Violence against women rising amid the pandemic, according to a nationwide survey

A new survey conducted by women’s shelters across Canada demonstrates that crisis calls and requests for admittance into shelters have increased during the course of the pandemic. The “Shelter Voices” survey suggests that more than half  (52 %) of 266 participating shelters reported women were experiencing some kind of violence as public health measures were being put in place to control the Covid-19 virus.
“This violence is increasing in many cases and it is also impacting people’s ability to seek help,” said Andrea Gunraj from Women’s Shelter Canada.  She said that on an average, a woman is killed every six days by an intimate partner.  Due to the pandemic and its stressors such as job losses, emotional support and financial stability, gender based violence has further increased.

Respondents from the survey say that crisis calls and requests for support increased as the lockdown measures went into effect in March, and the number rose slightly as the lockdown measures eased in the months between June- October 2020. During the lockdown, it was difficult for women to reach out for help and felt reluctant to leave their homes and come into shelters as they feared contracting Covid-19. This left them feeling helpless while wanting to leave an abusive home, according to comments from the survey.  Chief among victims’ fears were that the abuser was monitoring their devices and movements, or they could potentially become homeless during the pandemic.

Gender-based violence can be seen in many forms, most commonly noticed as physical abuse. But Gunraj reiterated that gender-based violence can be emotional, financial and even sexual assault. One such victim was Maya*,  who arrived in Canada 6 years ago through a sponsor. Little did she know that her sponsor would be a perpetrator; he started sexually abusing her under the pretext of giving her status in Canada.