OGDEN — As if concerns about getting COVID-19 aren’t enough, some in Weber County and the rest of Utah have more to worry about — the threat of domestic violence.

As more people work and study from home and, generally, reduce their movements to guard against the spread of COVID-19, officials who assist domestic violence victims in Utah are reporting an increase in crisis calls.

Ogden-based YCC Family Crisis Center, for instance, reported 2,393 such calls in April, May and June, soon after the COVID-19 pandemic really started taking a toll. That’s a sharp jump from 891 for January, February and March and 613 for October, November and December 2019, and Margaret Rose, the YCC executive director, said the higher call count has continued.

Likewise, Liz Sollis, spokesperson for the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, said calls to crisis centers around the state have jumped anywhere from 25% to 50% as the pandemic has lingered on and on. Pinpointing the precise link is tricky, but she sees a connection to the pandemic, particularly the job losses and economic uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 restrictions aimed at preventing its spread.

“I do think unemployment and financial insecurity may play a part in it,” she said.

At the same time, domestic violence advocates are leery of attributing the uptick in calls and problematic situations to stress brought on by the pandemic. Everyone gets stressed at some point, Sollis noted, but it doesn’t necessarily result in emotional or physical violence. Rather, domestic violence, more generally referred to as intimate partner violence, or IPV, is about exercising power and control over another.

That said, with more and more people spending more time at home due to COVID-19 restrictions, the result can be problematic. Under such circumstances, said Denette Stanger, victim assistance director at YCC, many may not have the opportunity for time apart from abusers — at work, school or church, say. “The isolation is a tool that abusers use to maintain control over their victims, so isolation can be concerning,” Sollis said.

On the bright side, Sollis said that while calls are increasing, she hasn’t noted a corresponding uptick in police reports. That tells her that victims may be reaching out sooner, getting help to head off larger problems. Looking forward, though, advocates are bracing, Sollis said, with restrictions on movement continuing and special funding earmarked for groups like the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition brought on by the pandemic running out as of Jan. 1.

Help for IPV victims will be there, though. “Not matter what, we will figure out a way to help them,” Sollis said.

Contrary to the Utah experience, a report last week in the New England Journal of Medicine said that many organizations that advocate for domestic violence victims experienced a drop in crisis calls. They had readied for an increase brought on by COVID-19-related stay-at-home orders, but it never came.

“Experts in the field knew that rates of IPV had not decreased, but rather that victims were unable to safely connect with services,” the report said.

For those seeking an outlet, YCC runs a domestic violence crisis hotline at 801-392-7273 and a rape crisis line at 801-394-6552. The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a 24-hour support line for IPV victims and survivors at 800-897-5465.