Afghanistan
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Albania
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
245 cases of domestic violence were reported by the Albanian State Police in March 2020. The numbers may be higher as women have tended to remain silent whilst in self-isolation with the perpetrator.
Albania has not followed the global trend of an increase in calls for help from domestic abuse victims. In fact, the data suggests that there were 141 fewer domestic violence reports in March 2020, compared with March 2019. It is suggested that this is because addressing domestic abuse is “considered a luxury in the current state of survival”.
Algeria
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Andorra
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research available.
Angola
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Antigua and Barbuda
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Argentina
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Increase by 67% in the number of calls made for help to the emergency line, compared to one year previous.
Deaths of women (of those that are reported) have risen by 33% compared to the same period in 2018, and by almost 20% (40 to 49) when compared to the same period in 2019.
Armenia
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Suspected increase but no figures have been provided.
Australia
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
38% increase in the number of calls to 1800 Respect, the National helpline.
42% increase in the number of first-time family violence reports being made to victim support practitioners.
5% increase in the number of cases reported to police in Western Australia.
Austria
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
On 19th May 2020, it was announced in the Austrian national news that, during the crisis, there had been a 9% increase in the number of reported cases of domestic abuse.
Azerbaijan
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Bahamas
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Bahrain
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
46% increase in abuse.
Bangladesh
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
50% increase in the number of reports of domestic violence in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
81% of Myanmar refugees had faced attacks from relatives.
Barbados
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Belarus
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Belgium
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
A National Helpline reported a 70% rise in calls for help in the third week of lockdown compared to the first week; the calls involved almost double the number of potential victims of violence.
Belize
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Benin
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Suspected increase in line with UNFPA projections.
Bhutan
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
"The National Commission for Women and Children is seeing an increase in domestic violence cases in Bhutan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission received 47 cases between January and April from Thimphu alone regarding women who needed immediate support like counselling, shelter and legal advice. Only 77 such cases were reported to the Commission in the whole of 2019”.
2020: "Royal Bhutan Police recorded 13 cases of domestic violence in March. The victims are 11 females and 2 males between 20 to 40 years of age”.
Bolivia
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Incidents have increased. In the period between 31st March 2020 and 12th April 2020, Bolivia’s public prosecutor's office recorded 545 cases of domestic violence. The government is providing food aid valued at USD $57 to mothers with low incomes and financial aid worth $80 to low-income families with primary school children. Whilst the provision of this aid does not specifically address the rise in domestic abuse, it could alleviate the additional financial pressures caused to already vulnerable groups during the pandemic.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Likely in line with UNFPA projections.
Botswana
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No specific numbers but there have been reports of an increase in number, which would be in line with UNFPA projections.
2020: It has been suggested that the effects of COVID-19 will cost the region of Sub-Saharan Africa between USD $37 billion and $79 billion in terms of output losses.
Brazil
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Official reporting is down but The Brazilian Forum on Public Safety analysed more than 50,000 posts on Twitter of which 6,000 indicated domestic abuse had occurred, thereby representing a 431% increase. Other research has suggested a 40-50% increase in the number of incidents of domestic abuse.
Brunei
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Bulgaria
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
The Bulgarian Fund for Women has reported that, since 13th March 2020, when a lockdown was imposed in Bulgaria, 8 women have been killed by their partner.
Burkina Faso
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Burundi
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
COVID-19 is deepening the level of violence against women.
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Cabo Verde
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Cambodia
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Cameroon
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Canada
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Researchers at the University of Toronto uncovered a 20%-30% increase in rates of gender-based violence and domestic violence in some regions of the country.
One shelter in the Greater Toronto Area reported a 400% increase in the number of calls.
York Regional Police reported a 22% increase in domestic incidents since stay-at-home measures came into effect on 17th March 2020.
Central African Republic
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Since April, gender-based violence has increased by an estimated 10%, while reported injuries to women and children have increased by 69%, rape by 27% and other assaults by 45%. Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the Central African Republic, 97% of the victims of gender-based violence have been female and 76% underage.
The UNDP reports that there has been a 69% increase in violence.
Chad
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Chile
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
70% increase in the number of calls made to helplines in the first weekend of lockdown.
