Concerns in Scarborough borough for victims of domestic abuse
North Yorkshire charity IDAS says many people suffering from abuse will be reaching out now for help.
People worried about North Yorkshire residents in abusive relationships are being urged to get in contact with support charities, following the easing of most Covid rules last week.
Carmel Offord is the communication and engagement lead at IDAS, which has refuges across the county:
"We've been really worried about people whilst they're trapped in abusive relationships with little to no respite or relief during lockdown.
"There's some research to suggest that some people may have been putting off leaving relationships due to issues related to Covid-19, so whilst we're seeing an increase in calls and referrals we're concerned that this may be the time when people start to take action to leave relationships; this could be when they're most at risk.
"It's been hard for everyone during the pandemic, but if you've been trapped with someone who has been verbally or physically abusive then that's really difficult.
"Things that people can do to help include watching out for the warning signs; listen to people without judgement if they want to talk; don't tell people what to do. Please just signpost people to support.
"Don't get frustrated with someone if you can see what's happening and they haven't come to that realisation yet - just be there to support someone.
"We've been preparing and are here to support people, but we would appeal to our community to help as well.
"As more and more people return to face-to-face services it's more opportunity for people to seek help. People will start to unpick what they're going through; they may have waited a long time to get that support.
"We've been responding to an increase in referrals for a long time: last time we received over 10,000 referrals".
Here is a link to the charity's website https://www.idas.org.uk/