
Webinar (2): Domestic Violence in the COVID19 Context
Webradio is broadcasting from central Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus at www.lemoniradio.com
International United Nations Watch (IUNW) collaborated with Lemoni Radio to conduct a live discussion with Tiziana Chiapelli and Susana Elisa Pavlou on the topic of domestic violence during the COVID-19 crisis. The discussion was moderated by Orestis Tringides and George Nicolaou. Chiapelli is Adjunct Professor at the University of Florence and is a member of the Transdisciplinary UNESCO Chair on “Human Development and Culture of Peace.” Pavlou is Director of the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) in Cyprus, has served as senior researcher for projects commissioned by the European Institute for Gender Equality, the European Parliament, and UN Women.
Chiapelli stated that while organizations are still in the process of collecting data about domestic violence, they are in a position to confirm certain general trends. She noted that in Italy a woman is killed on average every three days because of domestic violence, pointing out however that the issue is more far-reaching than that grim statistic suggests given the broader implications of psychological and/or economic control associated with domestic violence. According to Pavlou “we already had a pandemic on our hands” before the imposition of crisis-related restrictions and closures, referring to what she termed a “global crisis” of domestic violence against women and girls. One in three women globally will have experienced violence at some point in their lives.
In Europe, the incidence varies between one in three and one in five, whereas among Greek-speaking women in Cyprus, 28% indicated they had been victims of some form of domestic abuse in their lifetime, she said. Noting that statistics based on reporting rates are “never accurate”, Pavlou asserted that reported instances of domestic violence are only “the tip of the iceberg.” COVID, she said, “ did not cause domestic violence — it exacerbated an existing crisis for women and girls…and made some cases absolutely intolerable.”
Activists and human rights organizations are requesting clear gender-based data on all aspects of the crisis. In some countries, there was a spike in women seeking help in the initial period of lockdown. In other countries, there was a decrease, which could be attributed to more pressing concerns such as care-taking taking priority, but could also be because the proximity of the perpetrator prevented women victims from seeking help. In Cyprus, for example, there had been a 30% increase in calls to a domestic violence helpline, yet reporting to the police decreased slightly. Chiapelli concurred, stating that during the first two weeks of lockdown in Italy, there had been was a rapid decrease in domestic violence calls by 50%, yet in March, anti-violence centres and shelters experienced an exponential growth in calls for their services.
Domestic violence affects all social classes, and the COVID-19 lockdown often meant victims were living together with their abusers “24/7” while having to care for children and manage the stress of the pandemic and the associated widespread unemployment. Chiapelli cited one particular case in Italy where, during the lockdown, a man was beating his wife while their child was attending an online lesson. The teacher noticed what was happening and called the police, who arrested the father. What was notable was that it turned out that the wife had already called the police numerous times without any action being taken. Women, Chiapelli stressed, are less likely to seek help if they believe no change is possible, that they have no alternative but to continue living with their abusers. This “lack of an alternative”, Chiapelli asserted, is a key determinant in how women respond when trapped in situations of domestic violence.
ENDS