Page |1

EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON WOMEN

ABSTRACT

Violence against women is not a new phenomenon, nor are it’s consequences to women’s
physical, mental and reproductive health. And domestic violence goes up whenever families
come together and spend more time with each other. The lives were going on well and
systematic, everyone in the family was busy in their own works or chores but suddenly
COVID-19 forced several countries into lockdown and everyone had to stay home. And it is
evident that family is a main site of exploitation and violence. In India the cases reported with
the National Commission for Women had doubled within a month of the lockdown which in
reality excluded the number of cases unreported. This chapter makes an attempt in analyzing
the challenges and hardships the women had to face in their own homes during the COVID-
19 pandemic and how women were not safe with the persons she trusted the most.

1. INTRODUCTION

Violence against women and girls increased globally as the COVID-19 pandemic was
combined with economic and social stresses and measures to restrict contact and movement.
Crowded homes, substance abuse, limited access to services and reduced peer support were
exacerbating these conditions. Before the pandemic, it was estimated that one in three women
will experience violence during their lifetimes. Many of these women were now trapped in
their homes with their abusers. There are already many deeply concerning reports of
increased violence against women around the world, with surges being reported in many
cases of upwards of 25% in countries with reporting systems in place. In some countries
reported cases have doubled. Globally, 243 million women and girls aged between 15 and 49
have been subjected to sexual or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the
year 2020. The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to violence against women and girls, and
particularly domestic violence has intensified. The stay- at- home orders of the Government’s
globally to contain the spread of the virus had left the women with their violent partners
increasingly isolated form the people and resources that could help them.  The impact of
COVID-19 could lead to an increased occurrence of early marriage due to poverty, as
impoverished families may be inclined to reduce the burden of taking care of their young girls.
 Page |2

2. IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON WOMEN

Violence against women, and particularly domestic violence, forms a vicious cycle that keeps
women subordinated and disempowered. Unfortunately, the pandemic had brought a crises for
women which will have a lifelong impact on the women who had to face immense violence and
torture in their homes.

2.1. IMPACT ON GIRLS

The provisions of sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal health care and
gender-based violence related services, are central to health, rights and well-being of women and
girls. The diversion of attention and critical resources away from these provisions may result in
exacerbated maternal mortality and morbidity, increased rates of adolescent pregnancies, HIV and
sexually transmitted diseases. With lockdown leading to a shadow pandemic of gender- based
violence, rates of child marriages, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation were on peak.
Child marriage was on steady rise and this was extremely worrisome. Even in pre lockdown years,
the number of child marriages in India was problematic. 27% of girls in India are married before
their 18th birthday and 7% are married before the age of 15. According to UNICEF, India has the
highest absolute number of child brides in the world i.e., 15,509,000. When schools were
functional, it kept the children in schools. Most parents and communities would not dare to get the
children married, as it would bring in trouble for them with the alert and responsible school
authorities reporting the plans or the marriage itself to the child protection services. However, with
the lockdown in place and schools being the economic hardships of the family played a crucial
driving force to get their young girls married below the age of 18. In India, economic reasons pay
a pivotal role in child marriages as some families think that they will get a obedient servant to do
all the household chores and they do not look her as the daughter-in- law of their family. This
pandemic thus led to increase in the number of child marriages and teenage pregnancies not only
in India but globally.

2.2.A PANDEMIC OF ONLINE VIOLENCE

There is a pandemic of online gender-based violence which emerged during the COVID-19

pandemic. The increased domestic violence against women witnessed during the crisis spilled into
the online space, turning the lifeline of the internet into a hostile space for women throughout the
globe. Women  experienced online abuse, including threatening messages, sexual harassment and
the sharing of private images without consent. This had a devastating mental toll on both girls and
women. This abuse has devastating consequences for the mental wellbeing of victims as they are
 Page |3

often left alone with their experience, an experience that is normalized and invisibilised on social
media and in society in general, driving victims to silence and shame, exposing them to their
perpetrators, and sometimes leading them to self-harm, depression and suicide.1

‘Bois Locker Room’, an Instagram group which shook everyone’s conscience to their cores,
the group which held up a mirror to our faces and made us face the sad reality we live have
built for ourselves, the group which was just a tiny droplet in the vast ocean of
misogyny. This clearly reflects the mental violence committed against women during the
pandemic.2

2.3. SURGE IN CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN

One of the major impact which pandemic had on women was the increase in number of
crimes against women. No doubt that crime against women has always been a major concern
in our country but during the pandemic this matter had really turned serious which is very
clearly evident form the data released by the National Commission for Women.

