On January 1, the world started off the new year with the deaths of three individual women in France, all murdered by their male partners or ex-partners. Sadly, what happened this day was not a mere coincidence, but one of many instances of what the United Nations (UN) calls a “shadow pandemic,” a term used to describe the growing rates of violence against women and girls during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). French feminist group Nous Toutes said, “In 2022, there is no longer the time to lament, it is time to act.” With COVID-19 shedding new light on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), it is clear that change is in demand.

During recent years, France has addressed domestic violence as an ongoing issue, but this is not a problem that only pertains to France, it is a major global issue. According to the Canadian Femicide Observatory of Justice and Accountability (CFOJA), Canada saw 92 cases of femicide in the first half of 2021, with 78 and 60 respectively in the same time period of 2020 and 2019. The United States (U.S.) also saw an 8.1 percent increase in domestic violence after lockdown, according to the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice (NCCCJ).

These are all under the same category of GBV, which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines as “harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender.” COVID19 lockdowns saw women confined at home with their abusers, which increased GBV rates. The severity of the issue was also addressed by Pope Francis, who condemned domestic violence against women as “almost satanic.” Although the impact COVID-19 has on women was not unforeseen, it is still a grave issue, and therefore must be acknowledged and dealt with adeptly.

Home is Where the Hurt is

When UN Women published a report in November last year, it was made official that COVID-19 is aggravating what is already a hostile environment for women. The report, titled Measuring the Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women (VAW) During COVID-19, consists of research focused on 16,154 women in 13 different countries including Albania, Colombia, Kenya, and Thailand. Providing various statistics, the report effectively proves that women feel unsafe in their very own communities and homes during COVID-19.

According to the report, seven out of ten women believe that domestic violence has increased after lockdown, and 58 percent believe that sexual harassment in public spaces has worsened amid COVID19. One may say that these are mere opinions, rather than hardcore facts, but perceptions reflect individuals’ fears, and therefore are critical when dealing with societal issues and their causes. Thus, if women feel unsafe, there is no better evidence that something is fundamentally wrong.

Why do women feel less safe during COVID-19? There are a couple estimated causes. To begin with, COVID-19 has led to long-term quarantine rules, lockdowns, and overall disconnection with society. According to the University of California (UC) Davis, this has made it harder for victims and aggressors, or potential aggressors in a relationship, to be separated from one another. Adding on increased stress due to lockdown, COVID19 creates the ideal environment for domestic abuse. The World Health Organization (WHO) also points out that unemployment and economic burden during the pandemic builds on this cause and results in a hostile environment for women and children.

The WHO also mentioned that sexual and reproductive health services have become more limited during COVID-19, restricting women’s sources of protection. Shelters, crisis centers, and legal aid are harder to reach in a time of social disconnection, making it difficult for women to access the little social protection they already have. As Professor Min Hee Go (Political Science and International Relations, Ewha Womans University) says, “The efforts UN Women have made to eradicate GBV are regressing as the pandemic elongates, which is a severe issue in the global community.”

Band-Aids Don’t Fix Bullet Holes

Socially entrenched issues like GBV are a tough battle to fight as they are not visible to the eye and victims tend to hide from attention. Thankfully, the pandemic is acting as a motive for acknowledging and preventing GBV. In response to increasing domestic violence, the French government has taken measures to prevent this, with a 24/7 emergency hotline and sensitivity training for 90,000 police officers. However, activists are saying that more fundamental changes need to made.

Spain clearly understood the assignment. Starting this year, they are counting all murders of women or children as femicides if gender is deemed to have played a role. This is a big change from before, when they limited femicides to only when women were killed by their male romantic partners. This makes them the first country in the European Union (EU) to take a crucial step towards combating GBV: acknowledging the issue.

Korea is also in dire need of change, as the government continues to demonstrate its incompetence when dealing with GBV. For instance, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has failed to protect women at the forefront, up to the point where politicians are discussing its abolishment. Also, the judicial system is notorious for ineptly punishing GBV, a point recently proven with the verdict made on January 6, when a man was sentenced to a mere seven years in prison for abusing and eventually killing his girlfriend.

It is apparent that Korea needs to make some improvements. Efforts are being made, of course. For instance, on January 5, the Ministry of Justice arranged a special agency in the purpose of revising laws for punishment of GBV. There is no doubt that endeavors such as these are meaningful in their own way, but Korea has yet to acknowledge and combat GBV as a society. Furthermore, Professor Go stresses that “We as a society must deviate from the dichotomous logic that men are perpetrators and women are victims, and share the principle that all violence is unacceptable under any circumstance.” 

GBV is a threat to women worldwide, remaining silent but deadly. The pandemic has caused stress, economic burden, and the reduction of protective services for women. This consequently increased GBV rates, leading many to make efforts to prevent and overcome the situation. The pandemic does put countless more women at risk, but it also candidly reveals the dire gender injustices deeply entrenched within society, alerting many |French feminist organization Nous Toutes about the gravity of the issue.