An Introduction to the Effect of COVID-19 on Violence Against Women
By: Olivia Lin, Communications & Advocacy Intern
In preparation for “COVID-19 and Ending Violence Against Women”
At NGO CSW/NY’s November monthly meeting we will be discussing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women around the world, specifically the effect the pandemic has had in the fight to end violence against women. On April 9th of this year, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres released a policy brief on how the ongoing pandemic has affected women. In a year that was supposed to celebrate the work that has been achieved in the fight for women’s equality since the Beijing Platform for Action 25 years ago, this year has been a trying one for all, especially those, including women, who were already subjected to certain social and economic disadvantages. In his policy brief, Guterres explains that women have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that without a concerted effort, the accomplishments made over the last 25 years are at risk of being lost. Economically, impacts are felt especially by women and girls who are generally earning and saving less than their male counterparts, holding more insecure jobs, and living closer to the poverty line. Women have also been forced into more unpaid work since the onset of the pandemic, with children largely staying at home and more elderly people in need of care. In terms of health, while more men than women are dying from COVID-19, the health of women is more adversely affected by the pandemic, largely due to the loss or relocation of health services like reproductive services. These stressors, along with prolonged isolation, inability to seek help and other similar factors have led to an exponential increase in gender-based violence; according to the UN, worldwide, 243 million women and girls have been subjected to some form of sexual and physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the last 12 months alone, with this number expected to increase.
Join us for our monthly meeting to discuss the fate of women and girls during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and how we can come together to support the survivors in our lives. Register to attend the meeting here.
