MEASURING THE SHADOW PANDEMIC:

VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN DURING
COUNTRY REPORT: CÔTE D’IVOIREEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
More than half of women in Côte d’Ivoire haveexperienced, or know someone who has experienced, violence against women (VAW) andnearly the same number perceive violence,
abuse and harassment of women to be a problem in their communities. The COVID-19 pandemic in Côte d’Ivoire has had a direct impact
on the rise of VAW risk factors and exacerbated existing tensions for women, which vary intype and severity based on socioeconomic status and vulnerability to stressors. The downstream impacts of COVID-19 have heightened
concerns around safety for many women, particularly those that were the most vulnerable
to safety issues prior to the pandemic. This re-search delves into the relationships between
measures of VAW and related demographic,
behavioural and socioeconomic factors.
This study indicates that the pandemic has
negatively impacted concerns of safety for themost vulnerable women in Côte d’Ivoire who
had already been facing hardships, both structural and economic in nature, as well as issues
related to their safety. Further, the study suggests that factors such as food insecurity, lossof income and unemployment have worsened
women’s fears and experiences of safety andaffected their overall well-being.

21. INTRODUCTION
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey conducted in
Côte d’Ivoire revealed that 26% of partnered
women aged 15–49 had experienced physicalviolence and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime,1
which is close to the global estimated averageof 27% among ever-partnered women.2
Since the pandemic began, rapid gender assessments (RGAs) conducted by UN Women
using administrative data from police, VAW
hotlines and other service-providers suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased
risk factors for women and intensified some ofthe existing forms of VAW.3 Measures implemented to limit the spread of the pandemic,
such as lockdowns and curfews, have had
an impact on VAW risk factors, especially for
women and girls who faced multiple forms of
discrimination.
Within this context, UN Women commissioned Ipsos to conduct an RGA survey on theimpact of COVID-19 on women’s well-being
and safety in 13 countries across regions. In
adapting the survey methodology to be feasible in the COVID-19 context, proxy measures

1

2
3

Ministry of Health and the Fight against AIDS, National
Statistical Institute, Ministry of Development and Planningand Measure DHS, ICF International. 2013. “Demographicand Health Survey” p. 352.
World Health Organization. 2021. “National Estimates
2000-2018” Global Database on Violence Against Women.
UN Women. 2020. COVID-19 and Ending Violence against
Women and Girls.

on experiences of VAW were used to collectdata on sensitive topics, in order to reduce therisk to the respondents, and thus may not bedirectly comparable to other studies conducted before the pandemic.
Having reliable data that are collected in linewith methodological, safety and ethical standards, without putting women at greater
distress and risk of violence, is critical to informing where policies and programmes can
respond to the UN’s system-wide efforts toscale up actions to address VAW in the context
of COVID-19.
This report details the findings of the survey
in Côte d’Ivoire fielded between 18 Augustthrough 24 September 2021. The survey was
conducted with women aged 18 and older who
had access to a mobile phone – a populationthat was estimated to be 82% of the total population of women aged 18 years and older inCôte d’Ivoire.4

4

GMSA. 2019. Mobile Gender Gap Report 2019

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

3

KEY FINDINGS
52%
of women said
that they or other
women they know
have experienced aform of violence.

35%

29%

25%

VerbalAbuse

Involuntary
Isolation

Physical
Abuse

15%

18%

of women feel unsafe intheir homes.

said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

13%

15%

of women live in households withconflict among adults at least weekly.

said conflict between adults has
become more frequent as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic.

29%
of women think that the experience of
verbal or physical abuse at the hands ofa partner is common for women in theircommunity.

59%
said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

45%

14%

of women think that physical harm,abuse and harassment are a problem
for women in their community.

of women think physical harm, abuse,and harassment has gotten worse since
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

49% walking alone at night.
of women feel unsafe

26% walking alone during the day.
of women feel unsafe

22%
of women think that it iscommon for women to
be harassed in public.

