Domestic violence murders in Houston have doubled in recent years, but shelter beds are still in short supply.

If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner violence, contact the national domestic violence hotline for local resources.. For 24/7 assistance, call 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

The number of domestic violence homicides in Houston doubled from 2019 to 2022, with shelter visits above pre-pandemic levels last year, according to a new study from the University of Houston Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality.

Experts from 12 resource organizations across the region said that improving the coordination infrastructure between aid agencies, as well as increasing funding, are key to solving the problem.

“We have many strengths when it comes to the domestic and sexual violence crisis, but we don’t have enough shelter beds,” said Emily Whitehurst, President and CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center. “When someone calls and we know they are in mortal danger, we still cannot send them to a shelter. In fact, by some estimates, half the time we can’t do it.”

Harris County currently has a total of 330 survivor beds, according to the study. By comparison, New York City has about 10 times as many, despite having twice the population.

Whitehurst stressed that this puts a lot of strain on the victims. “When someone contributes by asking for help and we as a community still can’t find a place for them to go, that’s not acceptable,” she said.

On February 7, the City of Houston announced plans to triple the residential capacity of the Houston Area Women’s Center. While this is a step forward, Whitehurst says they still need more investment to further expand shelter capacity, pay for shelter travel and expand the staffing of the crisis helpline.

Social inequality plays a decisive role

The report shows that black and Hispanic women are particularly vulnerable to intimate partner violence in the Houston area. Black women make up 52% ​​of victims of intimate partner violence, although they make up only 20% of women in Harris County.

“While domestic violence occurs in every community, the impact of this violence is especially high in communities of color,” Whitehurst said. Experts say the lack of access to resources such as affordable housing, child care and fair wages creates a situation in which women are particularly vulnerable to abuse and face particular difficulty in escaping an abusive household. These issues disproportionately affect women of color in Houston.

Many women are financially dependent on their abusers and cannot afford alternative housing and transportation. Although the pay gap between men and women in Harris County is larger than the national average, the problem is exacerbated for blacks and Hispanics. In Harris County, they earn 45 cents and 37 cents on the dollar, respectively, compared to white men. White women in Harris County earn an average of 70 cents on the dollar.

“In our community, we have a long history of discrimination and disinvestment in communities of color,” Whitehurst said. “We must not tolerate this. It is only by failing to invest and allocate resources fairly year after year that we see a select community suffering unduly from abuse.”

Recent gun and abortion laws could make things worse

According to the report, 73% of deaths from domestic violence are associated with the use of firearms. The victim is five times more likely to die if a weapon is present in a case of domestic violence than if it were not.

Even when it doesn’t become lethal, rapists often use firearms as a control tactic, creating an atmosphere of terror for the victim. Dr. Elizabeth Gregory, director of the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality at the University of Houston, recalled how several survivors reported that their abusers repeatedly threatened their lives with firearms.

“Any time someone lives in a situation where gun violence is a threat, it will have serious consequences,” she said.

Last week, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that people currently under a protective order for domestic violence are allowed to keep their weapons in custody.^th Amendment. This means that even if someone is found to be a threat to their partner or children in court, they can still own and carry a firearm. In September 2021, a 1927 Texas bill allowed most Texas residents over the age of 21 to carry a handgun without a permit. Human rights activists fear that increasingly loose gun restrictions will lead to an increase in the number of victims of domestic violence.

Supporters also fear that limited access to reproductive health will make victims more vulnerable to abuse. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and Texas subsequently imposed a near total ban on abortion, which does not include exceptions for rape or incest.

Experts say this means that victims suffering from reproductive coercion, a tactic of abuse in which the perpetrator takes control of the victim’s reproductive health by sabotaging their birth control or forcing them to become pregnant repeatedly, have fewer options.

“One woman said her partner always wanted her to be pregnant,” Gregory said. “He told her that he wanted her to stay pregnant ‘so that no one else would look at her.’ Gregory said the victim’s abuser also prevented her from going to the doctor after giving birth.

The cost of having more children can also make it impossible for women to afford to leave and force them to stay in abusive settings for longer.

Organizations matter, but more investment is needed

Whitehurst says the HAWC hotline has received about 10,000 calls a year over the past couple of years, and they don’t want callers to have to wait for help if they’re in an emergency. “But it’s an expensive proposition,” she says. “We don’t have guaranteed government funding, we have to apply for grants.” Meanwhile, HAWC and other community organizations like it are running short of money. Whitehurst says she thinks they could make a bigger impact with more funding.

Beyond financial support, experts say, community members can make a difference by calling on their representatives to make a difference. “People can talk to their representatives and tell them they want more investment in their communities and resources,” Gregory said. “They might ask, ‘Why do women of color have such a big pay gap? Why is childcare so expensive? Why can known abusers have access to weapons?” It all affects it, and it has a profound effect on communities.”