Locked in(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 1:Society 
Prelims level: National Commission for Women
Mains level: Role of women and women’s organisation, population and associated issues

Context:

• A study by researchers at the University of California brings confirmation that the coronavirus lockdowns are making Indian women more vulnerable to violence at home. 
• This is the fear that activists and academics have voiced from the start. 

Shadow pandemic:

• Complaints were mapped of domestic violence received by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in April-May against designated red, green and orange zones.
• The study found that complaints of domestic violence rose 131% in red zones, where there were stricter curbs on mobility, relative to green zones. 
• The study also found that cases of harassment, sexual assault, and rape decreased during the period, perhaps correlating to less exposure to “public spaces, public transport, and workplaces”. 
• It also highlighted a spike in Google searches for “domestic violence helplines”.
• Early into the pandemic, the United Nations had warned of a “shadow pandemic” of intimate partner violence as women across the world are locked in with their abusers, unable to seek help. 
• In India, too, activists have flagged a dip in calls to helplines as a sign of women’s inability to reach out for assistance. 
• The research warns against reading the dip in reported sexual violence as a sign that women are safer at home. 

Safety of women:

• It underlines that the patriarchal violence faced by Indian women, in their homes and outside, is deep-rooted and capable of taking on different forms. 
• The pandemic is not just a public health challenge. 
• It also threatens to disrupt the systems and institutions that provide a fragile immunity against toxic social inequalities. 
• For Indian women, the snapping of access to mobility, income, and circles of solidarity outside the family can have terrifying consequences.
• The research ought to serve as an urgent SOS for governments and policymakers. 
• Unfortunately, the Union minister for Women and Child Development has debunked the fears of a spike in domestic violence during the lockdown as “scaremongering”. 
• Instead of denial, local governments, police and ground-level health workers must prioritise the safety of women, innovate on ways to communicate with them, and set up shelters where they can be removed out of harm’s way. 

Conclusion:

• Women’s needs, like those of all vulnerable groups, must be placed at the heart of the emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis. 
• They cannot wait till the end of the pandemic for help to reach them.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Kurma app, consider the following statements:

1. On May 23, 2020, World Turtle Day, a mobile-based application called KURMA was launched for turtle conservation.
2. It was developed by World Wide Fund for Nature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: A

Mains Questions:

Q.1) Highlighting the COVID 19 induced lockdown effect on domestic violence. What are the challenges faced by women? Critically analyse.