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COVID 19 : Gender Based Violence Cases Mount
Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a concealed effect of the Covid-19 pandemic as societies globally are forced to stay at home.
Women and girls are taken back in time as they are at an intense risk of domestic violence and other forms of sexual and gender based violence.

In my country Zimbabwe, there has been an increase in GBV cases as people are exposed to poverty brought by the economic hardships experienced.

According to the national GBV hotline (Musasa) it recorded a sum of 4302 GBV cases since the beginning of the lockdown on March 30 till mid - July and this shows a surge in domestic violence during this pandemic period.

Global lockdowns have meant women being confined in restricted conditions with no means of escaping violence and various sexual bombards.

The plight of women across the world has been further affected by the coronavirus pandemic.According to a statement released by United Nations(UN) Women's executive director Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka lockdown is increasing isolation for women staying with violent partners.

UN Women also estimates that globally in the past 12 months 243 million women and girls were subjected to GBV by an intimate partner .

The issues of sexual and GBV cases do not end when medical crises are resolved therefore response and stimulus planning must ensure that those affected by Covid-19 are not abandoned.

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