In China, domestic violence has nearly doubled since the lockdown, while Australia has reported an increase of about 70 percent in such cases. Globally, stay-at-home orders and movement restrictions have increased women’s exposure to violent partners.

By Dr. Shriya Raina

There has been a surge in the cases of domestic violence against women across the globe, largely due to stay-at-home orders and movement restrictions, which have increased women’s exposure to violent partners. Mounting household tensions and economic stresses also play a role in adding to the violation of human rights.

Projections show that if violence increases by 20 percent during periods of lockdown, there will be an additional 15 million cases of gender-based violence in 2020 for an average lockdown duration of three months. The estimate increases to 31 million cases for an average lockdown of six months; 45 million for nine months; and 61 million for a year. These projections are global – inclusive of all 193 United Nations member states – and account for the high levels of under-reporting seen with gender-based violence.

Global concern
Data from China shows that reports of domestic violence have nearly doubled since the lockdown, while Australia has reported an increase in domestic violence cases by about 70 percent. In India and Italy, social activists say that they have been receiving desperate text messages and emails from women who are locked in with abusive partners. The situation is similar in the United Kingdom too, where calls to the UK Domestic Violence Helpline increased by 25 percent during the week following the announcement of stricter lockdown measures.

According to media reports, the domestic violence cases in Brazil have increased by 40-50 percent during the lockdown, while in France, the numbers have risen to 32 percent since the pandemic changed the social milieu. Within the first two weeks of the lockdown, Spain noticed the increase – by 12.4 percent – in the number of domestic violence cases in the country.

Remedial measures
When the cumulative impacts on mortality and morbidity are assessed, says the World Health Organization (WHO), the health burden due to violence against women is often higher than for other, more commonly accepted, public health priorities. Violence is an important cause of morbidity from multiple mental, physical, sexual, and reproductive health outcomes. Violence during pregnancy has also been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, and low birth weight.

While governments worldwide are making efforts to curtail the growing instances of domestic violence, encouraging victims to access helpline numbers is the most common initiative. In India, the National Commission for Women recently launched a WhatsApp number (7217735372) to help reach out to victims of domestic violence.

The French government has initiated an innovative approach – called Mask 19 – that makes the pharmacies the alert point for women to report domestic violence. Over the last two months, there have been quite a few global efforts in terms of housing the affected women and children in hotels and guesthouses; harnessing communication channels such as social media and digital media; increasing the capacity of shelter homes; providing holistic counselling to address the mental health issues of victims.