Violence against women has soared under the pandemic
New WHO figures warn that a third of women had already experienced violence pre-COVID
Violence against women remains devastatingly pervasive and starts alarmingly young , according to new data from the World Health Organization . The UN agency found that one in three women is subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or experiences sexual violence from a nonpartner . As many as one in four young women aged 15-24 years who have been in a relationship will have already experienced violence by an intimate partner by the time they reach their mid-twenties .
The scale of the problem has led the WHO ’ s directorgeneral , Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to declare that the problem is “ endemic in every country and culture , causing harm to millions of women and their families .”
The findings are from the largest-ever study of the prevalence of violence against women , which was conducted by the WHO using data from 2000 to 2018 . While the numbers reveal already alarmingly high rates of violence against women and girls , they do not reflect the ongoing impact of COVID-19 . WHO warns that the pandemic has further increased women ’ s exposure to violence , as a result of measures such as lockdowns and disruptions to vital support services .
“ We know that the multiple impacts of COVID-19 have triggered a ‘ shadow pandemic ’ of increased reported violence of all kinds against women and girls ,” said UN Women executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka in a statement .
“ Every government should be taking strong , proactive steps to address this , and involving women in doing so ,” she added .
Shazana Agha , head of research at Women ’ s Aid Organisation in Malaysia , says that calls to the NGO ’ s helpline during the first period of lockdown in the country saw a threefold increase and remained consistently high for the duration of the year , even during periods of free movement .
Compared to the 266 calls it received in January 2020 before the pandemic emerged , it regularly received over 800 calls per month throughout the rest of the year .
“ With stay-at-home measures in place and disruption to response systems , survivors were forced to be isolated with their abusers for long periods of time without access to their usual support systems ,” she told Global Health Asia-Pacific .
Households were also under tremendous economic stress , compounded by school closures and added care work , mostly being shouldered by women .
“ There has also been a lot of uncertainty around access for survivors to protection and support . For instance , with the court having ceased most of their usual operations , it has been unclear if survivors can still apply for interim protection orders . “ Shelter services were also not included as part of the list of essential services . Survivors were also hesitant to seek free treatment from hospitals , due to fears of contracting COVID-19 ,” said Shazana .
Organisations in neighbouring Singapore have also reported a rise in violence . During one of its so-called circuit-breaker periods of lockdown , there was a 22 percent increase in police reports filed for offences commonly associated with family violence , according to official figures .
Authorities in the Philippines and Indonesia have also acknowledged a significant rise in domestic violence .
Such isolated figures , however , do not paint a full picture of the problem , and the future is expected to reveal some horrifying statistics , the WHO said in its report .
“ Though many countries have seen increased reporting of intimate partner violence to helplines , police , health workers , teachers , and other service providers during lockdowns , the full impact of the pandemic on prevalence will only be established as surveys are resumed ,” it warned .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com JUNE 2021
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