In the ‘old normal’, one in three women experienced some form of violence during their lives. In my former existence as a journalist, I once worked on a research project with a women’s organisation and Glasgow University. My role was to invite women to share their experiences of domestic abuse, which were analysed by the experts and statistics were extrapolated.
That was decades ago, and the figures then were one in three. I had hoped that by 2020, things might have improved, so when a Church of Scotland working party gave that very same statistic, I was disheartened.
And to put the Scottish figure into context, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of the UN’s Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), reported in April of this year that in the previous 12 months, around the world, some 243 million women and girls aged between 15 and 49 had been subjected to sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner.
That was before lockdown. As the lockdown was imposed across the planet, that already shocking figure rocketed. UN Women says that in times of crisis, there is always a rise in domestic violence, and despite the fact that so many women don’t report when they are abused, the figures that have been gathered so far are heart breaking.
For example, according to UN Women, helplines in Singapore and Cyprus have registered a more than 30 per cent increase in calls. In Australia, 40 per cent of workers in this field in New South Wales reported more requests for help with violence. Domestic violence cases in France increased by 30 per cent after their lockdown on March 17. In Argentina, emergency calls for domestic violence increased by 25 per cent since the lockdown there on March 20.
A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe said “Unfortunately, every country in the region is already all too familiar with the source of interpersonal violence.”
A Scottish Government report issued in June says that the impact and risk of domestic violence during lockdown has been magnified and victims have found it more difficult to separate from a violent partner.
Can we create a ‘new normal’ in which women and girls are not subjected to such violence? And let’s add emotional abuse – equally as devastating as physical and sexual violence.
During lockdown, Pope Francis has urged us to pray that the Lord would give strength to victims of domestic violence, ‘and that our communities can support them together with their families’.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has already asked that all governments make the prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19.
I pray that world leaders everywhere listen to Mr Guterres. Women and girls deserve to be safe in their own homes. As he says, ‘Women’s rights and freedoms are essential to strong, resilient societies.’ Violence is learned, and in the ‘new normal’ let’s speak out for victims and start rebuilding the basic structures of a nonviolent society.