China
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
Domestic violence is reported to have tripled during the lockdown, with Blue Sky, an anti-domestic-violence non-profit based in Hubei province, receiving a total of 175 reports of domestic violence in February 2020, a tripling in the number of complaints from February 2019.
Colombia
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
130% increase to the number of calls made to women's hotlines in the first 18 days of national lockdown, with 19 women being murdered in the first 21 days. Between 25th March 2020 and 23rd April 2020, the 155 national women’s domestic violence hotline received an average of 132 calls per day.
Reports of domestic violence during lockdown have increased by 175% compared to the same period last year.
Comoros
No research.
Costa Rica
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Croatia
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
In Croatia, police told the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network that the number of domestic violence cases was up from 94 in March 2019 to 120 in March 2020. The police proceeded to stress that the rise should not be interpreted as an “overall increase in violence” but was the result of efforts to educate police officers on how to identify such offences.
On 8th April 2020, the Autonomous Women’s House of Zagreb stated that in February 2020 – March 2020, it had received 19 requests from women for admission to its shelter and was receiving around 10 calls every day.
Cuba
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Cyprus
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
There have been estimates of a 30% increase in domestic and gender-based violence due to COVID-19.
The Association for the Prevention and Handling of Family Violence stated that in the period from 9th March 2020, the day on which Cyprus confirmed its first COVID-19 case, to 31st March 2020, its help line had recorded 2,075 calls. Of these, it was able to answer 921 calls; the rest could not be answered because the lines were busy. In the above period, 15 requests were made to go to a safe house, 12 reports of domestic violence were made and 230 reports of violence in the family, which is 10 per day. This is about 47% higher than in previous months.
Czech Republic
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
The volume of calls to Lukasa’s Forum of Women Citizens and Activists for Governance, Democracy and Development, increased by over 1,000%, having gone from 5 calls per week to 10 per day. With only 2,082 social workers for 84 million people, Congolese authorities are poorly equipped to help survivors.
Denmark
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No exact stats but Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has observed that the number of women seeking refuge in a women's shelters has increased in Denmark over the COVID-19 period.
Dijbouti
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Dominica
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Dominican Republic
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Ecuador
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Egypt
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
El Salvador
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Equatorial Guinea
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Eritrea
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Estonia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Eswatini
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Ethiopia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Increase but no data.
Fiji
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In Fiji, the national domestic violence helpline recorded a significant increase in calls in the month of April (around 527), compared to 87 in February and 187 in March.
Finland
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Family violence emergency tasks have increased 13% over March and April compared to the same period last year.
France
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
More than a 30% rise (10/04/2020)
Gabon
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Gambia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research
Georgia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Germany
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Researchers from the Technical University (TU) Munich and the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (RWI) found from a representative sample that, 3.1% of were victims of physical violence during the period of strict contact restrictions and stay-at-home orders, 3.6% were raped by their partner and children were violently punished in 6.5% of all households. Of 3,800 women asked, 7.5% of women reported physical violence against themselves, 10.5% reported violence against children.
Ghana
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
32% increase in the prevalence of abusive and violent behaviour at home. Government of Canada has pledged about US$2M to support the national response on child protection and gender-based violence in Ghana.
Greece
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
The Bicommunal Technical Committee on Gender Equality reports that DOMESTIC VIOLENCE incidents have increased by 58% since the lockdown, from mid-March to 22 April .
April 2020 the calls for domestic violence incidents quadrupled from 166 to 648 in comparison to the previous month .
Grenada
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Guatemala
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
800 complaints of psychological and physical violence against women were received by the Public Ministry in the three weeks of lockdown. Complaints include psychological physical and sexual violence.
Guinea
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In Guinea, data indicates a 4.5 percent increase in cases of gender-based violence since before the epidemic including twice as many rapes.
