Poster from the International day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is marked on 25 November.

By Denis McClean

GENEVA - COVID-19 has led to an explosion of domestic violence, a UNDRR-hosted webinar for 1,129 participants heard today.

Domestic violence against women and children is now a major concern as lockdowns and isolation measures restrict freedom of movement and make it essential that disaster management plans include hotlines for victims.

“They are not luxuries, they are life-saving services and they must remain open and we have seen in many countries calls to hotlines doubling or even tripling so making sure that we can get those women the services despite restrictions is critical,” said Ms. Anna-Karin Jatfors, Deputy Regional Director, Asia and Pacific, UN Women.

“Women and girls are disproportionately affected by disasters not because of the disasters themselves but because of structural barriers and gender inequalities that exist in all societies before disaster strikes and this is the same also for COVID-19."

Ms. Jatfors listed lack of access to power and decision making, unemployment or underemployment, domestic violence and sexual harassment as major considerations in any gender-balanced response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She was speaking in the webinar “Leave No One Behind in COVID-19 Prevention, Response and Recovery” organized in collaboration with UN Women and HelpAge and moderated by Ms. Loretta Hieber Girardet, Chief, UNDRR’s Asia and Pacific Regional Office, who said it was the first in a series and was focused on the early lessons from the pandemic and good practices emerging in the region.

Ms. Jatfors said that women with disabilities, migrant workers, and women with restrictions on mobility, are at particular risk of facing violence and some groups of women will have difficulty in accessing services or support.