Domestic Violence During Quarantine: What You Can Do to Stay Safe in Sarasota, Bradenton, and Venice

domestic violence during quarantine

The coronavirus quarantine has led to a rise in domestic violence cases. Many are finding that getting away from their abusive partners is impossible with lockdown rules that have effectively closed down businesses while limiting operations for others. The Law Offices of Matthew Z. Martell can assist you with domestic violence cases in Sarasota, Bradenton, and Venice, Florida. This law firm with offices in both Lakewood Ranch, FL and Sarasota FL has a domestic violence attorney near you who will fight to keep you safe.

Why are domestic violence cases on the rise during quarantine?

Individuals with abusive partners typically look forward to leaving for work to flee from their bad home life situation. Even those who work from home could easily leave to complete tasks at the office or a local coffee shop before the current COV-19 outbreak.  Now, we are basically expected to stay at home unless we have a good reason for leaving to limit your potential exposure to COV-19.  As the coronavirus worsens in Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice, Florida, we also make be expected to stay at home even more because a second lockdown may eventually be ordered again to attempt to limit the spread of this disease.

The coronavirus quarantine has made it very hard for individuals to escape the grasp of their verbally, emotionally, and/or physically abusive partners.  Until recently, coffee shops and restaurants were limited to takeout only and office spaces were, for the most part, closed. The only workers who were consistently leaving for a day on the job were “essential” employees. Many workers in the United States have also lost their jobs because of the pandemic and are now at home because of this job loss. All of these frustrations serve to make an already-intense situation at home worse.

What can you do to protect yourself?

The first thing that anyone should do in a domestic violence situation is leave the abusive environment. After getting to safety, you should call local law enforcement for help if it is a situation where physically domestic violence or legitimate threats of serious physical violence have just occurred.  Make sure to fully complete a police incident report, have the officer take pictures of your injuries, and get that officer’s card with his or her name, badge number, and the police incident report number so you can pick it up later in the week at the sheriff’s office after it is completed. If it is a case which verbal, emotional, and/or mental abuse only, then you should probably contain SPARRC in downtown Sarasota, Florida and get information, counseling, and/or resources to help you decide the best way to proceed forward next.  It is also important to have legal representation on matters of battery, assault, and/or stalking so you can decide whether you need to file a Petition for Injunction Against Domestic Violence (commonly referred to as a restraining order) in Sarasota County, Florida or Manatee County, Florida. 

Don’t let the situation escalate and get worse.

Sarasota Florida attorney Matthew Z. Martell can help you with your restraining order case if it is in Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, or Venice, Florida. Our Sarasota divorce attorney will listen to the details of your domestic violence situation and then provide legal advice to help you and also put things into perspective.  Usually, we recommend documenting with the police by police incident report every incident of physical violence, serious threats of physical violence, and serious repeated stalking incidents.  This is the best way to actually get a restraining order around Sarasota, Bradenton, and Venice, Florida and to get the problem to stop.  If it is a situation that is just verbal, emotional, and/or financial abuse, normally we recommend contacting SPARCC in Sarasota, FL and/or seeking counseling to obtain a “game plan” to get out of this abusive relationship in a safe, well thought out, and well planned way.

You should not be subjected to domestic violence at any time. Let the Sarasota divorce attorney at the Law Offices of Matthew Z. Martell help you to get either a restraining order and/or a divorce in Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, or Venice, Florida. Call us today at (941) 556-7020 to schedule a 15-minute free initial phone consultation for legal representation in your divorce and/or restraining order case.

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The Law Office of Matthew Z. Martell located in Lakewood Ranch provides legal services to the following areas: Sarasota, Osprey, Siesta Key, Bird Key, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, Palmetto, Ellenton, Parrish, Venice, South Venice, Manasota Key, Englewood, Casey Key, Nokomis and all areas of Sarasota County and Manatee County. Let us help you today.

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