ABSTRACT
Gender-based violence against women thrives in social isolation and seclusion, either by isolating or secluding the survivors or hiding the abuse from society. Female victims of violence who are isolated from society by their perpetrators are at particular risk. Survivors of sexual violence are similarly isolated and silenced by the stigma, shame, and victim-blaming they experience. This chapter explores how state imposition of ‘social distancing’, movement restrictions, and lockdowns in response to COVID-19 increase the risk of violence against women and decrease the ability for survivors to seek much needed assistance. Two forms of violence against women are examined in particular due to the disproportionate impact that pandemic responses have had on these forms of violence: violence against women occurring within the home (domestic violence) and online or information communication technology (ICT) related violence against women. These have been exacerbated by the increased isolation due to quarantine measures and the sharp rise in the use of ICT as the primary means of maintaining social relationships, receiving information, working, learning, and conducting business during the pandemic.
