As reported in the UN Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women and the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID19 (GHRP COVID19) which was launched in the onset of the global COVID-19 crisis, there has been a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in fragile settings, especially those in conflict or hosting refugees, IDPs or returning migrants, and already facing an economic and social crisis before the pandemic as in Iraq/MENA region. Underreporting is also likely due to the lack of widespread testing and in Iraq where negative social stigmas are associated with reaching out for support in the pandemic. The current outbreak of COVID-19 has become a significant protection crisis, especially for women and girls. Confinement, loss of income, isolation and increased psychosocial needs have led to a spike in gender-based violence predominately perpetrated against women and girls. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, UN WOMEN is reporting increased violence against women around the world, with surges of upwards of 25-30 per cent in countries with reporting systems in place, WRO has witnessed the same results through its interventions in Iraq and in some cases as high as 50% increases. As also highlighted in the report, as the virus spreads in countries affected by humanitarian crises with institutional weaknesses on protection, police and justice, it is expected that the vulnerability and risk exposure for women and girls will rapidly increase. At the same time, local gender-based violence services have reduced their capacities or been repurposed to create additional capacity for COVID-19 testing/ treatment and/or alternative support. In an effort to enhance physical distancing and minimize gatherings, key structures such as women safe spaces have also had to drastically reduce the number of clients or disband, creating a huge challenge for women in abusive relationships to seek a safer place to share their problems and receive protection as well as mental health and psychosocial support and information.

According to a UNOPS survey 92% of respondents reported that COVID19 had an impact on their basic needs, 70% reported loss of livelihoods. With families’ loss of livelihoods and potential prolonged family separation due to mobility restrictions, negative coping mechanisms may be adopted, leaving children without care and facing increased exposure to abuse, violence and exploitation, including violence at home, child marriage and child labor. School interruption also causes gaps in childcare, which puts pressures on work and life balance, especially for women, and parents when asked to facilitate the children’s learning at home. Sustained disruption of education could lead to a rise in child labor and child marriage. Women in particular face the economic consequences of the pandemic, as they are overrepresented in the sectors and jobs that are hardest hit, particularly in the most vulnerable types of employment with the least protection, such as self-employed, domestic workers, daily wage workers and contributing family workers. Moreover, increase in calls to UN and WRO’s hotlines indicates that domestic violence against children continues to increase, as well as intimate partner violent, sexual assaults, and harassment. At the same time, movement restrictions are curtailing the ability of social services to respond to threats of abuse and provide protection. Youth, people with disabilities, members of minority groups as well as people deprived of liberty and/ or of the right and access to information are also experiencing a higher degree of protection risks. Younger children and adolescents, especially girls and adolescent mothers, are particularly at risk, as high levels of stress and isolation can impact brain development, sometimes with irreparable long-term consequences. Child and women survivors of serious protection violations may suffer the physical and emotional consequences of compounded traumatic experiences. Mental health is affected by pandemic-induced stress, with concerns with alcohol-related incidents in communities, including domestic violence, and worsening or exacerbation of pre-existing severe mental health, neurological and substance-abuse conditions.