Impact that Co-vid 19 has on Women and Children
As lockdown policies are implemented, experience from many countries shows that many women are being trapped with abusive partners, isolated from their support networks, and may be unable to access essential services.
Global status on impact on women
Women are already suffering the deadly impact of lockdowns and quarantines. These restrictions are essential, but they increase the risk of violence towards women trapped with abusive partners. Recent weeks have seen an alarming global surge in domestic violence; the largest support organization in the U. K. reported a 700% increase in calls. At the same time, support services for women at risk face cuts and closures.
A benchmark of proactiveness is the early and resolute actions taken by the Government of Uganda to combat COVID19. On 30th March 2020, the Government of Uganda announced a country- wide lockdown, including several restrictive measures. The lockdown has subsequently been extended until 5 May 2020. While the measures have served to curb the spread of the virus, it is important to recognize the concurrent upsurge of violence against women in both public and private spaces.
In Uganda, 46% of women have – before these measures were introduced – experienced physical violence and live in fear of their current or most recent partner. These figures are likely to increase during lockdown and confinement, as security, health, and income worries, heighten tensions in homes. Credible reports indicate that there has been a surge in sexual gender- based violence, including five fatalities since the lock-down was introduced.
In Brazil a state-run drop-in center has already seen a surge in cases it attributes to coronavirus isolation, the Brazilian broadcaster Globo said.
“We think there has been a rise of 40% or 50%, and there was already really big demand,” said Adriana Mello, a Rio de Janeiro judge specializing in domestic violence. “We need to stay calm in order to tackle this difficulty we are now facing.”
The Catalan regional government said that calls to its helpline had risen by 20% in the first few days of the confinement period; in Cyprus, calls to a similar hotline rose 30% in the week after 9 March, when the island had its first confirmed case of coronavirus.
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Increased threat to women and children a predictable side effect
The increased threat to women and children was a predictable side effect of the coronavirus lockdowns, said activists. Increased abuse is a pattern repeated in many emergencies, whether conflict, economic crisis or during disease outbreaks, although the quarantine rules pose a particularly grave challenge.
“It happens in all crisis situations,” said Marcy Hersh, a senior manager for humanitarian advocacy at Women Deliver. “What we worry about is just as rates of violence are on the rise, the accessibility of services and the ability of women to access these services will decrease. This is a real challenge.”
In many countries there have been calls for legal or policy changes to reflect the increased risk to women and children in quarantine.