Indian celebrities express concern over the global surge in cases of domestic violence amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.
The initiative is curated by Akshara Centre in collaboration with Special Cell for Women and Children. Under the initiative, a video is made in which film stars and cricketers are seen urging people to stand up and fight for themselves by reporting the abuse.
“Let’s put a lockdown on domestic violence…if you are a survivor of domestic violence, report it. .. It’s the time to stand up and break the silence. If you are a witness to domestic violence …please report,” the stars said in the video.
Meanwhile in Canada, Jenny Wright , a member of the expert advisory panel with the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, says “Women and her children are literally trapped with their abuser. That presents a couple of really dangerous situations. One is that she cannot use some of the mechanisms that she would normally use to keep herself safe: going to the park with the kids, going to a movie, the ability to leave the house and be mobile when you become acutely aware that abuse might be on the rise,” she said.
“If you add something as extraordinary as a global pandemic and then have the kind of economic insecurities that happen — another huge factor around amplifying domestic violence — it’s a perfect storm of being trapped with the abuser, not being able to use the normal mechanisms that women do to keep themselves and their children safe, economic insecurity and certainly the fact that the abuser is there 24/7.”
The United Nations issued a statement last week regarding rising concern over an increase in domestic violence as a result of COVID-19 lockdown measures.
“That situation worsens considerably in cases of isolation such as the lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. All states should make significant efforts to address the COVID-19 threat, but they should not leave behind women and children victims of domestic violence.”
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