Surveys with displaced women in Afghanistan, Ecuador, and Turkey found half the women interviewed reported less or no access to basic health services or maternity care since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The risk of abuse and violence had also jumped, many women reported; in Afghanistan, the anticipated cause of this violence is said to be a high unemployment level among young men. Read our reporting on the links between Afghanistan’s economic crisis and violence against women. We know that violence against women has soared, and healthcare access has dropped across the globe during pandemic lockdowns. But it’s even worse for the millions of women and girls forced to leave their homes by conflict or disasters.
