Children and COVID-19 Research Library

Women and girls in Bangladesh are facing increased domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is highlighting pre-existing systemic barriers to legal recourse, protection, and social services. This crisis comes as Bangladesh marks the anniversaries of two landmark pieces of legislation on gender-based violence (GBV) and enters the final phase of its plan to build a society free of violence against women and children. Despite this, evidence shows that women and girls still face extreme levels of violence. It is also apparent that survivors of GBV have little or no access to support or legal recourse. This report draws on 50 interviews to document the obstacles to realizing the Bangladeshi government’s goal of a society without violence against women and children. It presents key findings, as well as recommendations on how to move forward.

This Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) builds on the secondary data analysis done in May 2020 by the Gender Hub, UN Women, CARE and OXFAM. This RGA aims to answer the following research questions: 1) How has COVID-19 impacted women, girls, men and boys and key vulnerable and marginalised groups’ ability to meet their basic needs and entitlements? 2) What achievements made on gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls and LGBTQ groups are now at risk of being undone by COVID-19? 3) What new or heightened protection and safety risks are arising from COVID-19? 4) How can women, girls, men and boys, and key vulnerable and marginalised groups participate and lead in the COVID-19 response?

This study aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of children during the lockdown in Bangladesh. The paper demonstrates that large proportions of children suffered from mental health disturbances in Bangladesh during the period of lockdown. Implementation of psychological intervention strategies and improvement in house-hold financial conditions, literacy of parents, taking care of children, and job security may help in improving the psychological/mental status of children and the authors believe that the findings will be beneficial to accelerate the rate of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) linked to health status in Bangladesh.

Stay-at-home orders (lockdowns) have been deployed globally to control COVID-19 transmission, and might impair economic conditions and mental health, and exacerbate risk of food insecurity and intimate partner violence. The effect of lockdowns in low-income and middle-income countries must be understood to ensure safe deployment of these interventions in less affluent settings. This article aims to determine the immediate impact of COVID-19 lockdown orders on women and their families in rural Bangladesh.

Is TV-based learning during COVID-19 school closures in Bangladesh reaching students? Most students (86 percent) within our sample of more than 2,000 Grade 9 stipend recipients are aware of government provided TV-based learning programs; yet only half of the students with access to these programs choose to access them. Also, very few students (21 percent) have access to government provided online learning programs, and among those that do, only about 2 percent choose to access them.

Children and young people are at higher risk of adverse health outcomes including obesity, neglect, and abuse by parents, and thus are more prone to mental health and chronic health issues during the covid-19 pandemic. The current lockdown situation has led children and young people into a sedentary lifestyle, which might increase the incidence of obesity 

The Asia Pacific region has seen significant progress in gender equality in recent years in a number of areas, such as education and political participation. From 2000-2016, the number of out-of-school girls in primary and secondary school dropped by 67 million. 1 The number of females in tertiary school rose by 41 million. From 1990 to 2018 the proportion of women in national parliaments has risen from 8 percent to18 percent. Unfortunately, in other areas, Asia and the Pacific have seen a decline in equality. According to UNESCAP, women’s economic empowerment has remained nearly stagnant and those who are young and in the informal labour market are expected to be hit the hardest. The East Asia Pacific Region is one of the only regions in the world where rates of teenage pregnancy are increasing in low-and-middle-income countries.Any emergency risks increasing existing discriminations and incidents of violence. It also risks losing progress so recently made for girls and young women. The COVID-19 Pandemic is an emergency on a scale not seen for nearly 100 years.