It is important that women have access to support mechanisms and services during the lockdown period as our data indicate that women and girls continue to face gender-based violence in their homes and neighborhood.
WOREC documented 465 cases of violence against women and girls from different 37 districts1 during the two months of the lockdown period2. This week only 66 cases of violence against women and girls has been documented.
Among the documented cases 293 cases are of domestic violence and 39 cases are of social violence. Among the social violence 11 cases are of self-initiated child marriage, 5 cases of forced child marriage by family members and 11 cases are of character assassination resulting in mental violence. Defamation has been mostly faced by married whose husband are out of town or abroad for work, widowed women and divorced women. Women are blamed and their character is questioned if they engage in conversation for their work with the male members of the society Similarly 7 women were accused as bokshi (witch) and faced physical and mental violence.
Read the full statement released on 26th May 2020: