As numbers and statistics of rising cases dominate mainstream media and occupy most of society’s minds, there is a plethora of human rights issues at play underneath the surface of tightened regulations and economic disruptions. The issue of domestic violence has been characterised as a “shadow pandemic” by UN Women, as violence against women during COVID-19 has been swept under the rug amidst more pressing concerns.
Domestic violence is not a novel issue. According to WHO data, about one in three women in the European Region will experience either physical or sexual violence from their partners and others during their lifetime. A total of 243 million women and girls, aged 15-49, have experienced sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner in the year before the pandemic. Since the pandemic, this has been exacerbated where a recent report from the WHO Regional Office for Europe noted that the increased stress levels during the pandemic, the impact of lockdowns and economic impact on families have further exposed women to intimate partner violence and risk. At the same time, their ability to access services has been severely hindered as charities have been close to shutting down due to cuts in funding or women being disincentivized to report potential abuse as services were being moved online.
The lack of legislative response to this pressing issue, coupled with the increasing widespread prominence of domestic violence, calls for urgent reforms and investigative action on the part of Parliament and international bodies.
A closer look: The situation in Mauritius
According to the Global Campus of Human Rights, there is a direct correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of violence against women in Mauritius. In April 2021, for example, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare (Gender Ministry) announced that there had been 293 reported cases of domestic violence in just 18 days. Further, Statistics Mauritius has noted that out of the reported cases of domestic violence in Mauritius in 2020, 87.3% were women. These numbers all point to the failure of existing legislation to protect this group of vulnerable women and lack of investigation by the policing body. Moreover, as a signatory of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), Mauritius is required to ensure the respect of women’s and girls’ rights across all spheres and at all times. This implies that the State should be even more strategic in regards to law enforcement during the pandemic period.
These are more than just worrying numbers, they reveal deep-rooted problems embedded in households and gaps in legislation. A micro-explanation of the spike in domestic violence cases could be due to more time spent with the abuser at ‘home’ in an enclosed space with limited escape as it could be potentially criminal to leave one’s household. Further, victims are cut off from support systems and routines as places such as schools, workplaces or in some instances, even police stations are temporarily shut down. Women who are at risk also had less safe spaces to turn to as some shelters for women were not accommodating residents during the pandemic, which meant that they would be turned away. Even in instances where women do report on their abusers, legal aid and support were delayed due to the pandemic with the strict restriction of movement and work from home guidelines. At the same time, especially in rural parts of Mauritius, not all women had the literacy needed to understand which helplines they needed to seek out or how they could engage with bureaucratic processes. This lack of awareness and access to information meant that a bulk of the vulnerable section of society were left with no option other than to continue living with their abusers.
A widespread international phenomenon
Zooming out, the situation in Mauritius represents a case study as to how, if left untreated, the situation could translate into a disastrous humanitarian issue. Closer to home, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the UK reported that in mid-May 2020, there was a 12% increase in the number of domestic abuse cases referred to victim support. Between April and June 2020, there was a 65% increase in calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, when compared to the first three months of that year. This is a significant increase which should not be overlooked, since cases are not only increasing in number but also in intensity. In April 2020, the Home Affairs Committee said there was “evidence that cases are escalating more quickly to become complex and serious, with higher levels of physical violence and coercive control.” Karen Ingala-Smith, who runs the ‘Counting Dead Women’ project, estimated that during the first three weeks of the first lockdown, there had been sixteen domestic abuse killings of women and children in the UK, which was the highest for at least 11 years. There is a clearly an urgency in addressing the increasingly worrying situation.
What could international bodies do?
During the pandemic, the United Nations Secretary General has called on Member States to incorporate preventative actions regarding domestic violence in countries’ national COVID recovery programmes. Specifically, UN Women has been prioritising access to essential health care services, legal aid, social services and support to women victims of domestic violence. It is crucial to have a well-defined framework and programme for women in need of assistance, but also to have an easily accessible guide for them to be able to understand the process. It may be daunting, especially after going through the traumatic experience of being abused, to face the bureaucratic process of reporting abusers, so a simplification of legislation could go a long way.
Nationally in the UK, the Home Secretary announced in April 2020 that £2 million would go to “immediately bolster” domestic abuse helplines and online support. A further funding announcement followed in May when the Government pledged £76 million emergency funding to support vulnerable people with £25 million of this going to domestic abuse services. The Domestic Abuse Act, which came into force on 29 April 2021, hopes to make changes to better protect survivors of domestic abuse and strengthen measures to address the behaviour of perpetrators. Although legislation won’t change the situation overnight, it is a good starting point to show support to vulnerable victims and to encourage them to speak up. Effective implementation and continual funding will be equally, if not more, important in ensuring success in tackling this widespread phenomenon.
