In countries across Asia and the Pacific, the challenge of COVID-19 is escalating. Governments are taking increasingly strong actions that have serious negative implications for peace and security, and the rights of women and girls. The enactment of national emergency powers, introduction of military checkpoints and lockdowns, closed borders, and restrictions on citizens’ movement and speech, all mirror a governance context similar to that of a conflict setting. Across the region, leaders are using warlike terminology of “battling an invisible enemy” to describe efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, furthering the conflict-like social dynamics.