Can you help keep women and their families in India safe?
When the COVID pandemic hit India in 2020, domestic abuse reports doubled in the first month. Women are disproportionately on the frontlines in caring roles at risk of infection, and are less likely to be able to access the already very overburdened healthcare system. It’s now at the point of collapse.
We are working as quickly as we can with our sister agencies to provide equipment, and try to keep crisis services for survivors of violence open. We’ve invested in local women entrepreneurs creating protective equipment, like antimicrobial masks and hand sanitiser.
We’re also spreading public health information, combatting fake news and helping families understand how to keep themselves safe from infection as well as safe from domestic abuse. But the situation is becoming increasingly desperate, as the virus tears through our India office team and is reaching a record-breaking death rate.
The community is stepping up – places of worship are being converted into isolation wards, shopkeepers are delivering food to people in need, and the international community is sending oxygen and medical supplies.
Can you help?