PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Domestic violence cases seem to be popping up more often.
"We are hearing a lot of different stories remarked Jessica Fox, CEO of Safe Space- an organization providing help to domestic violence survivors.
WATCH WPTV'S COVERAGE BELOW:
“You can tell that domestic violence isn’t discriminating based on people’s backgrounds and people’s socioeconomic status,” said Fox.
Fox says Safe Space has seen a spike in calls to its crisis hotline: from 270 calls in June to 80 more calls in July.
“We did have 350 crisis and hotline calls just last month alone, so we are seeing an increase in calls,” Fox said.
Safe Space is collecting data on what could be causing that spike, but the numbers are concerning.
Just this past month, we reported on four domestic-related homicides.
WPTV reached out to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office about the trends. PBSO says they responded to 17,067 domestic violence calls in 2024, and 10,506 domestic-related calls just this year.
While those domestic calls can range from several issues, the numbers are still a cause for concern.
Fox says abuse can manifest in various forms: physical, emotional, financial, and even abuse disguised as control.
“A lot of times those types of situations, if you don’t see physical abuse, it goes missed. People may seem like a mean person or controlling or harmful in different ways, but it can end in physical abuse.”
Safe Space provides housing and support resources for those who need it, assuring victims of abuse that help is available.