Guinea-Bissau
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Guyana
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research
Haiti
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research. However, the Haitian Secretary of State on Disability Soinette Désir reports that COVID-19 has worsened the situation of women and girls with disabilities, who are experiencing sexual violence at greater rates and suffering some of the economic hardships mentioned above as well. As the practice of sheltering in place spreads, we anticipate increased intimate partner and sexual violence, just as has been seen in other parts of the world. (5)
Honduras
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research but it is acknowledged that the confinement by COVID-19 has forced women in Honduras, where 406 were killed in 2019 and more than 70 this year, to lock themselves up at home with their main aggressor, their partner, a situation that threatens the lives of many, especially victims. of macho violence, according to experts. EPA-EFE/Gustavo Amador.
Hungary
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Reported domestic violence incidents in Hungary have doubled since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Iceland
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No country-wide research. Domestic violence suspected to have played a role in deaths of 2 women in April. There has been a slight increase in reports in the capital area, Suðurnes, and Northeast Iceland.
India
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
National Commission for Women: Between 23 March and 16 April 2020 - roughly the first three weeks of the lockdown - the commission received 239 complaints of domestic violence. This was a significant jump from the 123 complaints it received in the month leading up to the lockdown.
NCW: registered 587 domestic violence complaints between March 23 and April 16 - a significant surge from396 complaints received in the previous 25 days between February 27 and March 22 One in six new complaints of domestic violence was made over a relaunched WhatsApp number.
The Childline India helpline received more than 92,000 SOS calls asking for protection from abuse and violence in 11 days.
Indonesia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
The Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women Association for Justice (LBH Apik) said it recorded 59 cases of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and online pornography from March 16 to 30. Seventeen of the 59 cases involved domestic abuse. "This is the highest number of domestic violence cases we’ve ever recorded [in a period of two weeks],"
Iran
Cost of domestic abuse to the economy each year:
No research.
Iraq
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
The head of Iraq's community police, Brigadier General Ghalib Atiyah, told journalists that its log of domestic violence cases has increased by an average of 30 percent since the curfew came into force – with some areas seeing as high as a 50-percent spike.
Ireland
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Increase in calls to domestic violence hotline.
New figures provided by An Garda Síochána show gardaí have dealt with 5,592 cases of individuals who have been the subject of domestic abuse since Operation Faoiseamh, the Garda’s dedicated domestic violence operation during lockdown, was launched on April 1. The figures represent a 25 per cent increase in the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by gardaí over the same period in 2019.
Israel
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Increase of tens of percentage points in reports of suicidal intentions expressed by domestic violence victims. Data provided by ERAN – a non-profit organization that provides emotional first aid on the phone and online – shows that 729 domestic violence-related calls and emails were received from March to May, compared to 537 from January to March, an increase of 35.8 percent.
Italy
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Citing official data, a parliamentary committee into violence against women said last week that reports to police of domestic abuse dropped to 652 in the first 22 days of March, when Italy went into lockdown, from 1,157 in the same period of 2019. Telefono Rosa, Italy’s largest domestic violence helpline, said calls fell 55% to 496 in the first two weeks of March from 1,104 in the same period last year. Difficulty in asking for help.
Jamaica
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Drop in cases & calls
Japan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Jordan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Kazakhstan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Kenya
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
National Council on Administration of Justice: "significant spike in sexual offences" .
Kiribati
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research on male victims or other gender identities.
Kuwait
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Kyrgyzstan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Deputy Minister of labour and social development Aliza Soltonbekova confirmed rise in domestic abuse cases, but no figures .
Laos
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Latvia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Lebanon
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
At least doubled, but potentially much more. Abaad, a local NGO, reports twice as many calls made in first 4 months of 2020 than in the whole of 2019 .
Lesotho
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Two weeks into the lock down, 18 cases of sexual assaults had been reported in the country, which represented an increase.
Liberia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Libya
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In the first weeks of the lock down, three women were reported murdered by their partners across the country which represented an increase although year on year statistics have not been published.
Liechtenstein
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Lithuania
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Domestic killings doubled in Lithuania during quarantine
Luxembourg
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research. of further increase in domestic violence
Madagascar
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Malawi
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Malaysia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
The ministry’s Talian Kasih hotline had seen a 57 per cent increase (or 1,893 calls) from women in distress up to March 26
Maldives
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Mali
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Malta
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Marked increase noted but no concrete research.
