COVID-19 has dominated search engines and social media over the past year. But for thousands of women in eight countries in the Asia-Pacific, among the most searched keywords were how to “cover bruises on face,” what are “signs of domestic abuse,” and whether a “one-stop crisis centre” was available.
One of the biggest concerns amid COVID-19 is the increase in violence against women and girls. Early on in the pandemic, women’s rights organizations had voiced out the challenges in collecting information and measuring violence against women and girls. Population-based surveys, which require face-to-face interviews in safe, private spaces, are difficult to carry out given mobility restrictions in many countries. Many women and girls are stuck at home and are unable to speak out in the presence of their abusers.
To address this issue, UN Women, in partnership with the U.N. Population Fund, International Labour Organization, and Quilt.AI, a company using big data and artificial intelligence to provide insights into human behavior, found a way to get a picture of what’s going on in select countries.