Using an innovative web-based data collection technology, the study surveyed some 11,500 male and female Internet users over the age of 18 in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and Yemen to explore the prevalence, impact, and consequences of online violence on women in the Arab States, and the barriers women and girls’ survivors face to access services and reporting. In addition, the project conducted qualitative research on the experiences of online violence through the lens of civil society organizations, women activists, and service providers and a mapping of existing laws and services related to online, and ICT facilitated violence against women.

UN Women is at the forefront of the global drive to remove gender barriers because we believe in a world of justice and human rights for everyone. Towards that end, and as the only United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality, we marshal the world’s best gender expertise and the considerable resources of the United Nations. We connect people in many realms, the national and international, the public and private, activists and officials. Together, our efforts are more than any of us could pursue alone.

This publication is produced by Musawah with support from UN Women within the framework of the ‘Men and Women for Gender Equality’ regional programme funded by Sweden.

Il est vrai que les soins dans le secteur public ont connu une amélioration en termes d’existence de structures sanitaires et de centres de santé de base répartis sur l’ensemble du territoire. Toutefois, les violences dans certaines de ces structures, dont le milieu obstétricale, sont fréquentes et laissent des cicatrices invisibles mais douloureuses.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data has shown that all types of violence against women and girls (VAWG), particularly domestic violence, has intensified. This is also the case in the Arab States region. This brief reviews recent qualitative and quantitative data, the availability of support systems and identifies good and emerging practices to address VAWG in the Arab Region in light of COVID-19.

This publication is produced by Musawah with support from UN Women within the framework of the ‘Men and Women for Gender Equality’ regional programme funded by Sweden.

This report is informed by the contributions received from 80 civil society representatives from 33 countries, who shared their views, challenges and recommendations on the gendered dimensions of violent extremism and counterterrorism during the Global Digital Consultation “Voices and perspectives of civil society on the gendered dimensions of violent extremism and counterterrorism responses” (Global Digital Consultation).

Women and girls admitted to COVID-19 community isolation centers are particularly vulnerable to be subjected to harassment, violence, exploitation and abuse due to specific gendered protection risks, including being confined to an isolated space, the gendered staffing of centers, the economic vulnerability of women and girls, and avenues to seek help being limited or hard to reach. WHO and UN Women are co-leading interventions within the isolation facilities to protection the needs of women and girls, through protection monitoring, ensuring complaint and feedback mechansisms, community messaging, and training and capacity building.

This policy brief highlights emerging trends of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and implications for the provision of essential services (health, police and justice, social services and the coordination of these services) for women and girls experiencing violence.

Through a regional assessment, UN Women has reached out to civil society organizations (CSOs) to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their work, the challenges they are facing and the solutions they are creating. This brief aims to highlight the key findings of this assessment. The brief also provides qualitative and quantitative data on the impact of COVID-19 on violence against women, including within the most vulnerable groups, through the lens of women CSOs from the Arab States region.

This brief addresses the importance of women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation to an effective pandemic response and to peacemaking efforts, and how the women, peace and security agenda can provide a critical framework for inclusive decision-making and sustainable solutions. It also provides preliminary analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on women’s participation in ceasefires and peace processes and offers a series of recommendations, including on “building back better”.

This brief suggests that domestic violence has increased in Palestine due to the conditions created by the COVID 19 pandemic, which in most cases resulted in a lockdown of survivors of violence with their abusers. With families in lockdown, helplines are seeing a surge of cases requesting a multitude of services.

This brief highlights emerging trends and impacts of COVID-19 on online and ICT-facilitated violence against women and girls (VAWG). It provides examples of strategies put in place to prevent and respond to online/ICT-facilitated VAWG and makes recommendations on how different actors can best address this issue. It is a living document that draws upon the knowledge and experience of a wide range of experts.

This brief explores the implications for the provision of essential services for women and girls who have experienced violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides recommendations for governments, civil society, and international organizations that are seeking to improve the quality of and access to coordinated health, police and justice, and social services for all women and girls during the crisis and provides examples of promising practices to date.

Across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their sex. This policy brief explores how women and girls’ lives are changing in the face of COVID-19, and outlines suggested priority measures to accompany both the immediate response and longer-term recovery efforts.

This brief highlights emerging evidence of the impact of the recent global pandemic of COVID-19 on violence against women and girls. It makes recommendations to be considered by all sectors of society, from governments to international organizations and to civil society organizations, in order to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, at the onset, during, and after the public health crisis, with examples of actions already taken.