Fighting a double pandemic (COVID19 and Domestic Violence)

Fighting a double pandemic

By, Patricia Scotland is the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth

Context

# Waking up to screams, thuds, angry shouting and the sickening sound of someone crashing into a wall, a table, a door. This is the cruel reality of many children and young people across our Commonwealth.

Gender based violence on increase

# There is a dangerous escalation in the risk to the millions of people caught in the clutches of domestic and gender-based violence.

# The crisis has led to an alarming escalation of violence in the home, with women bearing the brunt of the frustration and anger.

# In some areas, there have been reports of women being prevented from seeing doctors, and female doctors being spat on while testing other women for COVID-19.

# We are seeing surging numbers of emergency calls to helplines — with rises of anything between 25% and 300%, dramatic increases in Internet searches for support for those affected by domestic violence, and higher numbers of domestic homicides. These are extremely disturbing trends, which must not be ignored.

Barriers to care

# Experience teaches us that women tend often to be at a disadvantage during crises, epidemics and now this pandemic, and that domestic violence tends to increase.

# In West Africa, 60% of total deaths in the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak were women. Following the Canterbury earthquake in New Zealand, there was a 53% rise in domestic violence.

# In many cases this is because gender roles and harmful practices, including customs such as early and forced marriage, limit women’s access to health services.

# Women do three times as much unpaid care work at home compared to men, and make up 70% of workers in the health and social care sectors. They are squarely in infection’s path.

# During the present COVID-19 pandemic, mass school closures are tending to entrench learning gaps between girls and boys, and putting many more girls at risk of sexual exploitation, early pregnancy and early or forced marriage.

# They also mean that children are unable to report abuse to a trusted teacher.

# And with restrictions on home visits by police and health workers, violence shelters being converted into health facilities, and courts being forced to close, many victims may find themselves trapped and feeling abandoned.

# Mitigating the devastating impacts of this hidden pandemic of domestic violence requires strong and concerted action. So the Commonwealth Secretariat is working alongside partner organisations on measures which will help our 54 member countries to stem the rising tide of gender based violence.

# In meetings with counterpart organisations such as the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Pacific Islands Forum, the Council of Europe and the Community of Spanish Language Countries, we have explored collaboration and mechanisms to ensure that women are at the centre of post-COVID-19 recovery planning.

Health systems link

# It is clear, for example, that an important priority is the provision of basic health care to all individuals and communities free of charge at the point of delivery.

# There is a clear link between weak health systems and vulnerabilities to domestic violence. So urgent action needs to be taken to ensure that during this COVID-19 pandemic, victims of abuse are able to access the health care they need, including mental health services.

Financial independence

# It is also key that post COVID-19 strategies include dedicated funding and support for micro, small and medium sized businesses and the informal sector, which are predominantly led by women — many of whom need the assurance of financial independence to escape from dangerous domestic situations.

# I would lay particular emphasis on the importance at present of creating opportunities through virtual meetings and seminars for Commonwealth countries to share knowledge, resources and experience on how best to navigate through the rapidly evolving processes and circumstances within which we now operate.

# Some governments have been able to provide additional resourcing and funding to organisations supporting victims, so they can upscale operations and continue providing services in a safe manner. Other useful innovations such as virtual hearings and legal advice, are allowing survivors to continue to access justice.

#  Sadly, children living in violent homes not only witness violence but may themselves suffer abuse.

# Violence in the home is one of the most pervasive human rights challenges of our time.

# So, the Commonwealth collectively stands ready to bring the power of its advocacy and support to the planned UN Declaration on Women and COVID-19.

Way ahead

# We are increasing our ongoing advocacy through a range of initiatives, including creating a strong economic case for addressing gender-based violence by identifying the significant economic costs if we fail to act.

# Research from the Commonwealth project, The Economic Cost of Violence against Women and Girls: A Study of the Seychelles, carried out in 2019 before the pandemic, shows that gender-based violence leads to estimated costs of 4.625% of GDP.

# We will also hold a virtual follow-up session to the Women Affairs Ministerial Meeting that was held last September, to set out an action plan to support women and girls during the COVID-19 crisis, because we simply cannot allow victims of domestic abuse and gender-based violence to feel trapped and helpless during this hidden parallel pandemic.