In Nepal lockdown, a domestic violence spike

Rights activists have reported an increase in cases of violence against women and girls in Nepal in the 7 weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, and they fear the crimes will increase if the stay-at-home order is extended beyond 7 May.

Gender rights groups had predicted a rise in domestic violence since women and girls are trapped at home with their abusers, but they say the numbers are much more alarming than expected.

There were 176 cases of violence against women and girls in just 18 districts since the lockdown began on 24 March up to 1 May, and this is expected to raise the nationwide annual average of cases of domestic violence this year.

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The figures were collated by the gender rights group WOREC (Women’s Rehabilitation Centre) from data provided by social counsellors, the Women Human Rights Defenders Network and other partners. The types of violence during the lockdown period included social violence, rape, attempted rape, murder, attempted murder, suicide, attempted suicide, sexual misconduct, and cybercrime. (See charts)

Nepal was the first South Asian country to announce a lockdown on 24 March and it has been extended twice already. It is expected to be extended once more when the current period runs out on Thursday.

Nepal Police data shows that there were 211 reported complaints of child sexual abuse nationwide in 2018-19, whereas there were 48 cases in the WOREC data for only 6 weeks of the lockdown period in just 18 of Nepal’s 77 districts.

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“The figures are alarming, and prove that the kind of violence women and girls face in the home environment increases during the lockdown,” says Lubharaj Neupane, Executive Director of WOREC. “And there is also a need now to incorporate protection measures for women and girls also in the quarantine centres,”

WOREC data shows that the perpetrators in the 176 reported cases in 18 districts include 78 husbands, and 37 members from the family of the victims. Among the 26 cases of rape recorded during this time, two were gang rapes involving the partner and friend of the survivor.

Most of the victims of violence were in the 17-25 age group, followed by women and girls aged between 26-35. There were 25 girl children below the age of 16 among the survivors.

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Most of the victims reported the abuse to police, others went to parents or relatives. The data was collected from Dhanusa, Morang, Rukum, Kailali, Dang, Bardia, Siraha, Saptari, Udaypur, Sunsari, Banke, Syangja, Baglung, Mahottari, Rautahat, Parsa, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.

“The workload of women has increased during the lockdown, and this raises their vulnerability to gender-based violence,” says Shristi Kolakshyapati at WOREC. “The current support mechanism is not adequate to deal with the abuse during the lockdown.”

A similar rise in domestic violence was also reported by the Nepal Women’s Commission during the lockdown period. The office received 735 calls of which 248 dealt with domestic violence against women, an increase compared to a similar period before the lockdown.

The WOREC data shows that women in all age groups are subjected to violence, and the perpetrators mostly are people they are close to and know well. The figures also show that the lockdown period has increased the vulnerability of younger women and girls.

Globally, there has been a sharp uptick in cases of gender-based violence after national lockdowns. Survivors are also experiencing challenges in accessing services due to limited movement and access to health services.

Data shows that gender based violence has become a ‘shadow pandemic’ in many parts of the world, including Nepal.