4

2. EXPERIENCES OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
2.1. Proxy measures of violenceagainst women in the community
When considering measures of violenceagainst women at the community level, it isimportant to keep the context of the study inmind. Due to the remote nature of this survey,
indirect questions were asked as proxy indicators of VAW, meaning it was not possible
to distinguish respondent experiences fromthose of other women in their community orwhether this experience occurred within or
outside of the household. Therefore, whiledata from this study should not be interpreted
as prevalence data, they nevertheless provide
critical information on the impact of COVID-19
on women’s perception of well-being andsafety.
More than half of women in Côte d’Ivoire (52%)
have themselves experienced a form of VAWor know a woman who has in their lifetime(including physical violence, denial of basic
needs, sexual harassment, forced isolation orverbal abuse). The forms most commonly citedwere verbal abuse (35%), denial of basic needs(29%), or physical violence (25%). Among those
who reported experience or knowledge of
VAW since the start pandemic, denial of basic
needs (14%), verbal abuse (12%) and forced isolation (12%) were the most common forms of
VAW cited.
Among woman who have experienced VAWin their lifetime, more than 1 in 10 (15%) haveexperienced it exclusively since the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in the formof denial of basic needs (14%) or forced isolation (12%).5 Women who felt unsafe walking
around alone, day or night, and women who
felt unsafe in their homes, were more likely toreport experiencing VAW or knowing a woman who had experienced VAW in their lifetimeand since the start of COVID-19.

5

Cognitive testing of this question revealed that for many
women forced isolation and denial of basic needs were
influenced by COVID-19-related measures and economic
stress. The results from this study suggest that women may
bear a disproportionate burden when it comes to COVID-19
effects; however, it is important to keep the overall context
in mind when interpreting results.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

5

FIGURE 1

Experience or knowledge of specific forms of VAW, over a lifetime and since COVID-19



All women

5%
29%



All women

12%



21%

14%

4%



24%

All women

Experience or knowledge
in lifetime



26%



58%



34%

Among women who felt
unsafe at homeExperience or knowledge
exclusively since COVID-19

44%
26%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone

39%



1%









62%

52%

Among women who felt
unsafe at home

17%

4%

15%







3%





45%



Among women who felt
unsafe walking aloneSexualharassment

69%

Among women who felt
unsafe at home

28%

5%

All women

72%







10%

18%

34%



Forcedisolation



65%



3%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone



75%







4%

61%



34%
28%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone



13%

43%







Among women who felt
unsafe at home
1%



67%

Denial of
basic
needs



16%







54%

54%







35%





3%





43%
20%



Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone

62%

4%

34%



3%

12%



11%



All women

Verbal
abuse

62%



25%





8%



Physicalviolence



3%





71%

4%





4%

55%



Among women who felt
unsafe at home

No experienceor knowledge

Don’t know

6In addition to personal experiences of safety
being associated with VAW, other factors – including disability, employment status, as well
as food security – appear to have a significant
impact on experience or knowledge of different types of VAW, whether over a lifetime or
exclusively since COVID-19.
Women with disabilities were more likely than
women without disabilities to have experienced or know another woman who has experienced a type of VAW in their lifetime (58versus 50%, respectively), or exclusively since
the onset of COVID-19 (20 versus 13%, respectively). Women with disabilities were particularly more likely than women without to experience physical violence (30, compared to 24%),verbal abuse (40, compared to 33%), and sexual
harassment (31, compared to 22%) in their lifetime, as well as significantly more likely than
women without disabilities to report that theyor someone they knew had experienced denialof basic needs since the start of the COVID-19
pandemic (19, compared to 12%).
Employment and income also appear to becorrelated with experiences or knowledge of
VAW, with women who generated an income
for their household being more likely thanthose who did not generate income that they,
or a woman they knew, had experienced alltypes of VAW in their lifetime, as well as being particularly likely to have experience or
knowledge of sexual harassment exclusively
since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (11,compared to 7% among women who did not
generate income). This was particularly acutewhen women earned more income than theirpartner, which increased the likelihood of re-

