Citation

Pitchforth E, Hussein J. Sex. Reprod. Health Matters 2021; 29(1): e1913788.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/26410397.2021.1913788

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Almost a year ago to this day, SRHM published an editorial on the implications of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Sadly, many of the speculated negative effects have come to fruition. We are seeing a repetition of history, including global pandemic responses of "blaming, exploitation of social divisions and government deployment of authority". There is bickering over COVID-19 vaccinations between rich nations and pharmaceutical corporations, while less developed nations and those experiencing political unrest continue to struggle to deal with the effects of the pandemic with little hope of initiating mass vaccination campaigns any time soon. Reports of racial abuse and unrest abound in the daily news.

As many have predicted, sexual violence has been a particularly salient topic. On International Women's Day this year, the 8th March, women all over the world called for greater efforts to end gender-based violence. The evidence linking intimate partner violence and COVID-19 lockdown is mounting, with reports, government statistics and domestic abuse helplines from around the world confirming apprehensions at the start of the pandemic. In her paper published in SRHM this year, Suga provides some insights from Japan into the response to domestic violence during COVID-19. In other work, sexual violence against girls in school is eloquently discussed in a legal case from Ecuador, while in our 2021 South Asia Region issue, Pitre and Lingam scrutinise the changes in sexual violence laws in India and warn against the simplistic use of legal instruments to solve social concerns which are complex and multi-faceted.

There is much strife to overcome and many challenges to face. SRHM's vision statement, formulated some years ago, is perhaps even more relevant today than ever before...

Language: en