|
(Click on image or file to view publication) |
Amidst the various problems and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns, a shadow pandemic of violence against women is growing, according to a statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women.
In light of this, Dr. Saravana Ravindran, Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, co-authored Covid-19: "Shadow pandemic" and violence against women with Professor Manisha Shah from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs to investigate the changes in the magnitudes and types of violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in India.
Why India? According to Prof Ravindran, India was chosen as the country of interest due to the pervasive problem of gender-based violence in the country. In fact, India has been ranked the most dangerous country for women back in 2018.
Impact of the lockdown on gender-based violence
In order to take into account the variations of lockdown regulations across India, the authors studied districts categorised into green, orange and red zones in increasing strictness with regards to level of mobility affected.
As for data, the study analysed complaints received from the National Commission of Women (NCW) from January 2018 to May 2020. Instead of looking only at domestic violence complaints, however, the study also examined the impact of lockdown measures on various types of violence like cybercrime, harassment, and rape and sexual assault complaints.
Indeed, the results demonstrate that while the lockdowns led to lower reported rates of rape and sexual assault, they also exacerbated complaints related to domestic violence and cybercrime.
In areas with the strictest lockdown regulations, domestic violence complaints increased by 131% in May 2020, and cybercrime complaints also saw a similarly large increase. On the other hand, rape and sexual assault complaints decreased by 119% during the same period in the same areas, which is consistent with reduced female mobility in public spaces, public transport and workplaces. These results show that women are under a variety of threats, and as such, the same policy can improve certain types of violence outcomes while exacerbating others.
Attitudes towards violence against women
The findings of the study also suggest that attitudes toward gender-based domestic violence — particularly the attitudes of women — play an important role in the incidence and reporting of domestic violence during the lockdown.
Using data from the National Family Health Survey 4 (2015-2016), the study explored the role of attitudes towards domestic violence in explaining the changes in complaints received.
The survey was given to both men and women, and asked whether a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in a number of circumstances, including neglect of the house or children, improper cooking, disrespect for in-laws, and refusal to have sex.
In districts where a greater proportion of husbands felt that violence against their wives was justified, there were more domestic violence complaints during the lockdowns in red zone districts relative to green zone districts.
In contrast, districts with a greater proportion of women who felt that gender-based domestic violence was justified actually reported less domestic violence complaints.
What's next: are there any policy solutions?
"There is an urgent need for additional support and safe spaces away from the abusers," said Prof Ravindran when asked about possible solutions.
For example, India's Women and Child Development Ministry has instructed One Stop Centres and Women Helplines to remain open. They have also made appeals calling for the declaration of assistance for domestic survivors as an essential service. Disappointingly, these appeals have fallen on deaf ears. Other measures put in place by non-governmental organisations (NGO) include providing helplines for domestic violence complaints and psychological support.
But these are merely stop-gap solutions to the shadow pandemic. The findings from the study also showed that additional interventions are needed to reverse the trends in violence against women. "Social norms and attitudes around violence are important drivers of both violent behaviour and reporting," said Prof Ravindran.
Education for both sexes is key in eliminating gender-based violence in the long-term. Both genders need to be taught from a young age about gender equality and that domestic violence is unacceptable, in order for the normalisation of domestic violence in India to eventually be overturned.
The study cites some examples of long-term policies that aim to educate. For instance, Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) interventions which were effective in reducing physical violence in Bangladesh. In a study by Shah and Seager (2019), interventions to empower and change social norms targeting boys and young men led to a decrease in adolescent female reports of intimate partner violence. In another case, Dhar et al. (2018) show that a school-based intervention in India that engaged adolescents in classroom discussions about gender equality saw programme participants reporting more gender-equitable behaviour.
(Photo credit: EC/ECHO Arjun Claire)