100% increase in gender-based violence amidst lockdown: IMPRI seminar told

By Our Representative
The National Crime Bureau Records data 2020 have revealed there is an over 100% increase in the incidences of violence against women from March 2020 to May 2020. An online panel discussion, which addressed key issues of gender-based violence in India, revealed that this happened because the lockdown “restricted the mobility which has made the so-called ‘safety nests of women’ a sphere of fear and anxiety.”
The discussion was organised by the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI) in association with GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation (GCRI). said that during the Covid-19 crisis, the failed to “properly address” the fundamentals of patriarchy and power relation within the household.
Participating in the discussion, Poonam Kathuria, director, Society for Women's Action and Training Initiative (SWATI) presented the findings of a study by interviewing 3000 women across several states in the India, which suggested that the frequency of violence has gone up during lockdown, with police helpline receiving a call “every 10 minutes.”
Urvashi Prasad, public policy specialist, NITI Aayog, Government of India, said, cyber space harassment is new type of bullying and needs to be addressed, for which the police and other stakeholders should be trained how to tackle these new emerging threats.
Participants in the discussion included Prof Govind Kelkar, chairperson, Gender Impact Studies Centre, IMPRI;Aya Matsuura, gender specialist, International Labour Organization, South Asia; Dr Indu Prakash Singh, facilitator, CityMakers Mission International; Dr Sanghamitra Dhar, consultant, UN Women; Prof Balwant Singh Mehta, research director, IMPRI; and Dr Simi Mehta, CEO, IMPRI.

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