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Abstract
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The alarming situation of COVID-19 making the world apparent by its devastating character in enormous spheres. During this pandemic, suicide, domestic violence, mental disorders, anxiety, depressive disorders are already increasing worldwide (Tandon, 2020). In March 2020, the UK-based newspaper, the Guardian, stated that the coronavirus would fuel domestic violence (Mahdawi, 2020). During the lockdowns in all 193 UN member countries, including Bangladesh, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) predicted a 20 percent increase in domestic violence during the pandemic (United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA, 2020).
In Bangladesh, there is growing evidence that domestic violence acts as an opportunistic infection that thrives in the pandemic's situations. Lockdown can also create a situation in which the victim cannot move out of the home to seek appropriate help and is more likely to be cut off from their normal support systems (Jahid, 2020).
In the case of domestic violence, it is mostly perpetrated by family members who abuse, attack, humiliate, and torture women and children. There are numerous reports and unreported domestic violence cases in Bangladesh, including physical, verbal, financial, psychological, and sexual abuse. The consequences of COVID-19 also limit access to life-saving resources for survivors of violence and those at risk, such as psycho-social, health, and safety programs (Ali, 2020). A recent survey conducted by a local human rights organization, the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), in 27 out of 64 districts in Bangladesh, 4,249 women, and 456 children were found to have been subjected to domestic violence in April 2020. Of these victims, 1,672 women and 424 children were facing violence for the first time in their lives. The women, who faced first time domestic violence blamed the lockdown for their situation. Furthermore, the statistics cannot show the real violence scenario against children and women taking place across during lockdown...
Language: en |