Editorial
Violence against women: tackling the other pandemic
2021 marked the 30th anniversary of the campaign
against gender-based violence. Violence against women
is a global public health issue and one of the world’s
most prevalent human rights violations. According to
WHO’s Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates,
736 million women—almost one in three—have been
subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV), non-
partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life.
The UN defines violence against women as “any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result
in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering
to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or
arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in
public or in private life”. Violence against women may
take several forms, including IPV, sexual violence, physical
violence by relatives, employers, or other individuals,
femicides (including murders in the name of honour),
cyber violence, trafficking, female genital mutilation, and
child marriage. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified
violence against women, as documented by the recent
report by UN Women. Lockdown measures and disrupted
support services have left many women isolated with
their abusive partners at home, with tragic consequences.
Reports from EU member states indicated a 60% increase
in emergency calls about domestic violence during the
first months of the pandemic. The Office for National
Statistics reported a 6% increase in domestic abuse-
related crimes in England and Wales, with the victim being
a female in 73% of cases.
IPV is by far the most widespread form of violence
against women, affecting around 641 million women
globally. It includes physical, sexual, emotional, financial,
and psychological abuse by an intimate partner (current
or former). IPV is also one of the most important causes
of homelessness among women worldwide. In this
issue of The Lancet Public Health, Alexa Yakubovich and
colleagues review the effects of housing interventions
on the physical, psychosocial, and economic wellbeing
of women experiencing IPV and report that housing
interventions are promising, particularly in terms of
mental health-related outcomes, intent to leave partner,
perceived safety, and housing and partner-related stress.
But as Rachel Jewkes notes in her Comment, although
housing interventions are provided in diverse settings,
evaluations done in low-income and middle-income
www.thelancet.com/public-health Vol 7 January 2022 e1
countries or rural settings in high-income countries See Comment page e2
are crucially lacking. Further research (quantitative and See Articles page e23
For WHO’s Violence Against
qualitative) into designing housing interventions that
Women Prevalence Estimates,
account for the heterogeneity of interventions, settings, 2018 see https://www.who.int/
publications/i/
and patterns of use is needed. item/9789240026681
The pandemic has increased demand for emergency For the UN Women report on
and supportive housing services and has exposed shaky the impact of COVID-19 on
violence against women see
support systems for victims of gender-based violence. https://data.unwomen.org/sites/
Women living with an abuser reported that the abuse default/files/documents/
Publications/Measuring-
had worsened during the pandemic, and an estimated shadow-pandemic.pdf
fifth of women were unable to leave due to a lack of For WHO Europe statement see
housing or refuge space. Remarkably, Spain has enacted https://www.euro.who.int/en/
about-us/regional-director/
a contingency plan to address the needs of IPV victims, statements-and-speeches/2020/
statement-during-covid-19-
including declaring support services and shelters as
pandemic,-violence-remains-
essential services and launching an information cam­ preventable,-not-inevitable
paign. Ireland has taken a proactive approach, with police For more on RESPECT see
https://www.unwomen.org/
forces contacting previous domestic violence victims to sites/default/files/Headquarters/
check in and remind them that support is available. Attachments/Sections/Library/
Publications/2020/RESPECT-
Violence against women can be prevented. Policies implementation-guide-
should be focusing on long-term change and Overview-en.pdf
multidimensional approaches that address the different
factors that contribute to violence against women.
RESPECT—a framework developed by WHO and UN
Women—outlines strategies to prevent violence against
women, with each letter representing a strategy. R for
relationship skills strengthened, addressing unhealthy
power dynamics, inequalities, and conflict management.
E for empowerment of women (social and economic).
S for services ensured (material and psychological
support for survivors). P for poverty reduced, because
violence and poverty are linked and can leave many
women trapped in a vicious cycle. E for environments
made safe (in schools, workplaces, or other public
spaces). C for child and adolescent abuse prevented,
stopping the intergenerational cycle of violence. T for
transformed attitudes, beliefs, and norms.
Reducing the prevalence and severity of violence against
women is possible. Addressing the causes of violence is
possible. Violence against women is preventable. It is time
for increased investment to adapt and scale up evidence-
based interventions. Policy makers, practitioners,
researchers, and everyone in society have a crucial part to
play to stop this pandemic. ■ The Lancet Public Health
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access
article under the CC BY 4.0 license.