COVID-19 Impact on Women with Special Focus on Access to GBV Services

As the Government of Pakistan has put together important economic and social measures to counteract
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and is preparing its post-pandemic re-launch, COVID-19
represents an opportunity for Pakistan to address gender equality issues facing women and girls. A
key barrier to addressing gender equality in the context of the pandemic, Gender Based Violence
(GBV), already a phenomenon of concern, has been exacerbated by the crisis. This study, commissioned
by NCSW and supported by UNFPA, provides an analysis of the intersection between the pandemic and
gender-based violence and, an overview of the policy and service responses to address GBV in the
context of the crisis. It was developed using a participatory approach based on current literature
review and extensive consultations with key stakeholders from the Islamabad Capital Territory and
the four provinces of Pakistan. The exercise examined and reviewed the impact of COVID-19 on gender
equality, specifically on gender based violence, keeping in view rural-urban situations, government
and civil society responses to GBV, gaps in services and examples of successful practices and
innovative interventions devised by both Government departments and CSOs. At the time of the
completion of this report, in Pakistan and globally, a third wave of the contagion continues to
disrupt and claim human lives as well as challenge economies and social interactions.