Thursday, October 22, 2020

A Look at Domestic Violence During Thanksgiving

 Everyone looks forward to holidays, especially if they’re extended ones. They offer a chance to unwind, sit back, and enjoy a good rest away from work or school, celebrating with family and friends. With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, people are especially anxious to get down with the festivities.

While Thanksgiving is a time of relaxation and celebration, it can be surprising how much of a dark side it has. Stories of increased DUI incidents and the typical family brawls abound, but in recent years there has been an increasing amount of reports regarding domestic violence incidents over the Thanksgiving weekend. Why is this the case?

A Look at Holiday DV Numbers

Domestic abuse is oftentimes an intimate kind of crime, happening behind closed doors in the privacy of the perpetrator and the victim’s home. People may wonder how such incidents can still be prevalent on such major holidays like Thanksgiving, where large family gatherings are prevalent and there are so many people in the house. However, such situations can be pretty deceiving to an outside viewer.

To give you more context, data from a 2014 report collating domestic violence hotline call records between 2004 and 2013 saw an average of 570 calls made from Thanksgiving until right after Christmas. While lower than the 675 daily average recorded for the same time period, it was still a significant number to consider for holiday periods in general. Another point to consider is that the number of calls were highest a few days after the vacation period.

Why It’s Becoming Prevalent

Holidays are supposed to be a period of relaxation and letting loose. However, different people have different perspectives for this sentiment. If you’re the one hosting the thanksgiving party, you’ll have a hard time preparing for the event itself. If you’re an abuser, you’ll probably have more triggers to commit violence on your partner during the holidays.

One of the commonly-reported triggers for an increase in domestic violence appears to be for the abuser to spend more time at home with the victim than at other times of the year, where they can attack the victim behind the backs of all their relatives. Other common factors include increased alcohol intake due to the lack of work and presence of more friends, and the mounting stress of dealing with too many people over an extended period. 

Providing Support During the Holidays

Even during Thanksgiving, public and private domestic violence advocates still provide assistance to victims in a variety of ways. The availability of emergency hotlines even during the breaks is just one of many methods that victims can seek assistance. However, other services may have to be extended to fully assist victims and/or their affected relatives.

The National Resource Center for Domestic Violence advocates for more intensive support when dealing with domestic abuse during the holidays. Understanding the prevalence of Thanksgiving family abuse, they have pushed for more intensive assistance from professionals, including extra periods of respite at shelters, extended therapeutic sessions with victims, and safety planning for especially vulnerable individuals. With a growing trend in partners spending the Thanksgiving holiday on their own, the Center is concerned about the possible increase in victims who have limited access to relatives who can shelter and support them.


As you enjoy the coming Thanksgiving, be wary about the possible incidents of domestic violence around you.