Press release: Arab states shed light on violence against women and girls during the COVID-19 pandemic

Governments, civil society organizations, media, private sector, youth representatives and UN agencies in the Arab states region came together for an online dialogue to review the regional response to violence against women and girls during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event took place in line with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. The 16 of Activism commence every year on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day.

The League of Arab States (LAS), and the United Nations regional Issue-Based Coalition for Gender Justice and Equality hosted the event, which presented the current situation and efforts undertaken to address violence against women, including best practices and lessons learned since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the region.

Prior to the pandemic, WHO estimated that 37% of ever-partnered women in the eastern Mediterranean region have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence at some point in their lives.

H.E. Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary General, League of Arab States stated that “it is imperative that we – as societies -- undertake the challenging endeavor to evolve the structures and cultures that allow sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence.    It is essential that practical steps are taken to ensure victims/survivors are safe and receive the support and services that they deserve. This includes proactive efforts to integrate measures in all COVID-19 related preparedness and recovery plans to address violence against women and girls and ensure that these efforts are adequately resourced.”

In this context, she added, “the objective of gender equality and the empowerment of women is one of the key objectives of the Arab League. These values, principles and objectives have been emphasized in the Arab women advancement Strategy and the Cairo Declaration for Arab Women: The Post-2015 Agenda, which provides a comprehensive framework for promoting the rights and status of women and girls in the Arab region.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world as we know it and the impact of the pandemic has had a big influence on gender-based violence in the region. Since the onset of the pandemic, the essential gender-based violence services for women and girls have been disrupted due to the lockdown, which meant that it became more difficult for women and girls to access services,” said Luay Shabaneh, UNFPA Regional Director for the Arab States.

“During crises, gender-based violence is exacerbated, which is also the case during the pandemic. Some families lose their income, creating more tension within the household where women and girls often become the shock absorbers. In addition, protection networks are dismantled or disrupted making women and girls more vulnerable. At UNFPA, we take this matter seriously and have committed ourselves to an aspirational goal of reaching zero gender-based violence and harmful practice by 2030. It is important not to lose the focus during the pandemic and to continue implementing gender-based violence prevention and response,” he added.

According to UNFPA, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to undermine efforts to end gender-based violence through two pathways: Firstly, in reducing prevention and protection efforts, social services and care and secondly, increasing the incidence of violence. Overall, COVID-19 is likely to cause a one-third reduction in progress towards ending gender-based violence by 2030 globally including in the Arab States region. In addition, due to pandemic-related disruptions in prevention programmes, 2 million female genital mutilation cases could occur over the next decade that would otherwise have been averted, and 13 million child marriages -that otherwise would not have occurred between 2020 and 2030- could take place.

UN Women’s Regional Director for the Arab States, Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen, stated: “There is a steep economic cost associated with violence against women and girls, that adds up to a staggering 2% of global GDP, or $1.5 trillion USD. Money that is desperately needed to invest in the social and health sector.”

She further referred to findings of the UN Women regional study on violence against women during COVID-19 highlighting that: “In recent assessments conducted in 9 countries in the Arab States region, with over 16,000 interviewees during the COVID-19 lockdowns, most participants agreed that violence against women is a real threat in the region and that it needs to be prioritized within the national response to COVID-19. However, and despite those positive findings, nearly one in three respondents at least agreed that women should tolerate violence to keep the family together, especially in those difficult times. We must act on this divide from reality and aspiration and it should be the driving force to guide us as we build back better.”

The 16 Days of Activism, which is powered by grassroots organizations globally and supported by the UN system, is an opportunity to focus the renewed sense of urgency created by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on women in particular and propel dynamic action to end gender-based violence.

Celebrated under the theme, “Orange the World: Fund, Prevent, Respond, Collect!” this year, the campaign urges all governments and partners to accelerate concrete policy responses within four areas:

FUND essential services on gender-based violence and women’s organizations working on the issue in all COVID-19 response efforts

PREVENT gender-based violence though mobilization campaigns and a zero-tolerance policy

RESPOND to survivors’ needs for services like hotlines, shelters and justice response, even during lockdowns

COLLECT data to improve services, programmes and policies