allAfricaUnited Nations — A
clear view of the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is only beginning to
take shape, but experts estimate the human cost could be extraordinary.
The economic and physical disruptions caused by the disease could have
vast consequences for the rights and health of women and girls, a new
analysis by UNFPA and partners shows.
Significant levels
of lockdown-related disruption over 6 months could leave 47 million
women in low- and middle-income countries unable to use modern
contraceptives, leading to a projected 7 million additional unintended
pregnancies. Six months of lockdowns could result in an additional 31
million cases of gender-based violence.
The pandemic is
also expected to cause significant delays in programmes to end female
genital mutilation and child marriage, resulting in an estimated 2
million more cases of FGM over the next decade than would otherwise have
occurred. These delayed programmes, on top of growing economic
hardships globally, could result in an estimated 13 million more child
marriages over 10 years.
These figures -
produced in collaboration with partners Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins
University (USA) and Victoria University (Australia) - are rough
estimates. A great deal is still unknown about how the pandemic, and the
response to it, will unfold around the world. But together, the
projections offer an alarming view of the future that could confront
women and girls if efforts are not urgently made to secure their welfare
and ensure their rights.
"This new data
shows the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 could soon have on women and
girls globally," said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA's Executive Director.
Violence surges, support dwindles
The world is
already seeing signs of a surge in violence against women and girls,
with increased reports to domestic violence hotlines, crisis centres and
justice officials.
The new assessment
foresees two ways the pandemic could contribute to more gender-based
violence. The first is through disruptions in programmes to prevent
violence and provide services, care and support to survivors. The second
is through increased total acts of violence as lockdowns keep women
inside with their abusers and as households endure stressors like
economic turmoil.
Ghadeer Mohammed
Ibrahim Qara Bulad has seen both of these factors play out already. She
is the director of the Women's Development Project at the Islamic
Charitable Association, which works with UNFPA in Homs, Syria.
"During the curfew
period, I have met a lot of woman who face violence by their husbands,"
she told UNFPA. "It has clearly increased."
Many safe spaces
have been closed, Ms. Bulad said, meaning that for those in abusive
relationships, "the woman has been imprisoned in the house."
She also witnessed
abuse first-hand while visiting families to raise awareness about
disease prevention efforts: "I saw a woman being beaten by her husband
during the curfew, as the husband lost his job and the woman was unable
to control their nine children," she recalled. "One woman told me that
she is exposed to intimate violence from her husband, repeated on a
daily basis, since he had lost his job. I also saw a wife being beaten
in front of her children."
Diminished choice
The world is also already seeing widespread disruptions in family planning services.
In many places,
health facilities are closing or limiting services. Where health systems
are overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, clinical staff may not have the
time or personal protective equipment needed to provide family planning
counselling and commodities. In some places, women are refraining from
visiting health facilities due to movement restrictions or fears about
COVID-19 exposure.
Additionally,
supply chain disruptions are limiting the availability of contraceptives
in many places. Over the next six months, stock-outs are anticipated in
more than a dozen of the lowest-income countries. On top of all that,
UNFPA anticipates significant delays in planned efforts to scale-up
access to family planning for the most vulnerable and marginalized
populations.
The assessment
looks at different possible degrees of service disruptions, and
different lengths of disruptions. A minimal three-month duration of
lockdown, with minimal service disruptions, would leave an estimated 13
million women unable to use modern contraceptives, resulting in 325,000
unintended pregnancies. In the most severe scenario, with significant
service disruptions lasting for a full year, 51 million women would be
unable to use modern contraceptives, resulting in 15 million unintended
pregnancies.
"The pandemic is
deepening inequalities, and millions more women and girls now risk
losing the ability to plan their families and protect their bodies and
their health," said Dr. Kanem.
Millions of girls at risk
FGM and child
marriage are also projected to increase, in large part due to delays in
the implementation of programmes to end these harmful practices.
Programmes addressing these harmful practices are often communal,
involving the exchange of information and perspectives. Without such
programmes, UNFPA's analysis estimates that 2 million additional cases
of FGM could take place over the next decade that otherwise would have
been averted.
Similarly disrupted
efforts to end child marriage will result in millions more child
marriages over the coming 10 years. And because poverty is a known
driver of child marriage - with families more likely to marry off
daughters in times of economic stress to alleviate the perceived burden
of caring for them - the anticipated economic fallout of the pandemic is
expected to result in millions more early marriages. Together, it is
expected that 13 million more child marriages could take place by 2030
than would have otherwise.
But these do not
have to be our future, Dr. Kanem emphasized. The world can take steps to
ensure continued access to reproductive health care and to protect the
rights and dignity of all women and girls.
"Women's
reproductive health and rights must be safeguarded at all costs," she
said. "The services must continue, the supplies must be delivered, and
the vulnerable must be protected and supported."
