The Rise of Gender-Based Violence in a Global Pandemic
How development workers can mitigate its harmful effects
In 2021, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign coincides almost exactly with the two-year anniversary of the identification of a coronavirus outbreak in central China.
The vibrations of what evolved swiftly into a global pandemic have had far-reaching and devastating consequences. In addition to the immediate impacts of illness and death, there have been a multitude of secondary impacts, such as educational backsliding, economic instability, decreased mobility, and threats to democracy around the world.
Pandemics are not gender-neutral
Like most public health crises, the COVID-19 pandemic is not gender-neutral. Men have consistently higher rates of severe illness and death. Conversely, although women’s rates of severe illness and death are somewhat lower than that of men, women and girls are bearing the brunt of second order impacts. The collateral damages to women’s and girls’ lives are profound: disrupted education, financial costs, and substantially increased caregiving responsibilities for both children and elders.
Gender-based violence (GBV), in particular, is a thread that weaves through all of these disparate negative impacts and has been coined the “shadow pandemic” by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.
GBV is an umbrella term that encompasses multiple types of violence, including sexual violence, intimate partner violence, femicide or “honor killings,” and child, early, and forced marriage/union.
In times of crisis, people often turn to restrictive gendered identities and ideologies to maintain a sense of security in a seemingly insecure, precarious, and unpredictable world. Thus, harmful practices that sharpen distinctions between men and women, and boys and girls, such as female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C), may increase.
In a joint statement in February, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) predicted that there may be an additional two million cases of FGM/C over the next decade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. FGM/C occurs in countries around the world, including the United States, and girls who are cut are at increased risk of lifelong sexual and reproductive health consequences.
In addition to the predicted increase in harmful practices, the combination of mandatory quarantine and economic stressors created pressure-cooker conditions within families.
Many GBV hotlines saw a sharp increase in people seeking help from abusers. Paradoxically, other GBV hotlines saw a temporary decrease in calls, which is perhaps even more ominous, as it may indicate that victims — both adults and children — were so isolated that they could not reach outside support from kin networks, advocates, or social institutions such as schools.
Barriers to collecting data on gender-based violence
Even under optimal conditions, it is difficult to track GBV prevalence, and during a global crisis, the barriers grow only more formidable. Many acts of GBV occur behind closed doors, and survivors may be reluctant to make formal reports of their victimization for a variety of legitimate reasons, not the least of which is widespread impunity for many perpetrators.
Moreover, GBV disproportionately impacts marginalized groups — especially youth, disabled people, and the LGBTQI+ community — that are already difficult for researchers to reach. But given anecdotal reporting and historical trends, it is almost certainly high.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are acute and difficult to quantify. Human suffering does not fit tidily in a spreadsheet. As we move into the third year of this crisis, we need to brace ourselves for the reverberating generational effects. And prepare to respond.
Opportunities for impact
There are opportunities to mitigate some of the most harmful consequences of this shadow pandemic. To achieve this, we need to strike a delicate balance between a coordinated response from the global community and the development of locally-led solutions from advocates on the frontlines. These advocates are best positioned to understand the unique dynamics of their communities, historical legacies that may impact violence prevention efforts, and the stakes of not taking action.
USAID is investing in these tireless advocates through a small grants program that focuses on improving staff wellness and resiliency in GBV organizations. It is also crucial to continue prioritizing GBV prevention programming — like the innovative work on positive masculinities in Panama through the BetterTogether Challenge.
Perhaps most important, we need GBV organizations at the table, and we need to center the voices of survivors as we work toward healing from the ravages of COVID-19.
About the Authors
Chaitra Shenoy is the Senior Gender-Based Violence Advisor in USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Development, and Innovation. Jamie L. Small is a Gender-Based Violence Advisor in the same bureau.
