Concerns voiced over rising domestic violence during COVID-19 pandemic

Any disaster, pandemic or calamity always results in more sufferings for women as while performing the roles of caregivers, breadwinners and homemakers, they continue to be the most vulnerable segment of society who are exposed to violence of all sorts.

This was said during an online panel discussion organised by the Uks Research Centre under its series ‘Dialogue for Change’. The talk tried to get an insight into the phenomenon of the ‘new normal’ after the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has impacted Pakistanis in their personal and professional capacities.

Clinical psychologist Dr Asha Bedar said that she noticed a rise in incidents of domestic violence against women as soon as the pandemic started. “We often witness this same pattern after natural disasters or pandemics. And the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the same pattern but more as the women and children have been locked in a space with the abuser. There isn’t any proper research or data gathering on this, but it should make a very valuable study should someone take this up.”

Faiza Mushtaq, the head of the Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department at the Institute of Business Administration, commented that gender dynamics played a key role in this regard. She remarked that the gender roles may have changed but the domestic violence situation was still serious and out of control.

Rashida Dohad, the executive director of the Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation, lamented that in Abbottabad, she had witnessed that police were recording the cases of domestic violence but they did not take into account mental health issues.

Dr Asha and Faiza were of the view that the media had not been covering the rise in domestic violence and mental health issues during the pandemic. “There is a rise in mental health issues [and the] media doesn’t get these nuances,” Faiza said. Dr Asha remarked that she had noticed a rise in suicides and suicidal inclinations but these subjects were also not being discussed by the media.

The panellists agreed that our lives have changed in many ways due to the pandemic. The Uks Research Centre director asked them if they had got used to a previously unfamiliar or atypical situation that later became standard and usual.

Rashida remarked that though she had never been an extrovert, she missed the social connection with her friends and going out every now and then. She, however, added that the lockdown had its own perks as her health had been stable and she did not catch a cold in the past four months.

Dr Asha stressed the point that though people were trying to deal with stress and saying that it was hard for them to adapt to the new normal, they were themselves not sure what that new normal meant. She added that for some, the new normal could mean working from home but for others it might mean living like nothing ever happened in the first place.

This uncertainty of not knowing what you are adapting to could cause anxiety in the longer run, the psychologist remarked.

Faiza told the panel that the new normal to her was the fear of health issues, the inevitability of catching the virus and still working with it. Getting children to adapt to the novel coronavirus and online schooling had also been a challending task, she added.

Huma Khawar, a freelance journalist, said when the pandemic broke out, the government maintained that the situation would improve by June. However, she added, as soon as June came by and nothing got better, people started panicking.

She revealed that her husband and son were working strictly from home but now she did not hesitate from visiting slums to spread awareness because they needed it most. It is hard to explain to people what the issue is when they cannot even see it, she remarked.

Discussing how and why stigma driven by fear and misinformation had been quickly emerging as a primary concern, followed by a low perception of risk, Dr Asha explained that false information acted like a plague. She said she noticed how people talked about the virus as if it was the plague, which would take them all.

She added that now people were in a state of denial and being scared, they would rather stay ignorant than got themselves tested. Faiza commented on this that the sources of information mattered and not everyone had the luxury of researching about whatever they did not understand.

For Rashida, all these mixed messages had made the situation confusing for the people. She said it was not just the government’s responsibility to remove the misconceptions.

Cheena Chhapra, an entrepreneur and teacher, made a comparison between the deaf kids she taught and the general public regarding how both had reacted to the pandemic. She explained how it was not any hassle to explain the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to the kids.

The panellists agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in some dramatic cost-saving changes in society as amazingly many seminars, training sessions, meetings and teaching classes were now being held online. They said we have to keep reminding ourselves and especially children to avoid hugging and touching each other as following the SOPs was very crucial to fight the pandemic.