Action Brief: A Guide for Action to Stem Increasing Violence Against Women amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia and the Pacific

Even in “normal” times, women in the Asia-Pacific region experience high levels of violence. About 37 per cent of women in South Asia, 40 per cent in South-East Asia, and 68 per cent in the Pacific say they have suffered abuse by their intimate partners, according to World Health Organization research published in 2013. Now women face even greater risks during the COVID-19 emergency. There is evidence that during previous public health emergencies, violent attacks on women increased.

This is a guide for governments, aid agencies, service providers, businesses and other groups on what to do to protect women from violence during the pandemic and its associated array of lockdowns, movement restrictions, services closures, and other disease control measures.