Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown, the Feminist Emergency Must be Addressed (Statement)

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A plethora of grassroots feminist groups demand protection for the victims of gender violence who are forced to stay at home with their aggressors during the quarantine.
By Venezuela’s Grassroots Feminist Collectives – April 13, 2020
In the face of the recent global pandemic, the national government has announced a number of measures to protect the health of Venezuelan families, which aim to contribute to the prevention, detection and attention to the cases of Covid-19, and thus halt its spread.
From the feminist grassroots, we add our voices to these policies and we understand the need to sustain social distancing. We adopt these measures without neglecting the practices of sorority and mutual support that we practice daily.
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Like all social phenomena, the current pandemic situation cannot fail to be analysed from a gender perspective.
Currently, there are millions of women around the world locked up with their assailants, isolated and quarantined. Venezuela is no exception.
The daily dynamics for women in a situation of violence are already complex, and social isolation measures undoubtedly increase the levels of vulnerability that may end in the deaths of women (and children) who are immersed in the cycle of violence. In a country where 50 femicides have been recorded in 60 days, this cannot be ignored, with the data showing that gender violence has caused more deaths than the coronavirus so far [in Venezuela].
It is urgent to care for and not abandon women in situations of violence, where the risk of forced coexistence with their aggressors is much greater. Within the government’s measures to deal with the pandemic, we believe it to be essential that the conditions of women at risk from sexist violence be considered. We appeal to the state and law enforcement bodies and institutions to address the following issues:
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We, the undersigned feminist organisations, continue to work during this situation of national quarantine. Our volunteer staff in the Mayell Hernandez Loving Accompaniment to Women in a Situation of Violence program remain active, attending, advising and accompanying women who approach us by telephone. In the month of March alone, our team simultaneously attended 35 cases, even under the current conditions, and although we are not a body which receives denouncements, we listened and guided in sistership.
Let us all become loving companions of every woman in a situation of violence. Don’t turn the other cheek, we’ll only come out of this pandemic with solidarity. Let’s engage as sisters in permanent sisterly practice.
Signed:
Featured image: #FeministEmergency, In Light of the Coronavirus Pandemic Prevention Measures, by feminist collectives and individuals. (Nica Guerrero / Tatuy TV)
Source URL: Venezuelanalysis.com