The Ignored Pandemic: The Dual Crises of Gender-Based Violence and COVID-19

by Oxfam Canada | November 24, 2021
Background media: A black woman in colourful African clothing sits on the ground in a rural area and looks off into the distance.

The Ignored Pandemic: The Dual Crises of Gender-Based Violence and COVID-19

by Oxfam Canada | November 24, 2021

Monica is a Colombian human and territorial rights defender, and part of the ‘Force of Wayuu Women’, who has been displaced from her community after receiving death threats because of her activism against mining companies that polluted the river Aguas Blancas. She continues her work in spite of the threats to her life.

Coronavirus has devastated efforts to prevent and respond to GBV and catalyzed an explosion in global GBV case numbers.

Data from 10 countries shows calls to domestic violence or GBV helplines increased by 25 to 111 per cent in the first months of the pandemic as women, including trans women, and girls and LGBTQIA+ people were isolated with their abusers and cut off from social networks and essential and life-saving services.

In this paper, we will explore the impact of coronavirus on victims and survivors of GBV, consider the implications of a continued failure to respond, and call for a stronger link to be made between efforts to recover from COVID-19 and efforts to end the less recognized but equally devastating GBV pandemic.

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Author
Rowan Harvey - Oxfam

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