Domestic Abuse Cases Rise as COVID-19 Lockdown Turns into Captivity for Many Women
Deccan Herald - New Delhi, India, 3/31/2020
Domestic violence cases in India have increased since the March 24, 2020 lockdown, according to the National Commission for Women (NCW), which has received 58 complaints from March 23 to March 29, 2020, by email. NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said that the real figure was likely to be greater since the bulk of complaints come by post, and the number of postal complaints has reduced because of the lockdown. State commissions have also reported an increase in the number of domestic abuse cases. All India Progressive Women’s Association secretary and rights activist Kavita Krishnan said that women who were vulnerable to domestic violence could have moved to safer places if the government had given some prior warning of the lockdown.
High Court Dismisses All Three Challenges to Section 377A
Channel News Asia, Singapore, 3/30/2020
On March 30, 2020, a High Court judge dismissed the appeals of three men against Section 377A of the penal code, which criminalises homosexual sex. According to the colonial-era law, any man who commits any ‘act of indecency’ with another man in public or in private can be jailed for up to two years. In a case summary released by the court, Justice See Kee Oon rejected arguments that the law is unconstitutional. He added that the rarely used law cannot be said to be redundant simply because of its non-enforcement. Bryan Choong, one of the three men who had challenged the law, said he was disappointed by the ruling, but his eyes were ‘firmly on the road ahead’.
JAL Steps Down from High-Heel Rule for Female Flight Crew
The Straits Times - Tokyo, Japan, 3/29/2020
Female flight attendants working for Japan Airlines (JAL) will be allowed to wear trousers and abandon high heels from April, 2020, the company has said, in response to a feminist campaign advocating for this. The airline becomes one of the first major Japanese firms to announce the shift after a campaign known as #KuToo last year openly rejected mandatory high heels at work, drawing more than 32,000 signatures in an online petition. The #KuToo campaign has highlighted the rigid beauty standards faced by women in Japan. In another social media outcry, Japanese women in November, 2019 took to Twitter to demand the right to wear glasses to work, after reports of employers imposing bans on spectacles for female employees.
Pitch in with Housework, Mexico Tells Men at Home Due to Pandemic
Reuters, Mexico, 3/28/2020
Mexico’s government is calling on the nation’s men to take on more household responsibilities while they are staying home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Four female officials spoke out at Mexico’s daily COVID-19 briefing on March 26, 2020 to remind people that women do almost three times more housework and family care than men. Nadine Gasman, head of the National Women’s Institute INMUJERES, said that housework would have to be redistributed equally between women and men while families were staying home to practice social distancing, with men doing more than usual to reduce the burden of housework women often take on singlehandedly. Gasman was one of the four women speaking at the briefing, a rare sight in a country where all-male panels are far more common.
Indian LGBT+ Group Launches Appeal for Sex Workers in Coronavirus Lockdown
Reuters - Mumbai, Maharashtra, 3/27/2020
An LGBTQIA+ rights groups launched a fundraising appeal on March 26, 2020 for sex workers in Mumbai whose income has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The Jimme Foundation stepped in after a distress call from a charity helping sex workers in Mumbai. Harish Iyer, the founder of Jimme Foundation, said the group had identified nearly 200 families of sex workers in need of help and was seeking funds to provide them with essentials such as rice, wheat flour, oil and soup. Sex workers in other countries have also struggled due to measures to stop the spread of the virus. On March 23, 2020, women working in one of the world’s largest brothels in Bangladesh appealed for emergency funding after an official ban on customers.
Inclusive COVID-19 Plans Must for Persons with Disabilities in Odisha
The New Indian Express - Bhubaneswar, India, 3/25/2020
Coronavirus has posed a challenge for every segment of the society and people living with disabilities have to face far more complexities and difficulties. From facing awareness barriers to compromised immunity and accessibility challenges at testing centres or isolation ward their challenges are innumerable. Reportedly, hostels of all 98 special schools and 35 rehabilitation or therapy centres across the State will remain closed from March 25 to June 30, 2020, as per a decision taken by the State Government at a meeting on March 21st, 2020. On March 22nd, 2020, National Association for Deaf released its list of volunteers who could act as sign language interpreters for hospitalised disabled patients of COVID 19. Apparently, no separate isolation wards or quarantine rooms have been created for people with disabilities so far.
Outrage in South Korea Over Telegram Sexual Abuse Ring Blackmailing Women and Girls
The Guardian, South Korea, 3/24/2020
A sexual blackmail ring that operated on the app Telegram and targeted dozens of women, including underage girls, has rocked South Korea and triggered demands for authorities to crack down on the rising number of sexual offences online. Police on March 24, 2019 confirmed that 25-year old Choi Jubin had allegedly run an online network which has lured at least 58 women and 16 girls into what authorities called ‘virtual enslavement’ by coercing them into sending degrading and, in some cases, violent sexual images of themselves. Police, who have referred the case to prosecutors, made Cho’s name public after a record five million South Koreans signed multiple petitions on the presidential office website demanding that authorities reveal his identity.
Safeguarding Women’s Rights During the Covid-19 Shutdown
Mail and Guardian, Africa, 3/24/2020
Amidst the world-wide escalation of Coronavirus, former South African Deputy President, Mlambo-Ngcuka has cautioned governments to reassess the focus on sectors where women are highly underpaid, such as daily wage earners. Seemingly, there is a threat of rising domestic violence under a 21-day lockdown. While hospitals have been preparing to care for only the most severe cases, it is highly likely that women will most likely bear the burden of this home-based care as with other cases of HIV so far. Women’s health services are also likely to be affected due to the pandemic. According to UN Women, evidence from past epidemics such as Ebola and Zika is that “efforts to control outbreaks often divert resources from routine health services including pre- and postnatal healthcare and contraceptives.”
Coronavirus: Authorities Lock Down Brothel in Jamalpur
Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh, 3/22/2020
The Jamalpur District Administration in Bangladesh has locked down a brothel in Raniganj Bazar of the municipality to prevent the further spread of the pandemic COVID-19. The district has formed a Coronavirus Prevention Committee which has stated that the lockdown which initially started on March 22nd, 2020 will at least continue for a month at least until further notice. According to the Jamalpur municipality register, there are 97 active sex workers, 50 elders, and 2 guards living in the brothel. Enamul Haque, Jamalpur Deputy Commissioner and President of the committee has confirmed that during the lockdown the families in that area will be provided with 30kg of rice and the committee has further directed the authorities to not collect bills for rent, electricity, and water from residents.
India Hangs Four Over 2012 Delhi Bus Gang-Rape
Daily Nation - New Delhi, India, 3/21/2020
Four men who were found guilty of the gang rape case in 2012 were hanged on March 20th, 2020 in Tihar Jail in Delhi. While Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has responded to the execution on Twitter, saying ‘justice has prevailed’, rights group Amnesty India has called the executions another ‘dark stain’ on India's record. As per the reports, Jyoti Pandey Singh, the woman who was raped was returning home on a Delhi public bus with a male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. On the bus, five men along with a 17 year old had brutally raped her. Singh died 13 days later in a Singapore hospital from massive internal injuries.
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