The Day

Global push to end domestic violence, worse amid COVID-19

- By RAF CASERT and ANGELA CHARLTON

Brussels — In a global push to end violence against women, activists held rallies Wednesday and world leaders called for action to stop the abuse, which has worsened because of the coronaviru­s pandemic this year.

Protests from France to Ukraine were held on the Internatio­nal Day for the Eliminatio­n of Violence against Women to draw attention to domestic violence in what is an uphill struggle to protect millions of women killed or abused every year by their partners and close relatives.

In Rome, the office of the prime minister was being lit in red and red banners tumbled from trade union offices in Florence to demand an end to violence against women. Italy was a hotbed for COVID-19 infections this year, forcing the government to impose lockdowns to keep the virus out. In an unintended consequenc­e, domestic violence cases began to grow.

“Because of the restrictio­ns, we involuntar­ily created profound distress,” that led to increased episodes of domestic violence and femicide, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told a parliament­ary discussion on Italy’s long-standing problem with violence against women.

The Italian Health Ministry, citing data from national statistics agency ISTAT, said calls to domestic violence hotlines shot up during the lockdown, registerin­g a 75% increase compared to the same period in 2019. Between March and June, calls and text messages to the anti- violence number more than doubled during the same period, to 119.6%

Together with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Conte signed a joint declaratio­n vowing to accelerate measures to stamp out violence against women, which they called “an invisible pandemic.”

Even if detailed statistics were hard to come by, organizati­ons and countries, from the United Nations to the European Union, France and Britain, all said that the pandemic had so far been an additional source for men to mistreat women.

In Ukraine, the Femen feminist activist group staged a protest outside the president’s office with a brief topless protest.

“We want to illustrate the situation with women’s rights in Ukrainian society — unprotecte­d from any violence. We think the violence against women is a human rights violation, Femen activist Anya Alian said.

 ?? ALESSANDRA TARANTINO AP PHOTO ?? A woman shows a banner reading “alive, free and without debts” during a demonstrat­ion Wednesday on the occasion of Internatio­nal Day for the Eliminatio­n of Violence against Women, in Rome.
ALESSANDRA TARANTINO AP PHOTO A woman shows a banner reading “alive, free and without debts” during a demonstrat­ion Wednesday on the occasion of Internatio­nal Day for the Eliminatio­n of Violence against Women, in Rome.

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