Building a comprehensive dataset

With the unprecedented rise in the number of instances of gender-based violence world over: be it domestic violence or violence against sexual minorities, the list is rather wide-ranging and frighteningly so.

One of the common responses in the hope of containment (and eventual elimination) of the disease has been the call for lockdowns, social distancing, and the "stay at home, save lives" strategy. While an important and necessary measure to prevent the proliferation of the disease, the lockdown has proven to serve as an enabling environment for several forms of gender-based violence to manifest: be it domestic violence, violence targeting sexual minorities, or child sexual abuse and a host of other forms.

The lockdown has forced policy, law, and governance to engage with challenges it did not know of, expect, anticipate, or even provide for: and as a result, such challenges continue to remain unadressed. Through the COVID-GBV Live Tracker, my team and I at The Gender Security Project hope to build a comprehensive dataset that speaks to law and policy, and informs it on ways to frame and implement sensitized approaches to future contingencies of the same kind. Together, we have mapped 208 media and news reports, and close to 40 organizational reports and 50 analytical (academic, op-ed) reports addressing the rise in gender-based and sexual violence during the lockdowns in order to contain COVID-19.  You can read more about this here: https://www.covidgbvtracker.live/