Domestic violence is a serious problem and must not be ignored

Around 4,249 women faced different forms of domestic violence in April this year during the nationwide shutdown to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. According to a survey of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) — of the victims 848 women faced physical violence, 2,000 experienced mental torture and 1,308 women faced economic violence — meaning their food and other financial support were stopped. In a virtual press conference on “Domestic Violence during lockdown in Bangladesh” yesterday the MJF said 85 women encountered sexual violence. The MJF’s 24 affiliated organisations in 27 districts collected data for the survey at field-level. Some 17,203 women were interviewed over the phone based on specific questionnaire. It is learnt that a number of 33 child marriages took place during this period and other incidents including rape and sexual harassment numbered 42 in April. In addition, about 424 children also became subject to torture in their families.
What’s significant is that domestic violence has not only increased in Bangladesh but also the world sees the rise of family feuds by 20 percent during the Covid-19 pandemic closures. Though shutdown is the main reason for increasing domestic violence, in our country poverty and job uncertainty have added salt to the wound. Majority of country’s population who depend on regular earnings has no job after they are asked to stay at home. Apart from garment sector, most of the private sector offices have cut short their expenditures by stopping salaries or terminating a good number of workers. In primary schools and kindergartens — where a huge number of women were employed – now closed turning thousands of women teachers jobless. The situation is almost same in every sector. Need of money for buying food and other essential items have made common people arrogant and aggressive. Moreover, they want money to pay house rent. Government has miserably failed to provide sufficient cash, food and other essential goods for these people to ease their problem.
 Tension of living in confinement maintaining social distancing is inevitable and understandable. Apart from the constrained of socialising caused by lockdown there is economic hardship making lives difficult for the lockdown families. Both the aspects must be attended for making life easy for the most vulnerable ones and efforts both at social and government levels are required.