Women's Refuge is preparing to tackle an increase in serious domestic violence this lockdown after the first proved to be horrific for many Bay of Plenty women and children.
Under alert level 4, essential services, such as social agencies, are allowed to remain open.
Rotorua's Mihi James - a family lawyer and legal director for Mihi James Legal as well as the chairwoman for the Waiariki Women's Refuge board said there had been an increase in the number of protection orders she was helping clients with since the lockdown began.
Days after the lockdown started, she was helping a woman with a 10-day police safety order after a neighbour called police about domestic violence.
James said the woman would not have had the help otherwise, and it was "crucial" for others to report anything.
The degree of violence was "serious" across Rotorua, and James feared for those who had no way of getting help.
Last year, they knew there was a "significant increase" in violence, however, the number of reports had fallen as women were trapped with their abusers.
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Phil Taikato said there had been 49 callouts to family harm incidents in Rotorua in just two days, on Monday and Tuesday.
That was a steep increase on the pre-lockdown norm of about 30 over two days.
"It's quite concerning but to be fair a lot of them are not of a serious nature and can be directly related to pressures of being in lockdown."
Taikato said some of them related to issues with teenagers clashing with their parents.
"My advice is to go out and get fresh air or take a walk if you're starting to feel the pressure at home."
Taikato said family harm callouts took a lot of police resources because, and he reiterated rightly so, every case needed to be looked at under a "magnifying glass" to ensure there weren't deeper issues.
"We always consider these callouts a priority."
Tauranga Women's Refuge manager Hazel Hape said they were still dealing with the aftermath of the first lockdown.
"It's enough that our women are dealing with family violence, and they have the potential to become more isolated because they can't leave their house."
Speaking earlier this year, Hape said the need for the refuge was not as high as anticipated during the Covid-19 lockdown, but picked up in the latter half of the year as people struggled with unemployment, anxiety, and inability to afford food, Hape said.
"We deal with hardcore trauma every day. It's really, really scary s***."
In the days after the lockdown was announced, the refuge's phones were "under the pump" with one family admitted to a safe house within hours.
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She said they were helping women put through protection orders with the help of lawyers.
The refuge also helped with food, medical supplies, PPE and sanitiser.
After the last lockdown, there was a spike in demand for counselling services to deal with the trauma, grief and violence, and a spike in the need for safety alarms to keep abusers out.
Hape said staff found their human contact, even just a wave from the gate after dropping off food parcels, was invaluable to the women last time.
She said their crisis line and social media platforms were manned, and people needed to call whenever they needed help.
Visions of a Helping Hand Charitable Trust founder Tiny Deane said the trust dealt with violence "all the time" in emergency accommodation the trust ran and had instances of intimidation and shouting since the lockdown started.
He said they were fortunate to have social workers and security who would protect clients and help sort out the issues.
If this was not possible, one of those involved would be moved to another motel to keep everyone safe, he said.
Deane said it was nothing compared to last year's lockdown, where the violence was "crazy ... out the gate".
The Salvation Army was unsure of the need as yet, but expected increased demand for its services should the lockdown be extended, a spokeswoman said.
In Tauranga and Rotorua, all the services, including bridge centres, oasis services, reintegration services and transitional housing would continue.
It would also work to meet food security needs.
Police prevention harm reduction manager Natasha Allan said it was too early to see the impacts of the lockdown on family violence, however, there was an increase in violence in last year's lockdown and getting help was sometimes difficult.
She said the lockdown was especially hard for people living with family and sexual violence as it caused stress and uncertainty for everyone.
"Families are now isolated at home, largely 24/7. Most people are not leaving the house to go to work and children are not going to school. Living in close quarters with people we love can test even the most patient of us."
She said police would continue to take calls "very seriously" and urged friends and neighbours to speak up for others if they had concerns.
She encouraged people to call the police if they thought something was not right with a friend, neighbour, or colleague as the person may not be able to speak up for themselves.
"We know there are people out there who don't want to harm their loved ones, to them we say - please stay strong, please walk away and take a moment so you don't do something you'll regret to someone you love."
Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Mike Bryant said its service centres were closed however clients, including people needing emergency housing, could contact teams by phone or online.
To combat homelessness, he said MSD would work alongside other government agencies.
A police media spokeswoman said they would continue to work with partner agencies throughout lockdown to "help ensure the safety of anyone sleeping rough or homeless".
She said homelessness was complex and required a co-ordinated, specialist response from a range of agencies and organisations.
If you're in danger now:
• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you. Don't stop to get anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay.
Where to go for help or more information:
• Women's Refuge: Crisis line - 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7)
• Shine: Helpline - 0508 744 633 (available 24/7)
• It's Not Ok: Family violence information line - 0800 456 450
• Shakti: Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children. Crisis line - 0800 742 584 (available 24/7)
• Ministry of Justice: For information on family violence
• Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services
• White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women
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