Many female victims of domestic violence are now
unable to contact the police who are busy enforcing the lockdown. Injured women
are afraid to visit hospitals for fear of catching the virus. They can’t run to
their parents’ house, because parents belong to the vulnerable group.
One Palestinian woman says lockdown is hell;
quarantine is hell, because it means living 24/7 with someone who can end your
life. Psychological abuse has graduated to physical abuse. Frustrated males
obsessed with power and control have now moved, like a cancer, to the fourth
stage.
Help lines are ringing everywhere. One American husband threatened to throw his wife out of the house if she coughed. In
Pennsylvania, a girlfriend of an immuno-compromised man hid his sanitizer and
soap. Many Afghani women are not allowed to have phones. (If she can’t see or
talk to anyone without her husband’s permission, what’s the point in having a
phone?) If an Afghani woman is beaten, even in normal times, she needs two
credible witnesses to prove it, and the process can last more than a year. In
Mumbai, with the house help gone, irritated men are expected to contribute to
domestic chores. That makes some of them violent.
Denmark has created temporary shelters. France, where
DV has surged 30%, allows victims to stay in a hotel room at the government’s
expense.
Calling a helpline in the presence of the violent
husband is dangerous. In Spain,
those women can go to a pharmacy and
use the code: MASK 19. The pharmacist
alerts the police.
USA has a 999
silent call service. If you call 999 and can’t talk, press 5 two times, and
the police act on it. In the UK, victims are recommended to pass on notes to
shop assistants, postal workers, or delivery drivers. They may be the only
contact point for a woman/child who is afraid to talk.
*****
Several lessons I can think of:
Corona virus highlights the world’s defects and their
scale.
No such thing as a developed or undeveloped country.
Domestic violence shows all nations are uncivilized. Human nature is
essentially mean.
People go to work to earn, and children to school for
education. More importantly, workplace and school double up as shelters to hide
from torture at home.
Norway, Finland, Iceland are among the best countries
for women. Their density is low, and several people live on their own.
Maybe living alone is the only way to avoid domestic
violence.
Ravi
Civilization is to fullfill needs of humans including the need to be violent. Human is a dangerous species
ReplyDeleteVery true Ravi. Have been watching series and films made with stories based in Syria,lebanon, Bairut.... and they are an eye opener. We are so priviledged to be born with citizenship of our country where living is not hell, and we have the individual freedom, at least most of us do.
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