MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2020) The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic threatens to unleash another tide of violence against refugee women and girls amid confinement and prolonged economic duress, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday.
The warning was issued on November 25, when the world observes International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
"With COVID's socio-economic impact driving millions of refugees and displaced people further into poverty and destitution, we are extremely worried about the increase in violence against women and girls," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said, as quoted in a press release.
According to the refugee agency, 27 countries have already registered the rise in gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child marriages. There are also reports of "the sale or exchange of sex as an economic coping mechanism" in at least 20 countries.
UNHCR called for donor support for essential prevention and response efforts.