porting experience or knowledge of all types
of VAW multifold, whether it was experienced
over a lifetime or exclusively since the onset ofthe pandemic.
Interestingly, women who said that they were
unemployed were most likely to say that theyor another woman they know had experienced
physical violence (15, compared to 7% among
employed women and 5% among full-time
caregivers) or sexual harassment (17, compared to 10% among employed women and
8% among full-time caregivers) specificallysince the onset of COVID-19. A similar trend
held true for VAW over their lifetime, with 33%
of unemployed women citing physical violence, compared to 27% for the employed and
18% for full-time caregivers, while for sexual
harassment 32% of unemployed women citedit, compared to 26% of employed and 18% of
full-time caregivers).
Overall, women aged 60+ were significantly
less likely than younger women to report direct experiences with or knowledge of any
type of VAW in their lifetime (27, compared
to 54% among women under 60), which may
suggest that women over this age may be lesscomfortable openly discussing such matters
than younger women.
Women who said that they or someone theyknow have experienced the denial of basic
needs since COVID-19 were more likely to be
severely food insecure compared to women
who did not (34 versus 19%, respectively),
further indicating that economic conditions
brought on by COVID-19 may have an impact
on women in particular.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

7

FIGURE 2

Experience or knowledge of VAW, by income earned in relation to partner, over a lifetime andsince COVID-19

25%

11%



All women

35%



29%

21%

Experience or knowledge
in lifetime



47%



1%







Among women who earned
more then their partner (n=53)

Sexualharassment

50%
29%

All women

72%



3%



10%

63%

24%

44%
27%











4%







12%

37%

Among women who earned
more then their partner (n=53)

All women

Forcedisolation



50%



75%

59%





4%



Among women who earned
more then their partner (n=53)



67%
14%

41%
30%



All women

Denial of
basic
needs







4%

43%

Among women who earned
more then their partner (n=53)

62%
12%





3%

Verbal
abuse

41%



8%



Physicalviolence





71%





3%

55%



All womenAmong women who earned
more then their partner (n=53)

Experience or knowledge
exclusively since COVID-19

No experienceor knowledge

Don’t know

8

3. FEELINGS OF SAFETY
3.1. Personal safety inside the home
When it comes to safety within the household, 13% of women said there has been conflict between adults in their household at least
weekly over the past six months and 15% of all
women said that conflict has become more
frequent since the onset of COVID-19. Those

who experienced household conflict weremore than four times as likely to say that thefrequency has increased since the onset ofthe pandemic compared to those who said
they had no household conflict (43 compared
to 10%, respectively), suggesting that existinghousehold tensions have been exacerbated.

FIGURE 3

Changes in frequency of household conflict as a result of COVID-19

All women

15%

Among women fromhouseholds withfrequent conflict
between adults
Among women fromhouseholds with
infrequent conflict
between adults

49%

42%

29%

34%

10%

53%

More frequent

7%

23%

30%

About the same

1%

7%

Less frequent

Note: “Don’t know” responses in the dark bars comprised 1% or less of total responses in each category

About one woman in six (15%) said they havefelt unsafe in their household in the last six
months, and 54% of these women said the COVID-19 pandemic has made things worse, compared to only 18% of women overall who said
that COVID-19 has made the situation worse.
Additionally, those who experienced frequent
conflict (at least weekly) between adults in thehousehold were more than three times as like-ly to have felt unsafe in their homes comparedto those who experienced occasional or infrequent conflict and twice as likely to say it has
worsened as a result of COVID-19. These data
reinforce, as previous data have shown, that
the COVID-19 pandemic has had the biggest
negative impact on those already experiencing hardships.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

9

FIGURE 4

Perceptions of women’s safety in the household, by frequency of household conflict
Felt unsafe at home in thepast six months

