Summary

The measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in gender-based violence around the world. As governments moved to limit, suspend, or digitize vital victim support services, civil society organizations – and in particular grassroots legal empowerment groups- found new ways of helping women to seek safety and justice.

This report examines institutional and civil society responses to gender-based violence (GBV) during the pandemic, in particular domestic violence (DV)and intimate partner violence (IPV). It investigates the role of legal empowerment groups in filling justice gaps, reducing violence, improving service provision, and demanding accountability.

Citation

“Gender Justice During and Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis: Institutional Responses to Gender-based Violence and the Role of Legal Empowerment Groups.” Legal Empowerment Network. June 2021.

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