The Heavy Economic Toll of Gender-based Violence: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in domestic violence against women. The poor economic and social conditions coupled with the lockdown measures exacerbate existing abuse and control. For instance, according to one report by the International Growth Centre1, the number of reported cases of gender-based violence increased from 300 in March to more than 700 in April following the introduction of lockdowns at the end of March in Nigeria. In Croatia, rape cases increased by 228 percent during the first 5 months of 2020 in comparison to 2019, and the percentage of attempted rapes rose by 175 percent (Böök et al., 2020). This is likely to be a lower-bound reporting, as working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic has made reporting and seeking help even harder, particularly if a survivor is unable to leave the house to go to work or carry out other routine tasks (UN Women, 2020).