Felt less safe at home since
the onset of COVID-19

39%

36%

13%

19%
12%

Frequent household conflict

Occasional household conflict

Women who had experienced, or knew someone who had experienced, VAW in their lifetime were significantly more likely (23%) tofeel unsafe in their homes than those who
had not (6%), suggesting that some of these
women were including their own experiences
of VAW in this reporting. Concerns among
women with disabilities in public spaces werereflected at home as well, with 20% saying
they have felt unsafe at home.
Women who earned more than their partners
were nearly three times as likely to have felt
unsafe at home; they were also more than
twice as likely to say household conflict has
increased since the onset of COVID-19. Additionally, women who felt unsafe in theirhomes were much more likely than those who
felt safe to be severely food insecure, as were16%

No household conflict

unemployed women, further underpinninghow financial hardship and household dynamics are associated with VAW.
When asked why they have felt unsafe in theirhomes, women cited shelter insecurity (suchas their home having no locks) and verbal
abuse as the most common reasons. Women
who said that they or another woman theyknow have experienced a type of VAW in their
lifetime were more likely than those who did
not to say the reasons they felt unsafe at homewere related to physical violence (32, compared
to 5%), violence against children (14 compared
to 0%) or other women being hurt (28, compared to 8%), further suggesting that women
included their own experiences when asked
about their knowledge of VAW.

10

FIGURE 5

Reasons for women feeling unsafe in their homes (among the 15% who reported feeling unsafe)
My shelter is insecure (e.g., there are no locks)

44%

There was verbal abuse in my household

36%

I was living with people I could not trust

28%

There is physical violence in my household

27%

I was unable to communicate/reach out for help

25%

Other adults in the househols had hurt me

24%

There was substance abuse (e.g., alcohol or drugs) in the household

21%

Other women in the household had been hurt

19%

I had a serious medical condition or disability and felt vulnerable

16%

Children in the household had been hurt

12%Another reason

21%

Indicates reasons most closely tied to violence

3.2. Personal safety in public spaces
When out in their communities, the majorityof women said they feel safe walking aroundthe areas where they live during the day (73%),
but this drops to just 43% when asked thesame question about walking alone at night,
and nearly 1 in 5 (19%) said they feel less safe
while out at night since the start of COVID-19.
Single women were significantly more likely tofeel unsafe when walking alone than women
who said that they were married or living witha partner, whether it was during the day (29compared to 23%, respectively) or at night (53compared to 45%, respectively). Women withdisabilities were significantly more likely tofeel unsafe walking around than women without disabilities, whether it was during the day(33 compared to 23%, respectively) or at night(57 compared to 46%, respectively). This was
also true of women who said that they experienced a decrease in income in the past year
compared to those who reported unchanged
income, whether during the day (29 compared
to 16%, respectively) or at night (52 compared
to 40%, respectively). Additionally, women
who said that they were unemployed weresignificantly more likely to feel unsafe walking
alone at night than employed women (61 compared to 46%, respectively).
Women who said that they or another woman
they know had experienced a type of VAW in
their lifetime were more likely to feel unsafe
walking alone than those who did not, whether it was during the day (32 compared to 17%,
respectively) or at night (56 compared to 39%,
respectively) pointing to the continuum of experiences and perceptions of VAW, and the

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

11

impact that women’s feelings of safety in public may have on their mobility. Indeed, women
who said that they have felt unsafe walking
alone, day or night, were less likely to say they

had left the house alone on a daily basis than
women who had never felt unsafe walking
alone during the day or at night (60 comparedto 69%, respectively).

FIGURE 6

Perceptions of safety while out in public, by experience or knowledge of VAW in lifetime
Felt unsafe walking
alone during the day

Felt unsafe walking
alone at night

Felt less safe since theonset of COVID-19

56%
39%
32%

28%
17%
9%

Yes

No

Yes

The study suggests that women’s feelings ofsafety in their communities have been impacted by the pandemic, as nearly 1 in 5 (19%) of
women said they feel less safe alone at night
since the start of COVID-19. Lessened feelingsof safety in public since the onset of COVID-19
were more pronounced among women who

No

Yes

No

said that they were already feeling unsafe
walking alone, day or night, (32%) as well as
those who perceived VAW to be a problem intheir communities (26%) suggesting that the
pandemic has exacerbated existing safety issues for women in Côte d’Ivoire who were already feeling at risk.

