Governments must act to prevent rising GBV rates during COVID-19 crisis: UNDP

“Now more than ever there is a need to send a strong message that violence will not be tolerated, those who carry it out will be brought to justice, and survivors will be heard and supported,” said Raquel Lagunas, UNDP Gender Team Acting Director.

Governments across the world must act urgently to prevent and tackle the rising rates of violence against women and girls during the COVID-19 crisis by putting stronger measures in place such as designating shelters and hotlines as emergency services and supporting police and the justice sector during lockdowns, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Guidance from UNDP, Gender-based violence and COVID-19, also recommends developing new protocols to provide support via phone or online platforms rather than in person, expanding immediate response services in order to save lives, and most ensuring that steps to prevent gender-based violence are in every COVID-19 response plan and budget.

“Now more than ever there is a need to send a strong message that violence will not be tolerated, those who carry it out will be brought to justice, and survivors will be heard and supported,” said Raquel Lagunas, UNDP Gender Team Acting Director.

The impacts of the COVID-19 on women and girls include rising rates of domestic or intimate partner violence, while lockdowns and social distancing may be particularly hard on survivors of gender-based violence, who may already be economically dependent on their abusers.

Together with other UN agencies, UNDP is working with more than 40 governments around the world to prevent and address gender-based violence during the crisis.

(With Inputs from APO)