Experts believe that domestic violence has soared during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This data confirms what we suspected,” a study’s co-author Mardi Chadwick Balcom told U.S. News & World Report . “Being confined to home for a period of time would increase the possibility for violence between intimate partners.”
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. Everyone has a role to play to end this shadow pandemic.
Posted by UN Women on Saturday, July 18, 2020
Thankfully, most couples can solve their problems without violence.
Even when being stuck in close confines with their significant others for months on end.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t undergoing drastic measures to do so.
Here's a look at the #COVID19 pandemic from the perspective of a social worker and domestic violence survivor: http://unwo.men/xCMQ50zxVEh
Posted by UN Women on Monday, May 11, 2020
One man in Italy left his home during a pandemic to go on a walk so he could cool down from a fight with his wife.
It wasn’t your standard cool down walk.
This was a week-long walk that was 280-miles.
Pixabay
Source: Pixabay
The 48-year-old told the police that he was so mad that he didn’t realize how far he had gotten.
“I came here on foot, I didn’t use any transport,” he reportedly told the police, according to Bored Panda .
Pixabay
Source: Pixabay
He left his home in Como and walked about 280 miles in a week by the time he was found “wandering aimlessly” by police on a coastal highway in Fano, Italy in the middle of the night.
Police said the man was cold and tired but lucid when he was found. The man also reported that he was given food and drink from strangers throughout his journey and said that he was “fine, just a little tired.”
Pixabay
Source: Pixabay
Since he was picked up at 2 a.m. that meant he was in violation of Italy’s government-imposed curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
When police ran his information through the database they found out that his wife had reported him missing.
Pixabay
Source: Pixabay
Police put the man up in a hotel until his wife was able to come pick him up and pay the $485 for breaking curfew. The man ended up being dubbed the “Forrest Gump” of Italy on social media after his story went viral.
He's been dubbed "Italy's Forrest Gump."
Posted by 9GAG on Monday, December 7, 2020
“Had there been no police checks, who knows where he could have ended up,” Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera commented.
There’s no word on the wife’s reaction when she learned she had to pick him up and pay for the fine and hotel room. Hopefully, she was at least happy to learn that he was alive.
Must have been one heck of a fight.
Coronavirus Italy: Man walks 450km after lockdown row with wife https://t.co/ltbXc9xUH8
— Arpit Maheshwari (@ArpitM7) December 8, 2020
The story went viral after it was reported in the Bologna-based newspaper Il Resto del Carlino.
According to the BBC, some commented that the man was a hero and that he should have been given a new pair of shoes instead of a fine.
“Must have been one heck of a fight,” wrote one user.
I really need to know what their fight was about. Man walks 450km after lockdown row with wife https://t.co/goEUSo7IWw
— Lubna Hamdan (@LubnaHamdan0) December 8, 2020
“I really need to know what their fight was about,” tweeted another person.
Some people started making their own guesses.
“Ok… And where was he sleeping at night?” wrote one commenter.
Pixabay
Source: Pixabay
“He couldn’t have been walking through every single night even with food and drink stops. He would have been close to death by the time they found him. He’s obviously left out parts of his journey to avoid getting in more trouble with his wife!”
“He must’ve had a mistress that lived 450km away,” another said.
We might never know but hopefully, everything is OK with the couple now.
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Source: People , Bored Panda, BBC , Flickr – Steve Burt