Abstract:
Six months into the COVID-19 crisis, thousands of news stories have been published warning of the increased
risks of violence against women and children. School closures, social distancing and confinement increase the
risk of poor nutrition among children, their exposure to domestic violence, increase their anxiety and stress, and
reduce access to vital family and care services. Research from previous health, economic, and political crises
supports this dynamic, predicting increases in multiple risk factors for diverse forms of violence. Yet most press
coverage relies on month-to-month statistics from highly volatile single sources from high-income countries like
helplines, hospitalizations, and police records. This paper review rigorous studies that have analyzed how
COVID-19 and related policies are impacting rates of violence against women and children and highlight more
reliable methods, while acknowledging limitations of underlying data sources. COVID-19 has exposed the
vulnerability of many families to deal with economic shocks. Countries have therefore introduced emergency to
give families extra cash. Local governments also provide extra support. The COVID-19 crisis will make children
vulnerable who were not vulnerable before. In the aftermath of the crisis, health, education and family support
services should take on board the lessons learnt on how to best develop resilient and crisis-proof child policies,
data and service infrastructures to support families and children. Understanding mechanisms underlying these
dynamics are important for crafting policy and program responses to mitigate adverse effects. This paper may be
used by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to help inform further evidence generation and policy action
while situating violence against women and children within the broader need for intersectional gender- and
feminist-informed pandemic response.
