Domestic violence cases increasing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City

Cases rose in 2020 and continued to climb in 2021, with experts citing multiple factors

Mar. 21, 2022 6:00 am, Updated: Mar. 21, 2022 10:24 am

Silhouettes with the stories of victims of domestic violence are displayed in 2017 at the Iowa City Public Library. The number of domestic abuse reports have increased in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City in the past two years. (The Gazette)

Domestic violence reports have surged in the past two years, with experts pointing to multiple factors behind the increase.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many pointed to forced isolation at home as a factor. But in 2021, as vaccines became widely available and public spaces began opening up again, domestic violence numbers still continued to rise.

As to why that’s happening, law enforcement and victim advocates point to the ongoing effects of the pandemic on housing and social services, the ways in which police respond to domestic abuse and the challenges, like lack of funding, faced by victim service programs.

“What has been shown is that (domestic violence) has continued to rise and that it will continue to rise,” said Alta Medea-Peters, the director of community engagement for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program in Iowa City.

Domestic violence data

From 2019 to 2020, domestic violence cases in Iowa City increased from 704 to 869. In 2021, the reports rose to 958 cases, according to the Iowa City Police Department.

Iowa City police include all relationship-related cases of stalking and harassment, no-contact order violations and domestic assaults in its domestic violence data.

Cedar Rapids also saw an increase, according to data released in January by the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Domestic abuse cases that are categorized as aggravated assault and listed under the violent crime category increased from 91 in 2019 to 94 in 2020, and then jumped to 132 in 2021.

Domestic simple abuse cases went down from 2019 to 2020 in Cedar Rapids, but increased again in 2021.

Law enforcement response

Training and programs that make law enforcement officers more accessible to victims might be part of why domestic violence numbers are increasing. If victims feel more comfortable with police, they are more likely to report abuse, officials note.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department implemented training in 2017 that has officers asking domestic abuse victims a series of questions. It also trains officers on the cycle of abuse.

The questions, called the lethality assessment, are asked every time officers respond to a domestic violence situation where someone is arrested.

In Iowa, officers must make an arrest any time there is a domestic assault that results in an injury to the victim.

The assessment helps determine whether victims are at risk of being killed in a domestic violence situation. If an officer determines the victim is at risk, the officer will tell the victim and immediately get in touch with a counselor.

The victim is encouraged to speak with the counselor and is also given information about other resources, according to Sgt. Laura May, the Cedar Rapids department’s community outreach officer.

“Another thing is, it makes the victim feel heard,” May said. “So, if we're rushing through the situation because we have a lot of paperwork, we're trying to get the person to jail, we have other calls happening, maybe they don't feel like we're actually listening to everything.

“By slowing down and reading this, the victims get a chance to be heard and understood, and I think that's probably the biggest take-away that we're getting from this program,” she added.

May said she believes people have been more comfortable reporting abuse to the Cedar Rapids Police Department in the past few years because of programs like the lethality assessment and other training that helps officers respond appropriately to domestic violence.

May said it’s possible domestic violence numbers have been increasing partially because more people are reporting domestic violence to police.

She said other factors, especially during the pandemic, are in play that could contribute to the increase.

COVID-19 impact

The COVID-19 pandemic created opportunities for perpetrators of domestic violence to keep victims at home, according to Medea-Peters with the Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

“We still see the … weaponizing of COVID: ‘Nobody’s going. You can’t go. There’s no services for you. I’m going to tell everybody you have COVID.’ Those types of ways in which someone can continue to isolate with the use of that pandemic language,” Medea-Peters said.

Alta Medea-Peters, director of community engagement, Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Iowa City (Submitted)

Victims also have been waiting longer before leaving domestic violence situations because the prospect of finding housing in the current environment can be daunting, Medea-Peters said.

Calls to the Domestic Violence Intervention Program’s hotline have increased consistently since May 2020, with each month seeing about 28 percent more calls than the same month the year before, Medea-Peters said.

The victims who call are often in a place where the danger to their lives is incredibly great, she said. Many victims are waiting to seek help, hoping the effects of the pandemic will fade, but the longer they wait, the more likely it is that an unsafe situation could become lethal.

Nelly Hill, the program director for domestic violence victim services at Waypoint in Cedar Rapids, said she’s seen similar concerns with the people she works with. Once those people do reach safety, they face more difficulties as they try to settle into a new life.

“Oftentimes, when life-generated risks like unemployment, housing crises and poverty in general increase, we see more barriers preventing survivors from finding safe stable homes or shelter,” Hill said.

Get help

Waypoint, Cedar Rapids: (319) 363-2093, 1-800-208-0388, or waypointservices.org.

Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Iowa City: 1-800-373-1043, dvipiowa.org.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233, Text START to 88788 or visit thehotline.org.

Funding concerns

Victim service programs also face funding challenges, Hill said.

Many victim service programs, whether for domestic violence victims or victims of other crimes, are funded through grants from the Crime Victim Fund.

The victim fund, created as part of the federal Victims of Crime Act in 1984, is funded by criminal fines and penalties. Part of that money once came from deferred and non-prosecution agreements, until the Donald Trump administration diverted those funds to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury in 2017.

In July 2021, President Joe Biden signed the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021, which, among other things, directed funds from deferred and non-prosecution agreements back to the Crime Victims Fund.

Even though that money is being redirected, the fund’s loss of money for the past few years affect how much money is available now.

Both the Domestic Violence Intervention Program and Waypoint faced a 35 percent loss of funding between fiscal years 2021 and 2022, just as the demand for their services was increasing.

“The cut in federal funding for state grants through (the Victims of Crime Act) means crime victims in Iowa will likely receive less services,” Hill said. “The needs of victims of crime have increased due to the impact COVID has had on families, and loved ones.

“Basic needs such as housing, transportation, food, and child care has increased,” she said. “It’s very important to have fully funded victim service providers to support those needs.”

Medea-Peters agreed, noting each victim has many different needs.

In 2021, the Domestic Violence Intervention Program provided 12,000 services to 2,189 individuals, she said.

“The need per individual is greater,” Medea-Peters said. “The stresses on families, affordable housing, jobs, child care — all of those things are impacted by domestic violence, and all of those things still exist, if not even more so now.

“Domestic violence affects every part of someone’s life.”