Author: Evelīna Jankevica
Photo has an illustrative purpose
The global pandemic has taken an effect on all of us but especially on women. Staying at home, women have had to suffer more domestic violence than before.
It is a heavy topic to discuss, but, as the delegates of the UN Women’s committee mentioned multiple times in their discussion, it is important to raise awareness of the issue.
Covid-19 affect
Domestic violence has been a big issue for every country even before the pandemic started. To illustrate this, a delegate from Peru confirmed that it has been a long-standing problem in their country and recently it has increased drastically.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost everyone had to work from home. And it has worsened the already existing problem. Boyfriends, husbands, fathers use violence against their girlfriends, wives and daughters to relieve their own stress that was caused by working from home because of the global pandemic.
Being home for so long with their families, everyone eventually gets tired and stressed and that leads to anger. Family members become more easily irritated and it leads to arguments and violence in worst case scenarios.
Getting help
The biggest problem is that these women can't escape this circle of violence and have nowhere to turn for help. In India, 4 out of 5 women have been victims of domestic violence since the pandemic started.
So in discussions the delegates suggested solutions to help prevent these problems. One of the suggestions was that countries need to open more help centers for the victims of violence, but in most cases, the countries already have many. The question became - will that actually change something if it hasn’t worked before. And that fundamental question remains to be answered and the delegates will try to find solutions in further discussions.
Another suggestion was that countries need more hotlines where victims can call and anonymously tell about their abuse. But will that help? Maybe. It can help victims mentally but does little to nothing about stopping the abuse in the family.
UN women
In today’s discussion delegates discussed women rights in the world of work for better economic resilience. This topic is especially important during the pandemic, because COVID-19 has affected women more than men economically. And domestic violence definitely has played a role in it.