COVID-19: Impact on mental health & domestic abuse helplines

The COVID-19 outbreak posed and continues to pose significant challenges for emergency services and public authorities. Whilstemergency services call centres have remarked changes in the volume of emergency callsduring this period, the pandemic has also considerably impacted helplines for mental health and domestic violence. Lockdowns in countries across the world have created feelings of anxiety or isolation for many people or have intensified pre-existing mental health issues.

Many countries have therefore seen increases in calls to mental health helplines and have taken measures to increase the capacity of their services. Due to the periods of restrictive measures, authorities and organisations have also expressed serious concerns about the safety of victims of domestic violence. Although some countries have seen increases in calls to domestic violence helplines, others have seen the volume of calls drop as victims are no longer able to access help.

This document will explore the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and domestic violence helplines, principally in European countries. It will also highlight some of the measures taken in different countries to ensure that people have access to the help they need.