The data is presented in the form of a table below:

NATURE OF CRIME YEAR 2019 YEAR 2020

Bigamy / polygamy 160 141
Cyber crime against women 402 704
Dowry harassment/ dowry 2584 3788
death
Indecent representation of 98 29
women
Outraging the modesty of 1128 1679
women
Reproductive health rights 74 96
of women
Privacy of women and rights 127 295
thereof
Right to exercise choice in 369 460
marriage
Trafficking or prostitution 50 40
of women

1
Available at https://webfoundation.org/2020/07/theres-a-pandemic-of-online-violence-against-women-and-
girls/
2
https://www.cyberpeace.org/the-untold-story-of-bois-locker-room/
 Page |4

Violence against women 1636 23722

Denial of maternity benefits 26 96
to women
Dowry death 52 330
Protection of women against 462 5297
domestic violence
Rape or attempt to rape 209 1236
Sexual assault 35 110
Sexual harassment 62 376
Acid attack 8 11

Hence, from the table below it can be seen that there has been a huge surge in the crime
against women during this pandemic and the women had no resources through which she
could get her out of such circumstances. The unfortunate part is that many cases are
unreported and we can’t accurately determine the amount of agony the women had to face.

2.4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE : THE SHADOWED PANDEMIC

With a rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the world in the past few
months, several international organizations took cognizance of a global rise in cases of
domestic violence as a result of physical distancing regulations and its subsequent
lockdowns. Many countries reported a 15-30% hike in the number of distress calls received
from women who were confined in closed spaces with abusive partners.

 Pandemics provide for an enabling environment of fear and uncertainty that may exacerbate
diverse forms of violence against women. Moreover, economic insecurity, financial
instability, and isolation are also some of the factors that contribute to making domestic
violence even more prevalent.

Unfortunately, domestic violence cases are underreported across the world, especially in
times of global emergencies like COVID-19.

Women worldwide consider informal channels as their first point-of-reporting in the case of
domestic violence. The first respondent is often the family and the police the last. In India,
the National Family Health Survey, conducted in 2015-16, revealed that 33% of married
 Page |5

women in the age group of 15-49 experienced physical, sexual, or emotional spousal
violence. Of these women, only 14% sought help and 77% never spoke about it. Among
those who sought help, 65% reported to the natal family and only 3% reported to the police.

The grasp of domestic violence perpetrators has tightened in times of the pandemic in India.
Abuse victims are distanced from their regular support systems making it difficult for them to
call out for help. On 24 March 2020, the Prime Minister of India announced a nationwide
lockdown to contain the spread of the Novel Coronavirus. Within a fortnight, the National
Commission of Women reported a 100% rise in complaints of domestic violence cases. A
nationwide WhatsApp number was then launched by the NCW to provide an alternate
method for women to report domestic violence.

The reasons of increase in the cases of domestic violence can be as follows:

 The lockdown stress was so huge that people had not anticipated such situation
arising ever in their lives. The stress of the risks of their lives was same for everyone
but the societal thought of our society is such that husbands were taking out their
stress on their wives for no reason and the women were again the suppressed ones.
 Earlier everyone was busy in their lives and now when the whole family had to stay
together 24/7, there surfaced conflict of thoughts, opinions and actions.
 Unavailability of liquor or drugs was also a major reason for increase in violence
against women.

The series of COVID-19 lockdowns in India diminished the opportunities of reporting of

domestic violence cases. Some of the reasons for this are as follows:

 Restricted movement: The lockdown incapacitated women by preventing them from

moving to safer places in cases of violence and abuse. With men and women
cohabiting together for longer periods, the privacy of women plummeted and
instances of violence rose. All that happened with them remained behind the doors of
their house.

 Handicapped mediums of communication:  The whatsapp number which was

launched by the National Commission for Women had a limited reach as only 38
percent of the women in India have access to mobile phones and fewer have an
internet connection, making this platform inaccessible to majority of women in the
country.
 Page |6

 Reduced contact with the natal family: Natal family is usually the first point of
contact for the victim and it’s her parents or brothers or sisters which make her
mentally strong to face such situation as the victim knows that she has someone who
will support her throughout in this situation. They are not only essential in supporting
the victim in filing a complaint but also facilitate filing of complaints to the police.
The constant presence of the perpetrator with the victim or the woman made it
difficult for the victims to contact their first respondent which ultimately deterred
them from reporting to institutionalised channels.

 Unavailability of the formal support system: The machinery under the Protection

of Women from Domestic Violence Act had not been identified as an essential service
during the lockdown. Hence, the protection officers were not able to visit households
of victims, NGOs were not able to have physical interactions with them and the police
officers being at the frontline in our effort to tackle COVID-19 were overstretched to
help victims effectively.