The Invisible Pandemic

Context:  According to the National Commission for Women and UN Secretary-General, there was a spike in domestic violence cases during lockdowns. This rise in domestic violence is called “shadow pandemic.”

Reasons for the spike in domestic violence         

• Victims and culprits under the same roof: Most rapes are perpetrated by people known to the victim, and there has been an increase the chance for marital rape, triggering a humanitarian crisis.
• Ignorance by state, society and media: public discussion of the pandemic’s impact on gender violence is confined to domestic violence.
  • There are different kinds and contexts of violence, defined by inequality and desire to control.
  • For E.g. rape and sexual assault; street sexual harassment; workplace sexual harassment; custodial rape; conflict-related sexual violence; communal violence; war; drone strikes; caste violence.
• Absence of social protection

Fundamental reasons for the rise in violence

• Deep-seated inequalities in Indian society: which creates a climate where state violence is tolerated because we are conditioned to granting others power over us and condoning its abuse.
• State’s coercive order: Those who are instrumental in carrying out the state’s coercive orders internalise that sense of entitlement and leads to a proliferation of brutalisation.
• The normalisation of violence: Children who witness daily violence understand it as the normal language of human interaction.

Gender risks  due to lockdown:

• Forcible girl marriages in desperation to see them safe and fed.
• Increased vulnerability of women and girls with a disability and working women.
• Possibilities of new forms of harassment in “work-from-home” culture.

Way Forward: A Systematic creation of a support infrastructure:

• Like easy access helplines, secure shelter services with enabling cultures; bystander intervention awareness; Gender violence sensitisation of the police and administration.

Conclusion: Gender-based violence was predictable, and preventable, the fallout of lockdown.