It's easy to forget, as we spend our days trying as best as we can to get through lockdown, that coronavirus is not the only danger sweeping through society.
On Tuesday, the assembly debated legislation that will strengthen domestic abuse laws in Northern Ireland.
The bill will finally bring laws in the region into line with the rest of these islands, a long awaited and much welcome development.
Justice minister Naomi Long promised to make tackling domestic abuse and updating laws, that were previously unfit for purpose, a priority during her time in post.
Significant work in the area having been started by the previous minister Claire Sugden, who never had a chance to progress the bill following the collapse of the assembly.
And meanwhile victims lived and died in fear in the one place everyone deserves to feel safe, their own home.
While no one could have predicted that we would find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic, the coronavirus lockdown has shown just how important these new laws are.
Reports of domestic abuse have increased since the start of the Covid-19 restrictions.
More devastatingly, three women have lost their lives in domestic-related killings since the lockdown began.
Natasha Melendez, originally from Venezuela, was attacked in a property in Lisburn on March 22. The 32-year-old died in hospital on Wednesday, April 1.
Elizabeth Dobbin (82) was found dead at her home in Larne in April.
Emma Jane McParland (39) died after she was stabbed at a flat in south Belfast last week.
There are suspects charged in all three cases.
Few people will have heard the names of these victims, the news at present is dominated nightly by the Covid crisis, their deaths have not yet received the coverage they deserve.
But they are not just statistics, they are people who matter.
From April 1 to 21, there were 1,919 domestic abuse crimes reported to police, a 10 per cent increase on the same time last year.
The PSNI were prepared for an increase in calls in lockdown. Similar increases in domestic abuse were reported in other countries that had experienced the restrictions at an earlier date.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne, in an interview carried in Monday's Irish News, said that they prioritised the arrest of the most prolific, wanted abusers prior to the lockdown.
Women's Aid and the Men's Advisory Project had also put extra resources into the predicted surge.
Unfortunately, those predictions have come to fruition. And those statistics only represent the victims who have come forward, many more are suffering in silence and fear.
The new bill means domestic abuse offences in Northern Ireland will no longer be limited to physically violent behaviour.
Coercive control can be as damaging mentally as physical violence, victims are broken down, isolated and made to feel worthless, it can also include financial abuse that makes escaping an abusive situation almost impossible.
Not all abusive relationships include violence, but all violent relationships include coercive control.
Events at Stormont this week are to be welcomed but they are too late for many, mainly female, victims who are currently trapped at home with their abuser.
And worryingly, fears of prison overcrowding during the coronavirus seems to be having a negative impact when it comes to remanding in prison those charged with serious offences.
A number of court cases listed in the last few weeks have seen alleged abusers released on bail.
Victims, who have taken the brave step to phone police, are at their most vulnerable during the period between reporting and the case making it to court.
It is during this time that that they can be coerced into withdrawing their statement or subjected to even greater violence as punishment for daring to speak out.
These women must not be the forgotten victims of the coronavirus crisis, their safety is paramount and they deserve the full protection of all parts of the legal and judicial system.
Stay safe and look out for each other.
The Women's Aid 24 Hour Domestic an Sexual Violence Helpline 0808 802 1414
or email 24hrsupport@dvhelpline.org or text support to 07797 805 839.