Marshall Islands
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Mauritania
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Mauritius
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
A referral pathway was established between the helpline run by the Ministry of Health and the Child Help Line which allowed a direct referral of protection related cases, including sexual and gender-based violence. A total of 169 “serious” calls were receive since the beginning of the epidemic. (May 2020)
Mexico
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Domestic abuse is expected to grow by 92% during the quarantine period .
Prior to the beginning of the social distancing measures, the 911 emergency number registered 21,727 violence against women related calls for the month of February 2020. Just three weeks after the social distancing measures were announced, federal authorities estimated that violence against women had increased between 30% to 100%. Within this context, domestic violence demonstrated to be one of the most concerning matters of COVID-19. Almost two months after the registration of the first COVID-19 case in Mexico, the Shelter Network observed an increase of 5% in women’s admissions and 60% in guidance via telephone, social networks, or email. Additionally, centres linked to the RNR are at 80% or 110% of their capacity, especially in entities such as Guanajuato, the State of Mexico, and Chiapas .
Micronesia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Moldova
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In Moldova, in the first three months of 2020 police registered 267 offences related to domestic violence compared to 231 over the same period of last year. Police protection orders were applied in 173 cases in the first three months of 2020, up from 157 in the first quarter of 2019, Dorel Nistor, head of the Community Interaction Section of Moldova’s General Police Inspectorate, told BIRN.
Monaco
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
According to Céline Cottalorda, Monaco’s authorities are yet to report any significant rise in cases. “Since the start of confinement, social services have not been aware of any specific situations of domestic violence, nor has the Association for the Assistance of Victims of Criminal Offenses (AVIP),” said Ms Cottalorda. “Police have also not seen an increase in the number of cases.” But it is unlikely that Monaco is immune to the phenomenon .
Three situations of minor violence have been recorded during lockdown. Of these three cases, no complaints were filed. “The social service, the police and the charities working in Monaco have noted a drop in calls.” .
Mongolia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No country-wide research. Police records for the capital city of Ulaanbaatar indicated a 63% increase in reported cases of domestic violence, with 3,100 during the first quarter of 2020 compared to 1,900 reported during the first quarter of 2019. Most of these cases included physical violence (77%), about 90% were committed in a household setting, and women constituted 93% of the victims.
Montenegro
Estimated increase due to COVID-19:
In Montenegro, Maja Raicevic, head of the Centre for Women’s Rights, said on April 5 that in March calls to her NGO reporting domestic violence were up 20 per cent on the previous month.
Morocco
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Between March 20 and April 20, the first month of the lockdown, Moroccan prosecutors registered 892 complaints of physical, sexual, economic, and psychological abuse of women, the prosecution office explained.
Mozambique
Estimated increase due to COVID-19:
No evidence.
Myanmar
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Namibia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Nauru
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Nepal
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
The Women’s Rehabilitation Centre in Nepal, reported 465 cases of GBV between March 24 and May 29, 2020. The number is likely to grow after more organizations make their GBV data public. A study published in the Kathmandu Post writes: “Every ten minutes, a woman somewhere in Nepal dials 1145, the helpline operated by the National Women Commission (NWC), seeking assistance. The majority of these calls are made by survivors of domestic violence who are either looking to report incidents of abuse or calling to inquire about the support services offered by the group.”
Netherlands
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Kindertelefoon, a Dutch non-profit organisation helping children (anonymously) to deal with various problems, reported a 50 percent surge in calls most of them related to domestic and sexual abuse and violence in the 2 weeks after the Netherlands entered into a semi-lockdown in mid-March .
New Zealand
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Police figures comparing the week before the lockdown show a 22 percent increase in investigations. Mirroring the police figures are those from Women's Refuge, showing a 20 percent increase in calls related to domestic violence
Nicaragua
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Niger
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Nigeria
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Reports only for North East Nigeria. The report shows that women may experience a greater risk of gender-based violence. Intimate partner violence may increase due to heightened tension in the household with food insecurity and quarantine measures. Stringent movement restrictions may prevent women from leaving their home at moments of violence or to move to places of refuge. However, there is a lack of statistical analysis available.
North Korea
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
North Macedonia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
NGO Organization of Women of the City of Skopje reported a 7% increase in the number of calls to their helpline .
