The second wave of COVID-19 has caused a surge in the level of violence against refugee women and girls

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as the COVID-19 pandemic has spread, the number of women and girls affected by violence is growing and this is particularly the case for refugees.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, declared, “We are receiving alarming reports of sharp increases in the risks of gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child marriages.”

UNHCR estimates that violence against women and girls has increased in at least 27 countries and in at least 20 of these it was reported an increase in cases where sex was used as a commodity in exchange for economic support.

Furthermore, the violence also impacts upon young girls. For example, in North-West and South-West Cameroon, it has been evidenced that, since the beginning of the pandemic, 26% of all gender-related violent incidents concerned children. It is estimated that in the Central African Republic the level of violence against women and girls is about 42% and it is significant to note that a quarter of its inhabitants are displaced people.

Venezuelans, who represent the second-largest refugee group in the world after Syrians, are also vulnerable to gender-based violence. In neighboring Colombia, which is host to the majority of the refugees, the level of violence against Venezuelan women and girls increased by more than 40% within the first three quarters of 2020 compared to the same period last year. This negative trend is even more acutely reflected in the case of Colombian women and girls since the level of violence against them increased by 153% in the same period.

The situation is no better in the small African country of Burkina Faso which is facing a dire humanitarian crisis as a result of the jihadist groups’ attacks which began in 2015. This has led to displacements and many people being forced to flee to refugee camps where 84% of inhabitants are women and girls. Unfortunately, here they experience gender-based violence on a regular basis.

According to a survey conducted in Bangladeshi city’s Cox’s Bazar, 42% of the Rohingya refugees interviewed, which included both males and females, indicated that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence against women and girls had increased. UNHCR also disclosed a dramatic rise in the cases of children being forced into marriage especially amongst displaced communities where their numbers are highest.

In April, the UN assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic could result in 13 million more underage marriages within the next 10 years. Moreover, the outbreak has caused access to contraception to be more difficult for many women which will result in millions of unwanted pregnancies. The country of Yemen, where more than 3.6 million people have fled their homes due to the military conflict and now live in refugee camps, has one of the highest number of girls marrying before the age of 18. According to UN data, over two-thirds of girls under 18 were married which represent 50% more than was the case before the conflict.

UN Women claims that the increase in gender-based violence is mostly related to economic inequality since, in many countries, it is mainly men who support their families and thus women depend on them. The lockdowns have fostered the growth of domestic and sexual violence as families have remained at home together for sustained periods of time.