Covid-19 reversing GBV steps

Globally, women and girls are the most affected population by burdens of poverty; add disease outbreaks in the mix and the picture gets murkier.  

This year, the UNFPA identified 48 million girls and women who are classified as people in need of humanitarian assistance across the globe. Of this number, are four million pregnant women and girls.  This identification was done in January before the worldwide Covid-19 outbreak.

As we look at this monster outbreak with gender lens, more vulnerable women and girls will sink further into an abyss of poverty and dire situations.

This is why the UN agency has swung to action to alleviate this situation by setting aside USD20 million to mitigate challenges facing girls and women, during this difficult period, as it calls for gender responsive advocacy and provision of maternal support to protect stressed healthcare systems.

Maternal deaths

This action is informed by the fact that disease pandemics affect women, girls and people living with disabilities more than it does more populations.

The government should prioritise the unique needs of women as world focus turns to an end to unmet needs on maternal deaths, family planning and harmful practices that have chained women and girls to the bottom of the pyramid.

The government should not be too glued to action plans to stop Covid-19 and forget the plight of women and girls bogged down by poverty and years of marginalisation.

Even amid coronavirus, the government should strengthen health systems capacity by procuring and delivering essential services to guarantee access to sexual reproductive services and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) services. Domestic Violence and GBV have been on a steady rise for the last five years.

Stay at home

The Covid-19 action plans to slow the spread will only make things worse for these group of women. As people observe government’s directive to stay at home 24/7, there is bound to be unreported cases of GBV and domestic violence.

Pregnant women’s, lactating mothers’ and girls’ needs are in jeopardy, hence the need for national and county governments to ensure expectant women and girls have unfettered access to ante-natal and prenatal services.

Sexual exploitation skyrocket in emergency times and this period is not different. It is the perfect breeding ground for paedophiles, GBV and domestic violence purveyors. 

No doubt, a child is being molested somewhere and a woman is cowering at a dark corner after being raped, as abusive spouses take advantage of the stay home directive.  Another one is nursing injuries inflicted by an intimate partner with no one to talk to.

Elizabeth Ampairwe the Programs Manager, Women and Leadership with the Kampala-based Forum for Women and democracy says the informal ones and tourism sectors are the worst hit as most are dominated by women.

Childcare burden

“Governments are deliberately not discussing the economic impact of stay-at-home orders and lockdowns on women and girls,” says Elizabeth, adding that there are concerns around childcare burdens and potential violence as spouses spend more time together amidst constrained resources.

In the absence of a working healthcare system, many lives are endangered. Our healthcare systems should be working optimally with necessary equipment.  

Behind closed doors, prisoners of sexual exploitation abound. Domestic violence in bedrooms is the order of the day with no one to complain to as the security and judicial agencies are either out of office, or involved in one way or the other in the war on coronavirus.

When everything is done indoors, the vulnerable are left to their own devices. Women and girls being forced to have sex against their will have nowhere to run to for help. The government must, therefore, ensure all safety faults tailored to women and girls’ needs are working.

I fear this pandemic will roll back steps covered in reducing violence of all forms against women and girls. It is imperative for the national government to keep the fire burning in as far as the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 are concerned.

Even with coronavirus, the finger should remain firmly on the pulse of marching towards zero unmet needs on family planning and sexual reproductive and healthcare services. It is important for the two tiers of governments to prioritise women’s and girls’ needs if we are to remain on course for 2030.

 Aside from women and girls’ threatened access to family planning and other reproductive services, the environment is harsh for business. We could be staring at a full blown lockdown if the virus crawls out of hand.

Market dealers

Women form the bulk of market dealers. They are now at home following the government’s stringent measures to stay home to avoid the virus’ amorphous tentacles. Women selling vegetables, in many cases, are the sole bread winners for their nuclear and extended families.

Aljazeera recently showed a woman only known as Hadija who lives with 10 children in her house. She is a resident of Mathare and the sole provider for her large family from her meagre resources washing clothes in neighboring estates.

She has no running water and like her neighbours, she buys a 20-litre jerrican of water at Sh30 every day. The Mathare slum resident and others in her situation, are vulnerable and in need of interventions to alleviate their situations.

Hadija cannot wash clothes now because coronavirus makes it impossible for one to visit another lest the disease spreads. How will her 10 young ones wash hands frequently? How will they eat?  It’s no doubt, she is staring at a bleak future with her brood.

Before the Covid-19, men have been whiling time away in bars after work, as a way of family planning, although it doesn’t always look that way. Now, they are all home round the clock. More pregnancies, which could have been avoided, will be witnessed in the next two months clawing back years of efforts aimed at having smaller households for better health and opportunities.