'Cabin Fever Sparking Surge In Family Violence'

Two suspected murder-suicide cases in Hong Kong over the past several days have put the spotlight on an apparent rise in domestic conflicts that some social groups say are being exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some NGOs say they have received in the number of calls for help they receive from victims of domestic violence.

Suzanna Lam, a senior community education officer with the shelter Harmony House, said that it's likely that the increased amount of time people spend in their homes may have given rise to Covid-related stay-home measures have given rise to more conflict among family members.

In March, the shelter and two other women's organisations issued a letter to the government calling on them to look into the issue of domestic violence in Hong Kong during the epidemic.

"We can see that in these recent months the number of the hotline help calls increased; during this period of time most of the elders work from home and the children need to work from home, so they spend lots of time staying at home which may cause them to, maybe more [easily] have conflict with the family," Lam said.

She told RTHK's Priscilla Ng that the shelter operates a project called the 5S Project that allows people in low-risk domestic violence situations to stay short-term at a hotel for up to two weeks to allow both parties to calm down.

But for more serious cases involving weapons for instance, Lam encourages them to call the police.