Webinar on combating violence against women during Covid-19 held

As part of16-day of activism against gender-based violence, JAAGO Foundation, and UN Women Bangladesh hosted a day-long virtual dialogue on youth combating violence against women in Covid-19".

The webinar is funded by the Japanese government was held in three broad categories- frontline response to Covid-19: the role of youth organisations; He or she: unbalanced workload for women during Covid-19, and sexual harassment: online and offline.

The dialogue brought youth, policymakers, development partners, and influencers all in the same platform to discuss solutions with a gender lens to recover the Covid-19 impact on the occasion of International Volunteer Day.

Founder and Executive Director Korvi Rakshand of JAAGO Foundation highlighted the rise in violence against women and children during Covid-19 emphasising the need for raising awareness on the issue.

Mental health support and wellbeing, counseling, and legal support to women experiencing violence need to be provided before the magnitude becomes uncontrollable said Towhida Shiropa, founder of Moner Bondhu. Online courses on these issues.

Finance Secretary of Bidyanondo Foundation Jakir Hossain emphasised the importance of distributing relief to both men and women equally during the lockdown and establishing a hospital where anyone can avail of service for a meager sum of Tk 1.

Executive Director of BINDU Women Development Organisation Jannatul Mouwa said providing training to women in producing masks and selling them to become self-reliant, solvent, and combating the cycle of poverty. She also spoke about how Covid-19 has made women at the grassroots more vulnerable resulting in the rise of violence and abuse against women.

UN Women Bangladesh Representative Shoko Ishikawa focused the gender discrimination due to social norms and behaviors that exist in our society, and how the youth can take steps to combat it, using social media, raising awareness, removing the emphasis on gender roles.

Research Specialist of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)  and Coordinator of Justice for All Now (JANO), Bangladesh Taqbir Huda said the victim-blaming culture, and how perpetrators of violent crimes against women are given a pass. He urged everyone to come out of this mentality and work for the betterment of victims of rape, violence, abuse and cyberbullying.

Resident Coordinator of United Nation Mia Seppo said the importance of digital literacy, bringing a systemic change and taking the existing policies to implementation level. "We need to stop telling the girls not to get raped and start telling our boys not to tape".

She also focused on changing mindset, raising awareness, and eradicating sexual harassment across all spheres of women's engagement.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak urged everyone to verify news before sharing it to combat the spread of fake news and rumors. He also stressed the importance of online safety for children and parents.