Press review, UNICEF Newsletter: “COVID-19 and Harmful Practices Bi-Weekly Digest (2 June 2020)
The latest news on the impact of Covid-19 on the rights of women and children is not very optimistic. Containment measures, economic hardship, school closures have placed women, children and especially girls at greater risk of violence, early forced marriage, child labour and threaten their schooling.
A press review based on articles and reports listed in the UNICEF Newsletter allows to better qualify and detail the current situation and challenges.
UN Women analyses the “impact of Covid-19 on violence against women and girls and the provision of services”. It mentions the lack of data, which is difficult to collect and often provides underestimates given the difficulties women face in reporting, not asking for help or being too isolated to do so. Nevertheless, a general increase in calls to hotlines and helplines was noted worldwide, as well as in the reporting of cases of violence in help centres in many countries. Many sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls who are victims of violence work, at least partially, at a distance, which means that women have limited access to them and sometimes also have difficulty in obtaining the necessary information. They then find themselves at greater risk of being left without protection or appropriate care. The services themselves suffer from a lack of resources – both financial and human – as they are redirected to manage the pandemic and as a result, their functioning and continuity are hampered.
To know more, three other reports on this topic:
- UN Women, IDLO, UNDP, UNODC, World Bank and The Pathfinders. “Justice for Women Amidst COVID-19.” New York, 2020. Access here (summary here)
- CARE International, Rapid Gender Analysis – COVID-19 : West Africa – April 2020, May 20, 2020. Access here
- Julia Hussein (2020): COVID-19: What implications for sexual and reproductive health and rights globally?, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters. Access here
On May 18th, 2020, Plan International raised concerns on the increase of FGM and child marriage in Somalia. According to Sadia Allin, head of mission at Plan International Somalia, “The lockdown is being seen as an opportune time for the procedure to be carried out in the home with ample time for healing”. Furthermore, with the worsening of economic hardships, cutters are looking more actively for families wanting to have daughters cut “and they are going door-to-door to cut girls.” (Sadia Allin)
The information has been reshared by various newspapers worldwide:
- The original statement by Plan International here
- Emma Batha, Somalia sees “massive” rise in FGM during lockdown, Brinkwire, May 30, 2020. Access here
- Farzana Hassan, HASSAN: COVID-19 brings FGM increase to Africa, The Toronto Sun, May 21, 2020. Access here
- Lerato Mogoatlhe, COVID-19 Lockdowns in Somalia Are Putting More Girls in Danger of Child Marriage and FGM, in Global Citizen, May 27, 2020. Access here
- Danielle Wallace, Somalia sees ‘massive’ uptick in female genital mutilation during coronavirus lockdown, Fox News, May 20, 2020. Access here
- Rupa Shenoy, “Despite recent historic gains in ending FGM, Somalia sees dramatic increase”, The World, June 03, 2020. Access here
In The Guardian, Harriet Grant outlines the situation in Tanzania and the Sahel, where school closures mean girls are less protected from FGM and marriage. First, it threatens the efforts and progress made in recent years to improve girls’ schooling. Indeed, many girls face difficulties in continuing their schooling at a distance and risk never returning to school. In Tanzania, schools are protective and safe spaces for girls. According to Terre des Hommes, with their closure, many girls protected during the excision season were eventually excised during confinement. Families do not fear condemnation: “We met a mother who was imprisoned one year after performing FGM but she was satisfied. She is locked up but her daughter is excised. “In addition, in the Sahel region, where early marriage is prevalent, secondary school delays the practice but is no longer able to protect girls at risk. Finally, Eric Hazard of Save the Children Africa warned of the current risk of unwanted pregnancies, violence and sexual abuse of young girls as observed during the Ebola epidemic.
According to UNFPA, the number of girls cut this year is expected to be 2 million more than expected because of the pandemic and lockdown measures. Child marriage will also increase to 13 million more than initially thought by 2030.
To know more about the impact of school closures on early marriage and pregnancies, FGM and girls’ schooling:
- UNFPA, “Millions more cases of violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, unintended pregnancy expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic”, April 28, 2020. Access here
- Harriet Grant, Many girls have been cut’: how global school closures left children at risk, The Guardian, June 01, 2020. Access here
- Sabdio Darso, What is the effect of COVID-19 on girls’ education?, for Mercy Corps, May 20, 2020. Access here
- Farzana Hassan, HASSAN: COVID-19 brings FGM increase to Africa, The Toronto Sun, May 21, 2020. Access here
- Time Hum, Desperate Families in Yemen Are Resorting to Child Marriage and Labor as Coronavirus Spreads, Vice, May 26, 2020. Access here
- Lerato Mogoatlhe, ‘4 Critical Humanitarian Issues That African Countries Should Not Forget as They Fight COVID-19’, in Global Citizen, May 20, 2020. Access here
- Leah Rodriguez, COVID-19 Puts Girls at Risk of Unplanned Pregnancies, Violence, and Missing Out on School: Report, in Global Citizen, May 19, 2020. Access here
- Emma Smith, Many girls won’t go back to school when lockdown is over, Devex, May 27, 2020. Access here
- Hanna Summers, UK behind Yemen and Sudan in global index of children’s rights, report finds, The Guardian, May 26, 2020. Access here
- Sadhika Tiwari, Ongoing Crisis May Push Adolescent Girls Into Early Marriage Or Work, IndiaSpend, June 1, 2020. Access here
Finally, solutions and recommendations were put forward by civil society organizations and members, NGOs and international institutions. In particular, Girls not Brides wrote an open letter to the African Union with recommendations to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on girls’ education and their vulnerabilities. For example, the 5th calls for universal access to appropriate sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services to reduce the risk of gender-based violence. The 6th calls for “training educators to recognize and prevent violence” and the 8th calls for encouraging girls to return to school by removing barriers to their access.
Useful resources and tools on the topic:
- Girls not Brides, “Joint letter to the African Union: the impact of Covid-19 on girls’ education and child marriage”, April 30, 2020 (letter sent on April 20, 2020 & co-signed by five organisations). Access here
- UN Women, IDLO, UNDP, UNODC, World Bank and The Pathfinders. “Justice for Women Amidst COVID-19.” New York, 2020. Access here (summary here)
- UN Women East and Southern Africa, “COVID-19: ending violence against women and girls – key priorities and interventions for effective response and recovery (Policy Brief)”, May 20, 2020. Access here
- UN Women, Ending Violence Against Women Briefs. Access here
In conclusion, the new challenges brought about or existing ones accentuated by VIDOC-19 place women and girls at greater risk of experiencing violations of their rights, violence and reduced opportunities. Social distancing and movement reduction measures call on NGOs, CSOs, health and social services, states and international institutions to improve their coordination and learn from each other’s work. Innovative solutions are implemented, new ways of communication are developed and contacts between actors around the globe are strengthened. It is essential to continue in this direction in order to respond as well as possible and as quickly as possible to the needs of girls and women and to continue to protect them.