Domestic violence cases climb at holidays, experts say -- here's where to get help

An off-duty Detroit Police Officer was arrested over the weekend on accusations of domestic violence. While he's not yet been charged, experts say cases tend to rise during the holidays.

The most recent data shows 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner. But domestic violence affects everyone around them – including their kids.

That's where non-profits like First Step come in. Executive Director Lori Kitchen-Buschell says while cases my climb during the holiday break, they see cases all year long.

"We have seen a tremendous loss in our community with people experiencing homicide due to domestic violence over this past year," Kitchen-Buschell said. "That’s one of the things I want everybody to know. We don’t just wrap our arms around the survivor but we wrap her arms around the survivor's family and those who need support and those who need to be safe."

First Step serves  7,000 domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors every year. During the holidays, she says people who are calling their hotline for help grows.

"Around the holidays, people are home more and the kids are out of school. we may be seeing phone calls in those windows of time when they realize they need to make those calls now," she said.

Experts say financial stress, emotional and psychological strain, heightened alcohol consumption, reduced access to support services, complex family dynamics, and the societal pressure to maintain a facade of togetherness are all contributing factors.

"When there’s more stress and there is more activity and there is more opportunity,  you’re going to see more violence being asserted from people seeking control over their surroundings and people in their surroundings," Kitchen-Buschell said.

The most important thing to do is to reach out for help.

"Whatever the challenge is, we work with the community and we work the resources we get from the community of our survivors and we try to solve every possible problem that we can to help make sure that the survivor is able to get their needs met, they're able to be safe and that they're able to thrive beyiond the experience they have had with domestic and sexual violence," KItchen-Buschell said.

First Step has been serving the community since 1978. If you or someone you know needs some help, call their 24-hour line at 734-722-6800