12

4. PERCEPTIONS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
4.1. Women’s perceived safety inside
the home
When considering the broader community,
29% of women said they think that the experience of verbal or physical abuse at the hands ofa partner is common for women. Women who
were separated or divorced (52%) were much
more likely than women who were married orliving with a partner (28%) to perceive partner
abuse as being common in their communities.

Women who said that they or another woman
they know had experienced a type of VAW in
their lifetime were twice as likely as those who
did not to say that physical and verbal abuseat the hands of a partner were common (38compared to 19%, respectively). The perception that partner abuse is common in the community rises even further among women who
felt unsafe in their homes and those who think
VAW is a problem in their community (46%).

FIGURE 7

Perceptions of partner abuse, by perceptions of safety

All womenAmong women who
thought violence, abuse, orharassment is a problem
in their community

8%

31%

14%

Among women who
had felt unsafe intheir home

Very common

20%

Common

31%

22%

31%

UncommonMore than half of women (59%) thought things
have gotten worse in terms of women’s experience of verbal or physical abuse at the handsof a partner since the start of the pandemic.
This was particularly acute among women
who said that they were unemployed (69%), as

23%

18%

36%

10%

9%

21%

19%

7%

Very uncommon

Don’t know

well as those who thought this experience wascommon (79%), and among those who said
that they or another woman they know haveexperienced physical violence (60%) or verbal
abuse (63%) in their lifetime.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

13

FIGURE 8

Perceptions of partner violence, by experience or knowledge of VAW in lifetime
Thought abuse at the hands ofa partner is common

45%

60%

59%

Yes

No

63%

57%

43%
23%

Yes

Thought abuse at the hands of a partner has
gotten worse since the onset of COVID-19

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced physical abuse

21%

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuse

These data points suggest that women may
be including their own experiences when reporting on the experiences of women in theircommunity, as well as bolstering the evidencebased theory on the continuum of violence,with VAW crossing private and public spaces
and women who reported safety incidents
happening within their homes perceiving that
abuse is common in the community overall more than women who feel safe in theirhomes.
Furthermore, women who thought experiencing verbal and physical abuse at the hands ofa partner was common (79%) and those who
experienced or knew someone who had experienced VAW in their lifetime (62%) were bothmore likely than the average to believe that
COVID-19 had made things worse for womenfacing partner abuse. This reinforces the impact COVID-19 has had in exacerbating conditions for those already facing safety concerns
or violence within the home – as it has withwomen facing safety concerns or violence outside of the home.
Similar to experiences of violence outside thehome, most women (89%) said they believethat women would seek out help if they experienced verbal or physical abuse at the hands

Women or someone they know
has experienced physical abuse

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuseof a partner. However, the sources sought forhelp were very different. In contrast to public
spaces, just 8% of women believed that help
would first be sought from the police, suggesting that domestic violence may be underreported to authorities in comparison with otherforms of VAW.
Most women expected help to be sought primarily from family (38%), particularly women
who said they were full-time caregivers (47%).
Women’s groups, centres and NGOs were
the second most common primary sources
for help-seeking (30%), particularly cited by
women in urban areas (31, compared to 24%
in rural areas). Women who have felt unsafe
in their home were more likely to seek support
from community leaders (11, compared to 6%of those who did not feel unsafe), and womenwith disabilities were twice as likely to seekout the help of religious leaders primarily (11,compared to 5% of women not living with adisability).
Reliance on more informal support networks
may be driven by a low awareness of the support available to women. While around 20% of
women said that access to basic needs, financial support and mental health support wereavailable to women in their community, an

14

equal number said they did not know whether
or not these services were available, suggesting that further work is needed to connect
women to resources, where they are available.

