The year 2020 marks global anniversaries of landmark policies on women’s rights. From the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 20th anniversary of the 1325 Resolution on Women, Peace and Security, to the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, and UN Women’s 10th anniversary. Instead 2020 has put women worldwide at the crosshairs of a parallel pandemic: escalated domestic violence.
The UN Secretary General called for a global ceasefire on a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence.” The European Parliament called on its members to increase support for domestic violence victims. On July 15, GREVIO-monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Istanbul Convention–joined the UN and regional experts for urgent action to end the gender-based violence pandemic.
“Violence in the home, predominantly perpetrated by men against women and children is a pandemic within the pandemic. Through our Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) global network we are also hearing of the rise in child sex abuse as well as femicide,” says Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Founder and CEO of International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) which offers recommendations to governments and the international community based on consultation with WASL partners across 38 countries.
UN Women’s offices around the world have partnered with generation giants Google, Twitter and Facebook to obtain hotline data for domestic violence survivors and have launched the “Shadow Pandemic” public awareness campaign. Disruptions in birth control chains, resources to save it from femicide, female genital mutilation and child marriage result in millions of unwanted pregnancies and marriages.
“We want to recognize the complete diversity of domestic violence: not only domestic violence, but also violence such as forced early marriage, so-called ‘honour’ crimes, and the abuse of the LGBTIQ family circle. To deal with this bureaucracy of violence, we will need to do more than raise awareness of the threat. We want to locate viable responses that we can temporarily put into place locally,” says Yifat Susskind, MADRE’s executive director, stressing that base feminist organizers and local leaders are more productively supplied to protect people. In collaboration with foreign organizations, MADRE’s new toolkit offers methods through and for local women’s organizations.
THE UN Women report confirms the overall accumulation in emergency calls with:
The Australian Women’s Safety Survey in New South Wales found that 40% of frontline staff reported an increase in survivor’s requests for assistance: 70% of the pandemic buildup occurred.
China’s Jianli County won 162 reports of domestic violence in February, up from 47 in the past year.
Since 70% of Covid-19 healthcare workers are women, China, Italy and Singapore reported increased reports of physical and verbal attacks on healthcare workers.
40 honor killings have been reported in Iraq since mid-March.
Argentina, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, South Africa and the United States, among others, reported significant accumulation in domestic violence reports.
“Most men would possibly not be the perpetrators of this violence, yet most perpetrators are men. Do you have to wonder why? Blockades and uncertainty make women as frustrated and angry as men, but they’re not as abusive. So what’s going on with men? Why are they going crazy and what skills do they want to involve and their anxiety, stress, feelings or other points that cause violent behavior, asks Anderlini of ICAN.
Described as a “hidden pandemic” and a “double pandemic” of domestic violence, women-led grass organizations have become the most productive mediators. In countries in the Middle East and North Africa where patriarchal, devout or extremist cultural traditions and ideologies do not take into account women’s rights, women’s organizations are pressuring governments and the government to ensure the availability of resources and budget for those suffering from sexual violence. From direct online advertising, building capacity for key facilities to improve the quality of police intervention, converting local and federal policies, to reducing illegality, women’s participation is essential.
The U.S. CARES Act comes with $45 million in “more investments for formula recipients and $2 million in more investments for the Domestic Violence Hotline.” Since 77% of U.S. domestic violence prevention systems have provided phones to low-income women who come with the Federal Communications Commission: Lifeline – FCC plans to cut service for 70% of users, justifying the ruthless resolution that raises how some telephone corporations have registered ineligible consumers.
Reports by the UN Women and other women’s organizations show countries upping the ante to stop the “shadow pandemic”:
According to the Regional Equality Coordinator Now for the Americas, the Regional Coordinator of the Region, Burbara Jiménez-Santiago, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina have established “virtual hearings for others in pre-trial detention, and other governments in the region are considering similar measures. “. Argentina’s delays in court proceedings have extended coverage orders for survivors for up to 60 days. The Colombian government decree promises continuous access to VirtualArray by adding legal and psychosocial advice, police and justice and hearings.
As MADRE’s Yifat Susskind underscores, “too often, policy is made from the top-down, losing out on the opportunity to learn from local expertise–it’s essential that we spotlight grassroots leadership to confront domestic violence.”
It’s imperative for local, state, and federal governments to engage women peace builders and adopt stricter laws and penalties to reverse abusive actions rooted in religious, extremist or cultural practices.
“We place the burden of resolving violence against women against women. We want others to communicate about these disorders and fulfill a duty to solve this problem,” says Sanam Naraghi Anderlini of ICAN.
I’m committed to ensuring women have a seat, or two, at the table and are on “the menu” during all negotiations. I’m the founder of Global Cadence PR/Social Media
I’m committed to ensuring women have a seat, or two, at the table and are on “the menu” during all negotiations. I’m the founder of Global Cadence PR/Social Media Marketing consultancy, a social enterprise advisor, and an NGO board member. I serve on the Forum 2000 Working Group on Women, Democracy, Human Rights and Security (WDHRS) to ensure women are equally presented as speakers and experts in global meetings and events. I’ve written extensively on women’s issues, international organizations and peace builders to help shed light on girls and women’s equity and rights in the U.S., Zimbabwe, Armenia, Nigeria, and Syria among others.