Gender-Based Violence on the Rise in the COVID-19 Era

By Elizabeth Drachman, Senior Communications ManagerNovember 11, 2020A Liberian mother choked back tears as she recounted how a police commander refused to accept her report about a neighbor who raped and impregnated her 13-year-old daughter. The officer didn’t believe her.This is just one recent example of gender-based violence gleaned from DAI’s project work, but unfortunately, it is all too common, and—for multiple colliding reasons—the prevalence of such violence appears to have been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.In May, the United Nations (UN) issued an alert about the alarming rise of rape and domestic violence during the coronavirus lockdown. Proclaiming a“Shadow Pandemic,” UN Women cited the following reasons for alarm:Globally, even before the pandemic began, one in three women experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly perpetrated by an intimate partner.Emerging data shows an increase in calls to domestic violence helplines in many countries since the outbreak of COVID-19.Survivors have limited information and awareness about available services and limited access to support services.In some countries, resources have been diverted from mitigating violence against women to providing COVID-19 relief
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: news