PANDEMIC WITHIN A PANDEMIC: AN UPSURGE IN FAMILY VIOLENCE

As the entire world has come to a standstill owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, humans are battling with sluggish economic activities, health risks and financial insecurities more than ever before. Though the suffering is mostly universal, the question of privilege still looms large as the lives of the marginalised and the less fortunate ones are brought to the forefront. With social distancing norms being actively followed and lockdowns being imposed all the world, the victims of domestic violence face a much greater threat when even home is not a safe place for them. “For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest. In their own homes... We know lockdowns and quarantines are essential to suppressing COVID-19. But they can trap women with abusive partners” said António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, in a statement made in April 2020 calling for a global ceasefire on a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence." Despite 70% of the frontline healthcare workers being female, women continue to suffer from multidimensional disparities and gender-based violence for women, children and LGBTQ+ individuals constitute a vast majority of these victims.