Violence, abuse or the harassment of womenin the community was significantly more likely
to be perceived as a problem by women who
felt unsafe in their homes than by women who
felt safe, as well as by those who experienced
household conflict frequently compared tothose who experienced it infrequently. Those
who felt unsafe walking around alone, day ornight, were also significantly more likely toperceive VAW as a problem in their communities than those who felt safe.

4.2. Perceptions of violence against
women in the community
When asked about violence, abuse or the harassment of women in their community, nearly 1 in 5 (19%) women said they believe they areat least somewhat of a problem and an additional 27% said they are a little bit of a problem.
FIGURE 9

Extent to which violence, abuse, or the harassment of women is a problem in the community

All women

14%

Among those who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

18%

Among those
who felt unsafe
in their homeAmong those who
experienced frequenthousehold conflictat least weekly
A lot

5%

27%

5%

32%

28%

24%

Somewhat

38%

7%

4%

Women with disabilities were also much more
likely than women without disabilities to perceive violence, abuse or the harassment of
women as a problem in their communities (51compared to 44%, respectively).
Additionally, more than half of women (55%)
said violence, abuse or the harassment of
women have stayed the same in their commu-

30%

28%

15%

31%

27%

A little bit

16%

36%

Not at all

6%

9%

Don’t know

nity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 14% of women said it has increased.
Women who were significantly more likely toperceive violence, abuse or the harassmentof women as a problem in their communities
were also more likely to say that it has gotten
worse since the onset of COVID-19 than those
who did not (26 compared to 4%, respectively).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

15

Women with disabilities were significantly
more likely (18%) than women without disabilities (12%) to say that violence, abuse or
the harassment for women has gotten worse.
This was also true of women who felt unsafe
in their homes (30%) compared to women
who felt safe (11%), as well as women who felt
unsafe walking alone, day or night, (20%) compared to those who felt safe (7%). These findings emphasize that the pandemic has had thebiggest negative impacts on those that werealready vulnerable to experiencing or perceiving VAW.

4.3. Women’s perceived safety inpublic spaces
While nearly half (49%) of women in Côte
d’Ivoire had personally felt unsafe walking
alone at night, fewer expressed concerns
about the safety of women in their community generally, with 22% of women saying they
think it is common for women to experienceharassment and safety issues in when alone atnight.

Women who experienced, or knew someone
who had experienced, VAW in their lifetime
were nearly twice as likely as those who did
not to view women experiencing safety issues while out at night as a common occurrence (29 compared to 16%, respectively), as
were women who said they felt unsafe walking alone, day or night, (31, compared to 14%
among women who always feel safe while
walking alone). Among women who perceived
VAW as a problem in their communities, they
were more than four times as likely to say thatsafety issues were common for women whenout alone at night (37%) than those who did
not perceive VAW to be a problem (9%).
Nearly half (45%) of women said that they
think safety issues for women while out atnight have gotten worse since the onset of COVID-19, and this was particularly pronounced
for women in rural areas (57%), those who
thought VAW was a problem in their community (56%), and those who thought the experience was common in the first place (66%).

FIGURE 10

Perceptions of women’s safety in public at night, by perceptions of violence, abuse or the harassment of women in the community
Thought women experiencing
safety issues while out at nightis commonThought women experiencing safety
while out at night has gotten worse
since the onset of COVID-19

