Iran Press/Europe: In France, Britain, Spain or India, authorities and aid organizations have more advertisements or calls for help.
According to the "Eastern Herald" news website, after the curfew imposed in France, the Interior Minister Christophe Castaner warned that: "Reports of domestic violence had increased significantly in the first week of the lockdown in rural areas, there were therefore 32 percent more security force deployments than in the previous week, 36 percent in Paris."
While exit restrictions imposed by governments around the world may save lives, at the same time, victims of domestic violence are locked up in a confined space and are even more exposed to them than usual.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on governments around the world to protect women and girls in their own homes and to take preventive measures.
He spoke of a “terrible increase in domestic violence” that the world has seen in recent weeks. Because not only France has noticed an increase in the number of violent crimes reported within their own four walls. Other countries are also reporting worrying developments.
In the UK, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, the domestic violence counseling service, spoke of an increase of 25 percent of calls compared to the previous weeks. During the first two weeks of the curfew, domestic violence in Spain has risen 18 percent and more than doubled in India. Also in the US, officials provided several cities an increase in advertisements and calls to help hotlines.
Domestic violence has also increased in Hubei, the epicenter of the COVUD19 and in other regions of China, as Chinese media reported.
In Argentina, too, the increase in domestic violence during quarantine has been reported. The murder of Cristina Iglesias and her seven-year-old daughter Ada in a small town in the province of Buenos Aires triggered an outcry in the country at the end of March.
Experts warned that the actual number of harassed women and girls is higher than officially announced as many of them have no access to helplines, or they gave up asking for help, fearing its consequences.
Also, it is not easy for many victims of domestic violence to leave, especially during the corona pandemic, they are afraid of finding themselves in an emergency shelter with several people, and of being infected with the coronavirus there.212/ 104
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