Page - 362 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE362 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 “hor- rifying global surge” 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 women’s 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 insecurity—particularly 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, “A New Covid-19 Crisis: Domestic Abuse Rises Worldwide”, The New York Times (14 April 2020), online: <www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/world/ coronavirus-domestic-violence.html>. 19. “COVID-19 and Violence Against Women–What the Health Sector/System Can Do” (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, “Violence Against Indigenous Women During Covid-19 Sparks Calls for MMIWG Plan”, CBC Manitoba (10 May 2020), online: <www. cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/violence-against-indigenous-women-action- plan-covid-19-mmiwg-1.5563528>. 21. “UN Chief Calls for Domestic Violence ‘Ceasefire’ Amid ‘Horrifying Global Surge’”, UN News (6 April 2020), online: <news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061052>. 22. See e.g. Michelle Ward, “Increase in Child Abuse a Big Concern during COVID-19 Pandemic”, Globe  and  Mail  (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, “Best Practice Guideline for Ending Women’s and Girl’s Homelessness” (2015), online (pdf): London Homelessness <londonhomeless.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Best-Practice-Guideline-for- Ending-Womens-and-Girls-Homelessness.pdf>. 24. “Core Housing Need Data–By the Numbers” (2019), online: Canada  Mortgage  and  Housing  Corporation <www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/data-and-research/core-housing- need/core-housing-need-data-by-the-numbers>.