Domestic violence is a pandemic within the Covid-19 pandemic

‘Growing evidence shows the pandemic has made intimate partner violence more common—and often more severe. “COVID doesn’t make an abuser,” says Jacky Mulveen, project manager of Women’s Empowerment and Recovery Educators (WE:ARE), an advocacy and support group in Birmingham, England. “But COVID exacerbates it. It gives them more tools, more chances to control you. The abuser says, ‘You can’t go out; you’re not going anywhere,’ and the government also is saying, ‘You have to stay in.'”

‘Surveys around the world have shown domestic abuse spiking since January of 2020—jumping markedly year over year compared to the same period in 2019. According to the American Journal of Emergency Medicine and the United Nations group U.N. Women, when the pandemic began, incidents of domestic violence increased 300% in Hubei, China; 25% in Argentina, 30% in Cyprus, 33% in Singapore and 50% in Brazil.’ 

Read here (Time, Feb 3, 2021)

‘Calamitous’: Domestic violence set to soar by 20% during global lockdown

‘At least 15m more cases of domestic violence are predicted around the world this year as a result of pandemic restrictions, according to new data that paints a bleak picture of life for women over the next decade. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has also calculated that tens of millions of women will not be able to access modern contraceptives this year, and millions more girls will undergo female genital mutilation or be married off by 2030. Natalia Kanem, the fund’s executive director, called the findings “totally calamitous”.’

Read here (The Guardian, April 28, 2020)

Locked down and locked up: Domestic violence during the pandemic

As the implementation of movement restriction measures disrupts our daily lives, governments are compelled to respond to the high demand for support as domestic violence cases soar in a short period of time. With such measures predicted to last for weeks and even months to come, the urgency to address this issue is unprecedented.

Read here (ISIS Malaysia, March 29, 2020)