Essay POL101 – Police Management System Violence – Law Assignment Help

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Violence against women and girls: the shadow pandemic 

Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women Date: Monday, April 6, 2020 As more countries report infection and lockdown, more domestic violence helplines and shelters  across the world are reporting rising calls for help. … 

Confinement is fostering the tension and strain created by security, health, and money worries. And  it is increasing isolation for women with violent partners, separating them from the people and  resources that can best help them. It’s a perfect storm for controlling, violent behaviour behind closed  doors. And in parallel, as health systems are stretching to breaking point, domestic violence shelters  are also reaching capacity, a service deficit made worse when centres are repurposed for additional  COVID-response.

Even before COVID-19 existed, domestic violence was already one of the greatest human rights  violations. In the previous 12 months, 243 million women and girls (aged 15-49) across the world  have been subjected to sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner. As the COVID-19  pandemic continues, this number is likely to grow with multiple impacts on women’s wellbeing, their  sexual and reproductive health, their mental health, and their ability to participate and lead in the  recovery of our societies and economy. 

Wide under-reporting of domestic and other forms of violence has previously made response and  data gathering a challenge, with less than 40 per cent of women who experience violence seeking  help of any sort or reporting the crime. Less than 10 per cent of those women seeking help go to the  police. The current circumstances make reporting even harder, including limitations on women’s and  girls’ access to phones and helplines and disrupted public services like police, justice and social  services. These disruptions may also be compromising the care and support that survivors need,  like clinical management of rape, and mental health and psycho-social support. They also fuel  impunity for the perpetrators. In many countries the law is not on women’s side; 1 in 4 countries have  no laws specifically protecting women from domestic violence. 

If not dealt with, this shadow pandemic will also add to the economic impact of COVID-19. The global  cost of violence against women had previously been estimated at approximately USD 1.5 trillion.  That figure can only be rising as violence increases now, and continues in the aftermath of the  pandemic. The increase in violence against women must be dealt with urgently with measures embedded in  economic support and stimulus packages that meet the gravity and scale of the challenge and reflect  the needs of women who face multiple forms of discrimination. …