Domestic violence spikes in Little Rock, shelters seeing more victims than past years

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A domestic violence shelter in Little Rock is seeing more victims of physical abuse. Plus, out of the nine Little Rock homicides this year, five were domestic. 

Little Rock police addressed the domestic violence issue at their press conference Wednesday, Jan. 30, sharing that the homicides they’ve been working this month, are not random acts or retaliation. They're personal attacks within the home. 

"It’s happening all the time," said Angela McGraw, Executive Director of Women and Children First. 

Calls into Women and Children First, are keeping the domestic violence shelter and resource center at full capacity at 54 beds. 

"Not that this is unusual, we’ve been at full capacity for over a year now," McGraw said. 

Now though, police are creating a call to action after the majority of homicides this year have been domestic. 

RELATED: LRPD addresses January homicides as domestic violence fuels recent murders

“That’s putting this huge alert taking place city wide," McGraw said. 

Women and Children First is a 24 hour shelter with court advocates and outreach services. 

“It seems like there’s been some really critical cases here in the last few days," McGraw said. 

Victims asking for help in recent days and weeks have experienced physical abuse.

“We’re seeing a lot of broken bones, black and blue eyes, really severe cases along with the mental and verbal abuse attached to that," McGraw said. 

She believes the economy, specifically the government shutdown, could play a part in influencing violence in the home. 

“Whether they were working for the government or not, it has caused stress in our community," McGraw said, "so we would anticipate there would be more violence in the homes." 

Now, Little Rock police is sharing the hotlines on their Facebook page to make sure victims know their options. 

“It’s a process for victims," McGraw said. "They have to make a decision to leave on their own. We just need to educate them, get resources to them, and let them know there are places like ours available to them." 

Domestic Abuse Hotline: 1-800-332-4443

Little Rock Police Department Victim Services: 501-918-4358 (HELP)