With social distance, women are more exposed to episodes of domestic violence.

 By Ediane Tiago

In January 2020, the Chinese government isolated the city of Wuhan – where Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, appeared. The lockdown lasted more than two months and proved to be an efficient strategy to stop the transmission of the disease. However, the door locks did not prevent the virus from traveling around the world, and, in March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus pandemic.

In a state of alert, countries established strategies to restrict the movement of people and agglomeration – from total blockade (lockdown) to measures of social distancing. Political leader turned to the media and asked for people to stay at home.

From the point of view of managing a health crisis, staying home is a civilized and unquestionable path. It is not pleasant, but it is necessary to reduce the transmission of the virus and prevent the collapse of the health system. Nevertheless, this bitter medicine has side effects on issues like domestic violence against women. Trapped at home with their aggressors, the victims are vulnerable. “This is an old problem. It did not appear with the pandemic, but it has intensified during the quarantines”, says José Raimundo de Carvalho, full professor at the Federal University of Ceará.

In December last year, Carvalho coordinated a special session on domestic violence at the 42^nd Brazilian Meeting of Econometrics (SBE). He shared the video conference screen with professors Maria Dolores Montoya Diaz, Fabiana Rocha and Paula Pereda, all from the University of Sao Paulo, and with professors Rodrigo Moreno-Serra, from York University (UK), and Francisco Pino, from the University of Chile. “There is a consensus among specialists that there was a significant increase in the episodes of domestic violence during the pandemic”’, pointed out Carvalho at the beginning of the discussion.

He states that violence against women is a relevant issue due to its severity and prevalence worldwide. “We cannot ignore what is going on inside people’s homes” he says. In Brazil, he points out, despite advances such as the enactment of the Maria da Penha Law, there is much work to be done.

Carvalho is right. Statistics on the growing number of incidents began to show up in reports and in specialized studies. In December last year, the Igarape Institute published the report ‘Violência Contra Mulheres: como a pandemia calou um fenômeno silencioso’ (Violence against women: how the pandemic silenced and already quiet phenomenon), signed by researchers Renata Avelar Giannini, Eva Ferenczi, Isis Araújo and Katherine Aguirre. According to the obtained data, during the months of harshest social isolation [between March and June 2020], there was a 16% increase in the number of feminicides in Brazil. [Feminicide is a homicide of a woman resulting from domestic violence or gender discrimination.]

The Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP) also identified the problem. “Between March and April last year, 12 states recorded an average increase of 22% in feminicides” quotes Moreno-Serra – explaining that the comparison was made using data from the same period of 2019. The York professor points out that before the pandemic Brazil occupied the fifth place in the global ranking of feminicide. “More than 50% of crime are committed by spouses or partners”, he adds.

In Chile, researcher Francisco Pino collected Information to understand the effects of quarantine on domestic violence. “The data are consistent with what we observe in other situations”, he says. According to him, the literature already indicates that this type of violence grows when families spend more time together and are far from their support networks. For example, notifications are more numerous on weekends, holidays and during vacation periods.

For most women, being quarantined means managing children, taking care of home, and dealing with the financial constraints caused by the economic crisis and unemployment. “Public policies announced in Brazil and in other countries – such as an emergency aid – are able to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic. They hardly look at the social problems”, comments Moreno-Serra. The researcher highlights that the issue is not an intimate one. “Domestic violence against women brings costs to the health system, since long-term physical and psychological sequelae must be treated.”

The losses have already been mapped by the United Nations. According to the organization, the global costs of violence against women summed up to US$1.5 trillion in 2016. In the European Union alone, the economic losses are estimated in € 228 billions per year. Another relevant issue is the impact on the labor market. Women victims of aggression find it more difficult to progress in their careers or find jobs. “These challenges are greater for the poorest victims, who, in addition to dealing with violence, fight against a qualification gap”, says Moreno-Serra.

The greatest challenge for researchers is the scarcity of data on domestic violence against women – a phenomenon silenced by the underreporting of crimes. “During the pandemic, the access to help and reporting channels is more restricted, as the victim spends more time with her attacker”, comments Maria Dolores. To identify trends and capture this phenomenon, it is necessary to use a series of databases – from the central help centers to the registration of crimes.

The researcher defends different approaches in capturing data and efforts by the scientific community to make the necessary correlations in assessing the effects of the pandemic on the rates of violence against women. “It is necessary to understand the dynamics of the incidents”, warns Maria Dolores. According to her, when looking at absolute data – as the number of calls to the emergency services and complaints at police stations – there is a reduction in records. One could have the impression that the situation has improved. “But the increase of feminicides confronts this information, demonstrating that, in fact, underreporting increases the degree of violence.”

To study this urgent topic, Paula, Fabiana and Maria Dolores have engaged in an international initiative that studies the consequences of the pandemic on different areas. In partnership with the Alcuin Block Health Economics Center, from the University of York, they will investigate the impacts of social distance measures on the incidence of domestic violence against women. The research project has support from FIPE, The Global Challenges Research Fund and the Newton Fund – an initiative of the British government that aims to promote the economic and social development of partner countries through research, science and technology. “Our objective is to assess the indirect social consequences of the increase in domestic violence on health costs and on labor market”, says Maria Dolores.

The researchers also intend to analyze whether the emergency aid had any mitigating effect on the number of feminicides. For them, by unraveling such complex issues, it will be possible to supply, with qualified information, the organizations responsible for the design of public policies for the protection of women.

Ediane Tiago is a journalist specialized in science, technology and innovation coverage and a contributor to the group Brazilian Women in Economics