Violence Against Adolescent Girls During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantitative Evidence From Rural and Urban Communities in Maharashtra, India.

PURPOSE: While the "shadow pandemic" of violence against women during the global health crisis caused by COVID-19 is well documented, little is known about its impact on adolescent girls. This study assesses the pandemic's effect on different forms of violence against girls in Maharashtra, India. METHODS: Adolescent girls from rural communities and urban slum pockets in Pune and Sangli, Maharashtra, were recruited between February and April 2022. Girls were eligible for participation if they were aged 13-18 years, irrespective of additional characteristics such as school attendance, caste or socioeconomic status. Quantitative data on health-related and socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, family violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV; for married/partnered girls) were collected using audio- and computer-assisted self-interview techniques. We estimated a multivariable logistic regression model to assess the pandemic's impact on violence risk. RESULTS: Three thousand forty-nine adolescent girls were recruited into the study, 251 (8.2%) of whom had been married as children. Two thousand and three (65.7%) girls reported exposure to at least one form of family violence in the preceding year and 405 (71.7%) partnered girls reported incidents of IPV. Domestic violence risk increased significantly in households that suffered greater economic harm (odds ratio = 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.13-1.26) and negative health consequences (odds ratio = 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.54-2.02) from the pandemic. Similarly, greater detrimental health and economic impacts were associated with higher IPV risk. DISCUSSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially increased girls' vulnerability to violence. Preventive measures and concerted, youth-focused policy efforts to extend support services to adolescent violence survivors are urgently needed.

Association between public health emergencies and sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and early marriage among adolescent girls: a rapid review.

BACKGROUND: As COVID-19 continues to impact lives and livelihoods around the world, women and girls are disproportionately affected. Crisis situations and related response measures, such as lockdowns, school closures, and travel restrictions, often exacerbate the adversities and human rights violations faced by adolescent girls. We conducted a rapid review to synthesise evidence on the impact of public health emergencies (PHEs) related to gender-based inequalities among adolescent girls. METHODS: We systematically searched five major databases. Records were imported into the online screening tool Rayyan, and 10% of the records were triple screened for eligibility. We included qualitative, mixed-methods, and quantitative studies that assessed the relationship between PHEs and any of the following outcomes: (1) gender-based violence, (2) early/forced marriage, and (3) sexual and reproductive health. Due to the heterogeneity of included study designs, no meta-analysis was performed, and studies were summarised narratively. FINDINGS: Out the initial 6004 articles, 11 studies met our eligibility criteria. Five of these assessed the impact of natural disasters and six were focused on consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven studies focused on the impact of PHEs on gender-based violence, three focused on sexual and reproductive health, and only one study looked at early marriage. The main impacts highlighted by the studies included (1) increases in physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, (2) increase in the occurrence of teenage pregnancy, (3) poor menstruation hygiene management, and (4) occurrence of early marriages. Mechanisms underlying these impacts were PHE-specific response strategies like home confinement, closure of schools, the worsening of families' financial situation such as the inability to pay for school fees or day-to-day living costs, and the disempowerment of and increased workloads for adolescent girls. CONCLUSION: Although evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, and especially forced or early marriage of adolescent girls is limited, results from studies on other PHEs indicate that during crises, these detrimental outcomes are exacerbated. Findings from our review have important implications for policies and programs providing life skills training, financial literacy training, credit support, and safe spaces for adolescent girls.