The coronavirus COVID-19 global pandemic has upended life as we know it.
With movements restricted, access to resources limited, and health care systems overstretched, we know that interpersonal violence will be exacerbated, with women and children being particularly vulnerable.
While it is clear that children, adolescents, and women are facing increased threats to their safety and well-being, we can make a difference. There are actions we can all take – whether as parents, educators, or policymakers – to prevent and reduce violence
Keep Kids Safe
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we must redouble our efforts to create a world where every person can live free from violence.
Learn more about our efforts in the United States to Keep Kids Safe.
The impact of COVID-19 on violence against children and women
While many children and adolescents are out of school and staying home to slow the spread of COVID-19, we know that home is not always a safe place. The Violence Against Children Surveys (VACS) shows that children and adolescents often face a great risk of witnessing or experiencing violence in the home and that parents and caregivers are often perpetrators of violence.
The same is true for women, who are most likely to experience violence from a partner. Furthermore, the data show that poverty and food insecurity—factors that we know are heightened in emergency contexts like COVID-19 —often drive or exacerbate violence against children and women.
We also know that women and girls face unique risks in crises, which further compound existing issues of gender inequality.
While it is clear that children, adolescents, and women are facing increased threats to their safety and well-being, we can make a difference. There are actions we can all take – whether as parents, educators, or policymakers – to prevent and reduce violence.
Please see below for helpful information and resources. Together we can prevent violence against children and women, during the COVID-19 global health crisis and beyond.
COVID-19 tools and resources
See below for resources and tools to help stay safe during this pandemic, and check back frequently as we update this page. If you have resources you’d like to add to this page, please email us at info(@)togetherforgirls.org.
