Covid-19 quarantines cause domestic violence spike in Brazil

Across Latin America, heads of state have been largely compliant with the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 recommendations — with the notable exceptions of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. Governments have closed borders, shut schools, and non-essential businesses, and are urging the population to stay at home. However, confinement at home brings with it a whole host of new challenges and risks for millions in the Americas — particularly women.

According to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), reports of gender-based violence and demand for emergency shelters have shot up since the beginning of the outbreak. With an estimated 4 billion people isolating at home around the world, women’s shelters are fast reaching full capacity and the situation made even more fraught by the repurposing of centers in order to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Brazilian Human Rights Ministry, led by Damares Alves, reported that phone reports of femicide and gender-based violence rose 18 percent since isolation measures were implemented in many states. Brazil is the country...