Norway
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Oman
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Pakistan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
"Government officials reported a 25% increase in domestic violence incidents during the lockdown across the eastern Punjab province, with authorities registering 3,217 cases between March and May"
Palau
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Palestine
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
A tally combined by Tal'at, an independent political feminist movement that organised the campaign, 11 Palestinian women have been killed as a result of domestic violence so far this year, with five of the fatalities occurring since the implementation of the lockdown in early March
Assiwar (a women's support NGO) reported that the number of calls received in recent weeks risen by 30%.
Palestinian Working Women Society for Development (PWWSD) counselling hotline received 924 calls between March 22 and April 15.
Panama
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Papua New Guinea
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Police Minister Bryan Kramer:" said 647 cases of domestic violence were reported in Port Moresby in June alone" .
Paraguay
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Peru
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
4,000 calls to the domestic violence hotline in the first few days of lockdown
Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) reported an increase in gender-based violence cases since the start of the coronavirus quarantine .
Philippines
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Poland
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In March 2020, the number of calls on our helpline for victims of domestic violence went up by 50%,” says a coordinator at the Women’s Rights Centre (CPK), an NGO that supports victims.
Portugal
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Portugal has experienced a decrease in the reports of domestic violence by 26 percent in comparison to the same period in 2019 .
Qatar
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Republic of Korea
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Romania
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
2.3% more complaints have been filed by women who reported they had been attacked by their partners or that they had abused their children.
Russia Federation
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Russian Human Rights Commissioner: Complaints and reports made to Russian non-governmental organisations spiked from roughly 6,000 in March to more than 13,000 in April.
Rwanda
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Saint Lucia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Samoa
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research but an increase reported in the press .
San Marino
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
San Tome and Principe
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Saudi Arabia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Highest ever recorded no. of cases during the lockdown.
Senegal
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research reported.
Serbia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Official figures have not been released but there have been COVID-19 response projects in partnership with UN Women.
Seychelles
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Sierra Leone
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Singapore
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
22% year-on-year increase in domestic abuse cases reported to the police .
Slovak Republic
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Slovenia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research. Currently reports to the police have not shown any increase but this is likely because victims are in survival mode until the end of the lockdown. Once they are free to move again, they will have more opportunity to seek help.
Soloman Islands
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Somalia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
With just over 50% of sexual violence perpetrators living in the same house as the survivor or are neighbours with the survivor, COVID-19 restrictions place women and children at significant risk. In Mogadishu, over 100 cases of sexual violence were documented between the end of January and mid-April 2020. We saw 13 cases documented in less than 72 hours. Nearly 65% of the all the cases we have worked on involve child survivors, most of which are girls. Over 600 cases have been documented by SWDC in the first quarter of 2020 alone, which has doubled compared to the last quarter of 2019.
South Africa
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In the first week of the lockdown, Police Minister Bheki Cele stated that police had received more than 87,000 gender-based complaints
South Sudan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
There have been a significant number of COVID-19 cases. The country is already facing a civil war, refugee camps and significant numbers of displaced peoples all of which exacerbates the spread of a pandemic. Therefore, it is challenging to accurately gather the impact of COVID-19 on domestic abuse cases specifically.
Spain
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In the first two weeks of April alone there was a 47% increase in calls to Spain’s domestic violence helpline over the same period last year. The number of women contacting support services, which have been designated as essential by the government, by email or on social media is said to have increased by as much as 700%. There has been a sharp drop in complaints to the police. A local NGO, Fundación Ana Bella, suggests that this is because a survivor needs the support of family and friends to make a formal complaint and this support network is not available when they are living under lockdown.
Sri Lanka
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No specific evidence but the literature refers to a general increase due to the lockdown.
Sudan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Evidence not available
Suriname
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Sweden
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Switzerland
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
The national figures do not yet show an increase in domestic violence. Calls in Biel have so far decreased but other victim support organisations have reported an increase .
But it would seem likely in line with other countries [also UNFPA projections] that the numbers have increased.
Syria
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Tajikistan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research available.
Tanzania
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Reporting has reduced by 30% because of fear, isolation and restrictions on mobility and information . However, there is no research on the increase in cases or cost.
