5 Actions Needed Now to End Gender-Based Violence

According to UN projections, every three months lockdown measures continue, an additional 15 million cases of gender-based violence could be expected globally. In countries such as Argentina, Cyprus and Singapore emergency calls for domestic violence cases increased by 25-30 per cent during the first wave of lockdowns, while in South Africa, more than 2,000 complaints of GBV were made to the South African Police Service in the first 7 days of that country’s lockdown.

In my home, Ecuador, GBV hotlines actually saw a decrease in calls at the start of the pandemic because many women were trapped in small one-room homes with their aggressors, and did not feel safe to call. Our partner organisation Federación de Mujeres de Sucumbíos developed a simple but effective mobile phone emoji system to help counter this, so that women could reach out with coded emojis when they felt in danger.

Today marks the start of the global 16 Days of Activism campaign with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. While the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the extent of the problem, is also offers a critical opportunity for civil society, governments and businesses to build forward and take stronger action to address what is increasingly referred to as a shadow pandemic.

There is no vaccine that will end GBV.

We surveyed colleagues and gender experts from 50 countries in the CARE network to offer concrete solutions.

This is what they said were the main priorities for action:

1. Ensure survivors and those at risk of violence have access to comprehensive support including quality health services, psychosocial support, justice and legal services, shelters and safe spaces and economic assistance. These essential services must be included in COVID-19 preparedness and response plans, resourced adequately and made accessible in the context of social distancing measures, for example by creating remote ways to access support. In countries such as Haiti, Nigeria, Jordan and Laos, CARE is supporting access to GBV services in various ways including setting up hotlines for survivors to access remote counselling and referrals. We are also supporting local partners and governments to raise awareness of GBV and reach those at risk.
2. Promote the economic, social and political empowerment of women and girls. This includes supporting economic empowerment and livelihoods programs, social protection and safety nets that support women and girls and access to safe and equitable education for girls and boys. This importantly also includes promoting the leadership and meaningful participation of women and girls at all levels of decision-making, where they today remain conspicuously absent; including in COVID-19 response teams globally as we revealed in our recent report: Where are the Women?
3. Support and expand policies, programs and strategies that promote gender equality in social norms, attitudes and behaviours and that address the root causes of violence. It is critical to engage men, boys, community leaders and other community members in challenging and transforming patriarchal norms, practices and beliefs that justify violence against women. An example of how this can work is the Indashyikirwa program implemented by CARE and partners in Rwanda, which reduced rates of intimate partner violence by 55% amongst women, through a combination of a village savings and loans associations (VSLA) approach combined with couples’ workshops designed to address harmful norms and household power inequalities.
4. Increase funding, support and space for organisations that promote women’s and girls’ rights and gender equality, particularly local women-led and women’s rights organisations that are on the frontlines of action on GBV as well as youth-led and LGBTQI+ rights organisations.
5. Ensure public planning and budgeting processes and public financial systems integrate gender equality principles and gender analysis, and make sure adequate public resources are allocated for GBV prevention, risk mitigation, and response.

Fortunately, there is now an international instrument available that can help advance many of these priorities.

Last year, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted a new global convention that addresses violence and harassment in the world of work, including GBV. Convention 190 applies to both formal and informal workers, protects workers wherever they find themselves in the course of doing their jobs, and covers online abuse and domestic violence in its scope.

So far only two countries – Uruguay and Fiji – have formally ratified it. All governments have an opportunity to take action on GBV by ratifying and implementing the convention. The shadow pandemic has made it clearer how much this international legislation is needed.

There is no vaccine that will end GBV. What is needed instead is profound structural and social change at all levels of society, led by governments, businesses, public and private institutions, civil society and ordinary people. We must support women, girls and organisations that are leading efforts to support survivors, challenge patriarchal practices, and advance gender equality. CARE is contributing to this effort globally, including through partnerships with women’s rights groups in 39 countries and supporting 2.3 million people in 64 countries to access information and services for GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, systems across the world have been tested, and when it comes to gender-based violence, they have been found severely wanting. As we face a future with greater economic and social challenges, we must make every effort to guarantee a life free from violence for women and girls everywhere.

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