The European Institute for Gender Equality published a research on Covid-19 pandemic and intimate partner violence against women in the European Union.
The report is a preliminary overview of the measures undertaken across the European Unio to support victims of violence during the COVID-19 outbreak (from March until the end of September 2020). It identifies examples of promising practices and provides initial recommendations for the EU and Member States on how to better support victims during the pandemic, as well as in other potential crises.
The Report acknowledge the need to raise awareness of the risk of a spike in intimate partner violence in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the importance of awareness campaigning, funding, and preventive legislative measures to ensure ad hoc support to intimate partner violence survivors.
Aiming to reduce violence against women in different crisis situations and including women’s specific needs in emergency and recovery plans, the EIGE Report recommended to take actions to adopt national plans to improve the long-term response to gender-based violence in times of crisis (Art. 7 Istanbul Convention) and to implement measures to protect victims and their children from perpetrators through rapid removal of the perpetrator (Art. 52 – 53 Istanbul Convention).
Aiming to improve the access to support services and limiting the impact of Covid-19 – and other potential crisis situations – on the functionality of support services, the EIGE Report states the need to implement Art. 20 – 23 – 24 (et alia.) of the Istanbul Convention, concerning the necessity that legislative or other measures must be taken to ensure that victims have access to services that facilitate their recovery from violence.
Find out the full report here: The Covid-19 pandemic and intimate partner violence against women in the EU | European Institute for Gender Equality (europa.eu)
See COVID-19 Resources webpage to find out more about the impact of the pandemic on violence against women: Covid-19 Resources for Women’s Specialist Support Services & Women’s Organisations – WAVE Network WAVE Network (wave-network.org)
Written by WAVE intern Diva Adelaide Edosini
