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Abstract
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) created chaos across the globe. First surfaced in China, no one could have expected that the epidemic will turn into a pandemic. The current pandemic is not only a universal concern of public health but it has also aggravated the economic recession around the globe associated with actions such as limited movement and social isolation, added by distressful effects on the lives of susceptible segments.[1],[2]
Worldwide, the current pandemic has drastically disturbed the vulnerable groups, especially women's exposure to a number of threats and violence, and among the grimmest is violence. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the magnitude of sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) is a global phenomenon and reveals that 35% of women in their lifetime have already experienced it, whereas during emergency situations, the figure increased above 70%.[2]
Furthermore, findings discoursed that coping strategies during epidemics may surge the practice of violence and abuse applied on gender and domestic level.[3],[4] Literature findings support that men unemployment leads to accelerate the spell of violent behavior, depression, and aggression. Similarly, the outbreak of Ebola revealed that economic impact resulted in an intensified risk of women sexual exploitation. Around the world, the ongoing environment of lockdown and closure of economic points could raise tensions and converted into the exposure of women prey of exploitation and vulnerability.[5],[6]
Mobility restrictions, lockdown, social distancing, and social isolation strategies are vital to combat COVID-19, but at the same time, these preventive actions are making many women even more vulnerable, giving more power to the abusers and perpetrators of domestic and GBV, which the United Nations (UN) now refers to as "the shadow pandemic." According to the UN WOMEN,[7] report showed a concern of UN Secretary General on a "horrifying global surge" of domestic violence. Thus, the steps initiated to reduce the spreading of the pandemic are probably creating an encouraging grounds for the second global public health emergency: the growing number of GBV incidents.
An increase in GBV has been observed during COVID-19 worldwide. This increment during the current situation is not highly unanticipated but more common. During the lockdown, various countries have reported a momentous increase in cases of domestic violence. For instance, in the initial complete lockdown at Tunisia, a hotline established for women abuse received calls fivefold. In continuation, "a state-run hotline in Spain recorded 12.5% increase and similarly 270% surge of online consultations of the helpline's website." In Cyprus (as of April 3), cases of domestic violence have almost doubled; in the United Kingdom, 65% increase to the national abuse hotline has been noted. In Hubei province (China), police reports stated a threefold rise in domestic violence. In China, after the lockdown policy was applied during the epidemic, domestic violence reports doubled. In Turkey, the outbreak crisis left many women failed to connect or receive proper help through the police emergency line. In Brazil, the policy of isolation boosted cases to 40% at the state-run drop-in centers...
Language: en |