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#Thread
Sharing some largely unstructured thoughts for those who are surprised by & #39;shocking& #39; stories of gender-based violence during #COVID19, and don& #39;t know what to do:
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Sharing some largely unstructured thoughts for those who are surprised by & #39;shocking& #39; stories of gender-based violence during #COVID19, and don& #39;t know what to do:
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The last few weeks for me have involved gathering evidence from around the globe about the persistence of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The occasional story that gets reported is probably a drop in the ocean.
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I& #39;ve felt the anxiety in the voices of feminist sisters - & #39;we are struggling to get the data, we need to show that this is happening& #39;. How many womxn need to die or get sexually assaulted before this is urgent? Even if there is a & #39;magic& #39; number- why does this surprise us?
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This issue is an & #39;add on& #39;, and probably gets inserted in to official statements after the tireless work of a bunch of feminists yelling in the background. The thing is, for many of us, this is the first thing we see. It is not surprising or & #39;shocking& #39; to us.
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It is about the womxn who are locked away in their homes because of abusive spouses/partners. It& #39;s also about the violence faced by the womxn health workers and essential service workers trying to get to their jobs.
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It& #39;s also, as my colleague @DashMamata68 put it, about the violence from the system as womxn are trying to sell their produce. It& #39;s about the violence of the misogynistic drivel that passes off as jokes on whatsapp. It& #39;s about the violence & invisibility of non cis-womxn.
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Yes, helplines are good to share. But please recognise first that violence surrounds us now, & will surround us after #COVID19. Not all of this violence can be solved by calling a helpline. Many womxn are UTTERLY silent about what they are going through.
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