Vatican COVID-19 commission: Church can help combat rising violence against women

Vatican City, Mar 8, 2021 / 12:00 pm

The Vatican COVID-19 Commission called on Monday for the Catholic Church and governments to increase support for women suffering from violence amid the coronavirus crisis.

In a seven-page document released March 8, International Women's Day, the commission said that the pandemic had "increased the vulnerability of countless women across the globe." 

The text, entitled "Women in the COVID-19 Crisis: Disproportionately Affected and Protagonists of Regeneration," said that domestic violence had risen during pandemic-related lockdowns. 

The commission asked governments to provide "safe spaces and services for those facing domestic violence."

It also encouraged the Church to "denounce direct and systemic violence against women."

The document suggested that an effective way to do this would be for Church leaders to back an appeal by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for a domestic violence "ceasefire." 

It also said that "messages countering violence against women could be encouraged in homilies and in catechesis."

Domestic violence incidents rose by 8.1% in the United States following lockdown orders, according to a Feb. 23 report by the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice.

Pope Francis dedicated the month of February to prayer for women suffering from violence. 

In a video released Feb. 1, he said: "It is shocking how many women are beaten, insulted, and raped … We must not look the other way."

Pope Francis asked the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to create the Vatican COVID-19 Commission on March 20, 2020. Working with other curial departments and outside organizations, the commission seeks "to express the concern and love of the Church for the whole human family in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic."

The body, unveiled on April 15, 2020, consists of five working groups, which focus respectively on "acting now for the future," "looking to the future with creativity," "communicating hope," "seeking common dialogue and reflections," and "supporting to care."

A note said that the new document was "elaborated by the four different taskforces of Working Group 2," which tackles topics related to ecology, economics, labor, healthcare, politics, communications, and security. 

"While women are bearing the brunt of the pandemic, they have been excluded from much of the COVID-19 decision-making in many countries, largely due to enduring underrepresentation in senior positions in key fields of medicine and politics," the text said.

"This may have contributed to the lack of explicit attention paid to the COVID-19 pandemic's negative impacts on women and girls."

"Countries with women leaders, however, have generally fared better overall during the pandemic. These leaders approached the crisis in a similar way: they consulted early with health experts and implemented containment measures early."