aides, housekeepers and food service staff — roles with low wages and often lacking benefits such as paid sick days.
Black women understand the relationship between the pandemic and politics, said Adrianne Shropshire of BlackPAC.
“The three crucial issues for black folks in this election … are health care, the economy and racism,” said Adrianne Shropshire of BlackPAC, whose group has about 70,000 online members and is focused on congressional races in the general election. “And those are the three things that we’re seeing play out during this pandemic.”
Many state and local governments are not releasing coronavirus data by race or gender, but the limited statistics that do exist reveal that African Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the disease.
Wisconsin’s primary collided on the calendar with the start of the month, as many voters were focused on paying rent and bills, staying safe and providing food for children unexpectedly at home, Lang pointed out. Instead of texting voters about the expected election, she and her team spent the weekend reaching out and checking in with people in the community.
“If people’s basic needs are not being met, you do not have a healthy electorate,” she said.
New York, with the highest number of reported cases in the country, has postponed its election until June 23. Louisiana, with the fifth-highest number of cases, postponed its election until June 20. Pennsylvania, with the eighth-highest number of cases, has delayed until June 2. And Georgia, where a rural outbreak in the state’s southwest region is among the fastest-spreading anywhere, has pushed back its primary until May 19.
“What we saw on Super Tuesday, those folks in Texas standing in line for seven hours … people are not doing that,” Shropshire said.
More than 1 million voters had requested absentee ballots ahead of Tuesday’s primary in Wisconsin, a record figure. State elections chief Meagan Wolfe said local elections officials have been trained on social distancing procedures and other public health guidelines, and have been provided sanitation supplies. Voters were also asked to wash their hands before coming to the polls, and Wolfe said hand sanitizer “will be available at most polling places.”
“What we saw on Super Tuesday, those folks in Texas standing in line for seven hours … people are not doing that.”
She also mentioned a shortage of poll workers. The Pew Research Center reports that nearly 60 percent of poll workers in the 2018 and 2016 elections were over 60 — the vulnerable age for exposure to coronavirus.
There are only five polling locations for the entire city of Milwaukee, which has nearly 600,000 residents. The city typically has 180 polling sites, but its staff of 1,400 election workers plummeted to 350 this year.
Last week, former Vice President Joe Biden supported in-person voting with social distancing, saying in a virtual press briefing: “I think you could hold the election, as well dealing with mail-in ballots and same-day registration. I think it could be done.” He said courts should decide how to proceed. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a statement on Monday that his campaign “will not be engaged in any traditional [get-out-the-vote] efforts” because of public health concerns.
Organizers who would normally be focused on in-person voter registration and turnout efforts are phone banking and using online outreach to encourage people to vote by mail, or working with local officials to push for alternatives to in-person voting like drive-by ballot drop-offs.
“We’re a very feet-to-the-pavement type of organization, but we’re not able to knock on doors right now,” said DeJuana Thompson, founder of WokeVote, a get-out-the-vote organization. She added that her group is mailing educational flyers and using black radio to get the word out about voter participation.
Thompson said WokeVote has also been working to contact residents with information about resources to help them weather the pandemic.
“We’re going to take care of each other now, and we’re going to vote together in November,” she said.
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RED SLATE
So far this election cycle, 158 Republican women have filed to run for U.S. House seats, beating the previous record of 133 Republican women who filed in 2010, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.
More Democratic women have filed so far in 2020 — 251 — but that lags behind 2018's record of 356.
With several filing deadlines still looming, these numbers could continue to rise.
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 What we're reading
Does Covid-19 Hit Women and Men Differently? U.S. Isn’t Keeping Track. Without this information, scientists won’t know how the coronavirus is affecting women — or how to create a proper vaccine for them. (The New York Times, April 3)
No Test, Minimal Contact: How One Abortion Clinic Is Adapting to Coronavirus Concerns. How a program director at a family planning clinic in Maine used telehealth to create “a no-test, pick-up medication abortion service for patients with pregnancies of 10 weeks or less.” (Time, April 6)
When it comes to coronavirus, she’s L.A.’s version of Dr. Fauci. L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer has become a frequent — and reassuring — presence at Mayor Eric Garcetti’s daily briefings. (The Los Angeles Times, April 4)
Biden says he's starting VP search this month. The former Vice President has previously pledged he would select a woman as his running mate. (Axios, April 4)
Love and hate in our America: Journalist Maria Hinojosa talks about both in upcoming memoir. Longtime journalist and host of Latino USA Maria Hinojosa’s new memoir, will be released this September. (NBC News, April 6)
🎧 Listen: Dr. Esther Choo, an ER physician in Portland, Oregon, describes what it’s like to be on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic in a new podcast called Doctor’s Log. (The Meteor and Pineapple Street Studios)
📺 Watch: Queen Elizabeth II broadcast a message about coronavirus to the UK and the Commonwealth. This marks only the fifth time the Queen has given a public address of this nature in her 68 years on the throne. The message aired the night before Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, was moved to the ICU. Prince Charles, the Queen’s son and heir to the throne, tested positive for coronavirus at the end of last month. (The Royal Family/BBC)
📣 Last week, we asked you to share your #19thsewingstories with us. Thanks to everyone who showed off their mask-making skills!
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