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trapped with abusive partners while also being cut off from social sup-
ports and avenues for access to justice.19 Alarmingly, gender-based
violence against Indigenous women and girls has increased steeply in
Canada during COVID-19.20 Given these realities, the United Nations
Secretary-General has called on all States to urgently address the âhor-
rifying global surgeâ of domestic violence.21 Importantly, the increase
in IPV domestically and globally has been accompanied by significant
concerns that child abuse is also increasing but going unreported.22
The ability to escape IPV is tied to womenâs ability to access ade-
quate housing, which is structurally undermined by the feminization
of poverty and the reality women are more likely to work poorer-
paying jobs, head single-parent households, and assume responsibil-
ity for caregiving and childcare.23 These factors contribute to higher
levels of core housing need for women in Canada, and untold levels
of homelessness.24 In the face of COVID-19, these inequities mean that
women are more likely to be laid off, face eviction or other housing
challenges, and experience food insecurityâparticularly if they are
experiencing multiple forms of marginalization.
COVID-19 has thus deepened the housing and safety challenges
many women and their children in Canada were facing prior to the
online (pdf): United Nations Population Fund <www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/
resource-pdf/COVID-19_impact_brief_for_UNFPA_24_April_2020_1.pdf>. See
also Amanda Taub, âA New Covid-19 Crisis: Domestic Abuse Rises Worldwideâ,
The New York Times (14 April 2020), online: <www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/world/
coronavirus-domestic-violence.html>.
19. âCOVID-19 and Violence Against WomenâWhat the Health Sector/System Can
Doâ (7 April 2020), online (pdf): World Health Organization <apps.who.int/iris/
bitstream/handle/10665/331699/WHO-SRH-20.04-eng.pdf>.
20. Teresa Wright, âViolence Against Indigenous Women During Covid-19
Sparks Calls for MMIWG Planâ, CBC Manitoba (10 May 2020), online: <www.
cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/violence-against-indigenous-women-action-
plan-covid-19-mmiwg-1.5563528>.
21. âUN Chief Calls for Domestic Violence âCeasefireâ Amid âHorrifying Global
Surgeââ, UN News (6 April 2020), online: <news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061052>.
22. See e.g. Michelle Ward, âIncrease in Child Abuse a Big Concern during COVID-19
Pandemicâ, GlobeÂ
andÂ
MailÂ
(20 March 2020), <www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/
article-increase-in-child-abuse-a-big-concern-during-covid-19-pandemic/>.
23. Amy Van Berkum & Abe Oudshoorn, âBest Practice Guideline for Ending
Womenâs and Girlâs Homelessnessâ (2015), online (pdf): London Homelessness
<londonhomeless.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Best-Practice-Guideline-for-
Ending-Womens-and-Girls-Homelessness.pdf>.
24. âCore Housing Need DataâBy the Numbersâ (2019), online: CanadaÂ
MortgageÂ
andÂ
Housing Corporation <www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/data-and-research/core-housing-
need/core-housing-need-data-by-the-numbers>.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International