Neighbors keep vigilant watch over domestic violence

Domestic violence against women has been on the rise amid the coronavirus outbreak, but women hesitate to report abuses they suffer to authorities because they live in a confined space with their partners and fear that their partners may notice they're being reported.
But, according to experts, neighbors are often ready to step in to call police or relevant authorities to report domestic violence cases.
Tensions between family members and couples have been running high as people are forced to spend more time together in their homes since the start of the outbreak and more and more women are subjected to domestic violence, say experts.
"Physical violence against women has risen 80 percent while the phycological abuse cases rose 93 percent," Canan Güllü, the head of the Federation of Turkish Women Associations (TKF), told Milliyet newspaper.
Şükran Eroğlu from the Istanbul Bar's Women's Rights Center, agrees but noted that despite the rise in domestic violence cases, the number of calls legal helplines received has declined.
According to Eroğlu, when the partner is in the same house, women cannot contact authorities to report abuses.
Both Güllü and Eroğlu concede that calls from neighbors to report domestic violence have been on the rise.
"More women are also seeking refuge in shelters amid the coronavirus outbreak. However, we have seen a 96 percent drop in legal complaints over domestic abuses. Not only women but also children are calling us to report violence. When universities and dormitories were closed, students had to go back to their homes only to be faced with domestic violence," Güllü said.
She added that her organization has not received sexual abuse reports and said that "It does not mean sexual abuse is not...