We have noticed how Covid-19 has exposed several vulnerabilities inherent in our society. However, home quarantine does mean that people live close to each other more than ever before. While this may have good benefits like increased time with the family, for several people, especially women and children in countries like India, the lockdown can mean a terrible fate.
These are the survivors of domestic violence and child sexual abuse, and those who are potential victims of such abuses. They may suffer different degrees of abuse and may be suffering irreversibly during this period.
According to devastating data uncovered by the WHO, physical or sexual violence is experienced by one in three women in this world in their lifetime.
Nearly 35 per cent of women have experienced sexual or physical person at some point in their lives, nearly 30 per cent have experienced such violence at the hands of their intimate partner, which in a society such as India, may well be the husband they are legally married to. In India, among married women, this data finds more traction as among women within the ages 15-49 who have experienced physical violence, 83 per cent of the perpetrators are current husbands, while 7 per cent are former husbands, a staggering number. In case of unmarried women, the most common perpetrators include mothers/stepmothers (60 per cent), fathers/stepfathers (32 per cent) and brothers (26 per cent).
The Covid - 19 pandemic will confine these perpetrators in close quarters with victims or potential victims of physical and sexual violence. Being confined inside a family setup will mean less chances of reporting for fear of retribution, which will allow these opportunistic perpetrators to prevail and in some cases escape justice. With more and more families in lockdown in India, abuse hotlines are lighting up every day with new reports of domestic violence.
The UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has called this violence again women which has intensified during Covid - 19 a “shadow pandemic”. Men being confined at home along with stress caused due to poverty, health and hunger are encouraging them to be more violent towards and take out their frustration on women, as potential people who could help are also confined indoors. Indoors, during Covid- 19, women are vulnerable and it is our duty to extend all the help that we can to them.
What is shocking is the kind and extent of spousal violence which is common in India. Among those reported, nearly 27 percent women have been slapped, 11 percent have their arm twisted or hair pulled, 9 percent punched or kicked, and 3-6 percent physically forced to perform intercourse or other sexual acts the woman did not want to do.
In addition to physical violence, which might not present in every abusive relationship, common tools of abuse also include social isolation whereby the victim is isolated and prevented from having any contact with friends, family and employment, the victim is under constant surveillance or has restrictions on access to basic necessities as food, clothing and sanitation.
Domestic violence and child abuse has seen a marked increase all around the world, including many developed countries. In India too, the numbers, even though they might be under-reported, are shocking. The early data from the first phase of the lockdown as given by the National Commission of Women (“NCW”) suggests that the number of complaints received rose from 116 to 257 within the first and the last week of March, 2020. With respect to child abuse, within a span of 11 days, the Childline India helpline received more than 92,000 calls related to child abuse, most of them post the introduction of the country wide lockdown. Even online sexual abuse is on the rise because of shutdown of educational institutions due to Covid- 19.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has encouraged law enforcement not to force victims to have to come out to police station to file First Information Reports (FIRs), but instead themselves go to the complainant and lodge an FIR if required. He further urged the police force to take rigid action against any perpetrator of domestic violence, and to identify serial offenders. The NCW has also provided a WhatsApp number in which cases of domestic abuse can be reported, in addition to its website and other methods of submitting complaints.
These times are tough, but in many ways tougher for a lot of people we do not see on the surface. Migrants, migrant workers, child labourers, victims of domestic or sexual violence or child abuse are all facing really tough times dues to Covid- 19 and the lockdown. While the Government and the health workers fight against the virus, these people have been really neglected. As citizens of this great country, we need to step up to show kindness to our many brothers and sisters who have had to suffer so much to return back to their native place, but also be strong against those who try to take undue advantage of the lockdown by preying on those weaker than them, indulging in domestic violence, child abuse or encourage children into labour.
Children are the future of this country and migrant workers are the backbone of this country. Together they form a crucial component of our great country. Coordinated efforts, including specific measures to alleviate the problems of migrant workers and special steps to improve access to education for children will go a long way in rebuilding in the aftermath of Covid-19.
(Dr Samanta is MP, Kandhamal, and founder, KIIT and KISS)