Thailand
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Domestic violence has almost doubled since the onset of Covid-19, according to the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.
Beginning of February and the end of April: nearly 500 incidents of domestic abuse and violence were recorded on the ministry’s hotlines. Considerable year on year increase. The actual rate of domestic violence is likely to be far higher due to low levels of reporting. .
Timor-Leste
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No specific statistics, broadly in line with global increase. Restrictions on movement due to COVID-19 is likely to cause an increase in domestic abuse .
Togolese Republic
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Tonga
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Women’s crisis centres recorded a 54 per cent increase in the number of cases coming in during that period. It is expected that as lockdown is eased more cases will become apparent .
Trinidad and Tobago
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
On 9 April 2020, the Commissioner of Police shared data confirming a rise in domestic abuse cases. In February 2019, 39 reports were made whereas in February 2020 there were 73 reports. In March 2020, there were 96 reports. In total in 2019, 232 were reported whereas already in 2020 there had been 558. However, the increase in reports may, in addition to COVID-19, be related to the January 2020 launch of a Gender-Based Violence Unit which encouraged disclosures .
Tunisia
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Since the quarantine was introduced on 23 March and the 30 April, there was a five-fold increase in reported cases of violence according to Tunisian minister in charge of women's affairs Shiri Laabidi based on calls to the ministry’s 24/7 hotline .
Turkey
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
1,804 domestic violence incidents were recorded in Istanbul in March 2019 which increased to 2,493 cases in March 2020. This amounts to a 38.2% increase year on year . There is No research. on the country as a whole, likely in line with UNFPA projections.
Turkmenistan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19
No research.
Tuvalu
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Uganda
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
March 30 - April 28: 3,280 GBV cases reported to police.
The Uganda police force, has recorded more than 3000 cases of domestic violence with 6 deaths in a space of one month of the lockdown .
Ukraine
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
National Hotline on Combatting Domestic Violence: 26% increase in calls (in the first 2weeks of quarantine). In April, 113% increase in clients, in comparison to early March.
United Arab Emirates
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
United Kingdom
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, the difficulties faced by domestic abuse victims has been exposed, as well as the government strengths and failures to tackle a rise in numbers. “The pandemic has exposed longstanding flaws in the UK government’s approach to domestic violence,” said Hillary Margolis, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch."
The UK government introduced emergency funding for victims, "Communities Secretary announces £76 million extra funding to support survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and vulnerable children and their families and victims of modern slavery", specifically £28 million for domestic services.
The charity Refuge reported on May 27 that average weekly calls and contacts to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline for England and Wales had risen by 66 percent and visits to the website – where people can request a safe time to be contacted – had jumped by 950 percent compared with levels before the pandemic.
United States of America
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
The LSE wrote a blog post featuring a study that investigated US data and that found that 'calls between 2019 and 2020, before and after March 9 (controlling for various state and seasonal trends), we estimate that domestic violence was about 10.2 percent higher during the last few weeks of March in 2020 compared with the same weeks in 2019'. 'Our estimates suggest that the pandemic has led to about 3.3 more domestic violence calls per city every day. If the entire United States experienced a similar increase, the result would be about 1,350 more domestic violence calls each day.'
Uruguay
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In the first 45 days of lockdown, police reports of violence against women decreased by 8% compared to the same period last year. However, calls to a gender-based violence hotline increased by 80% during the first two months of lockdown. Therefore, it is likely that cases have increased but people are seeking help via remote methods rather than by going to the police .
Uzbekistan
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No full research except that according to the ministry of interior affairs, 527 protection orders were issued from January to April 2020'' .
Vanuatu
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Venezuela
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Save the Children reported a 33% increase in demand for support for gender-based violence between March and May, with cases of sexual assault against children and psychological and physical violence against women by their partners. An increase of almost 80% in calls to their helplines and 62% in psychological first aid consultations reflect the situation that Venezuelan families are experiencing.
Vietnam
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Yemen
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research but it is likely to be a cause of an increase in cases..
Zambia
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
No research.
Zimbabwe
Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:
The Musasa Project, a local NGO, says it has already documented at least 782 cases of abuse in just 13 days, compared to an average of 500 per month.
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