The Intersection of Covid-19 Pandemic and Sexual/Gender Based Violence-Shadow Pandemic

Being part of Thursday’s Ambassador’s Call where Sherna Alexander Benjamin dissected the concept of Intersectionality which was coined by Kimberley  Crenshaw who defined it as  - The  interrelated nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, it is a mechanism  for conceptualizing a person, group of people, or social problem as affected by a number of discriminations and disadvantages. The   theory takes into account overlapping identities and experiences in order to understand the complexity of injustices.

I am motivated to write after a while on the intersection of Covid-19 and sexual and Gender Based Violence which unfortunately have been on bump in my Country. The Covid-19 which began late 2019 in Wuhan China  has left no nation spared resulting in closure of schools, worship centers, businesses, offices etc. bringing about mass retrenchment of workers as well as pressure on the health and financial sector leading to untold hardship on households at the same time manifested in inability of household heads to meet needs of members eliciting  aggression, verbal and physical abuse. The government of Nigeria provided palliatives to cushion effect of  the pandemic but it did not reach majority of  downtrodden due to absence of a database and strong protection mechanisms that caters for need of the vulnerable a significant number residing in rural impoverished communities characterized by absence of accessible motorable roads.

Howbeit, Covid-19 Pandemic has led to a heightened increase of Sexual and Gender Based Violence exacerbated by the existence of a toxic culture that emboldens men to see Women and Girls as docile sexual objects; Even as media is Currently  besieged with the news of rape and killing of young women specifically Uwa and Barakat, while former was killed by her assailants in a worship centre, the latter was killed in her home while trying to resist being raped as well as a 70 years old woman who was raped in her home by a 25 years old as reported in https://punchng.com/my-attacker-barged-into-my-room-covered-my-mouth-whi...  who linked his action to being under influence of alcohol.

Effectively addressing Sexual and Gender Based Violence in my opinion requires a multidimensional approach which encompasses parents and guardians not outsourcing their responsibilities in addition on the need to promote a culture that respects Women and Girls by not limiting their roles and excluding them from leadership positions while also adhering to the penalties stipulated in the Violence against Persons and Prohibition Act as well as urging states to have a Violence against Persons Act that addresses all forms of Sexual and Gender Based Violence.

Women and Girls are central to sustainable development, a society which disregards them is likely to remain underdeveloped and not actualizing global policies aimed at fast-tracking social and economic development