56%
38%

37%

9%
Yes

No

Yes

No

16

Most women (90%) expected that women experiencing harassment in public spaces would
seek help, and 6 out of 10 (60%) said that they
expected women would seek help primarily
from the police. About 1 in 10 (12%) expected
women to seek support first from women’sgroups, NGOs or CSOs, while 9% expected thatthey would seek support first from their families. Despite the fact that the police were thesource most expected to be contacted for VAW
in public spaces, 45% of women said that there
was no legal support available in their community to help with the reporting of incidents ordealing with the police.
Women with disabilities were significantly
less likely (86%) than women without disabilities (91%) to say women would seek help
for VAW in public spaces. They were also lesslikely (56%) than women without disabilities(61%) to expect women to seek help primarily
from the police and significantly more likely(6%) than women without disabilities (2%) to
expect women to first approach community
leaders for support.
Women who had experienced or know a woman who has experienced VAW in their lifetime
were significantly more likely compared tothose who had not (92 compared to 87%, respectively) to expect women to seek help for
safety issues in public spaces. They were significantly less likely, when compared women
who had no experience or knowledge of VAW
in their lifetime, to expect women to reachout first to the police (53 compared to 68%, respectively), but were more likely than women
who had no experience or knowledge of VAW
in their lifetime to expect women to primarily seek help from women’s centres, groups
or NGOs (22 compared to 18%, respectively).
The same pattern was seen with women who
did feel safe walking alone, during the day orat night, suggesting that women who haveawareness or knowledge of VAW trust theirown networks, women’s groups and organizations more than they trust authorities.
Any sense of anxiety and fear outside of thehousehold that they may have experienced
does not seem to have stopped women fromengaging in public. The majority of women(88%) said that they have left their house alone
at least once a week in the past month andmost still see their friends and social groups
with either the usual or reduced frequency
despite constraints related to the COVID-19
pandemic.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

17

5. IMPACTS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
While women in general reported experiencing negative effects on measures of mental
and emotional health to some degree since
the onset of COVID-19, women who had experienced safety concerns in the public or private
spheres were slightly more likely to say they
have experienced indicators of anxiety and depression at least half the days since the onset

of COVID-19. Women who generated an income for their households and those who said
their income has decreased over the past year
were more likely to experience depression andanxiety at least half the days since the onset of
COVID-19, as were women who said that theyor another woman they know had experienced
VAW in their lifetime.

FIGURE 11

Measures of mental health, by feelings of safety
20%

Had little interest or
pleasure in doing things at
least half of the days since
the onset of COVID-19

23%
14%

28%

Not been able to stop or
control worrying at least
half of the days since theonset of COVID-19

34%
20%

Felt down, depressedor hopeless at least
half of the days since
the onset of COVID-19

All women

25%
29%
18%

Women or someone theyknow has experienced
physical abuse in lifetime

Women who reported experiencing safety issues also said that the COVID-19 pandemic
had an exclusively negative impact on mental and emotional well-being at significantly

Women or someone theyknow has not experienced
physical abuse in lifetime

higher rates when compared to women who
had not experienced safety issues, whether it
was inside or outside the household.

18

FIGURE 12

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, by feelings of safety

All womenAmong women
who felt unsafe
at homeAmong women who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

COVID-19 has
had only negative
impacts

42%

14%

5%

53%

38%

18%

48%

14%

COVID-19 has had
both negative andpositive impacts

4%

COVID-19 has
had only positive
impacts

6%

1%

23%

34%

COVID-19 has
had no impact
at allNote: “Don’t know” responses in the dark bars comprised 1% or less of total responses in each category

Women who experienced or knew someone
who had experienced VAW in their lifetime
were also much more likely than those who
did not to report exclusively negative effectsof the COVID-19 pandemic (47 compared to36%, respectively). This pattern was also seenamong women with disabilities, as they reported exclusively negative effects at muchhigher rates than women without disabilities(48 compared to 41%, respectively). Additionally, those reporting exclusively negative effects
were more likely to be severely food insecure.
This data suggests, as previous reports havefound, that the negative impacts of COVID-19
are felt the strongest by those already experiencing hardship.
Women with children in the household werealso significantly more likely to report exclusively negative mental health effects of COVID-19 than women without children in thehousehold (45 compared to 32%, respectively),possibly reflecting the higher care burden andstress placed on mothers during COVID-19

lockdowns or partial lockdown periods withchildren and parents confined to the homeand schools closed, as well as concern for children’s health.
The impacts of violence against women in
public and private spheres were also observed
when analysing women’s socialization andmovement patterns. Women who said thatthey or another woman they know had experienced physical violence or sexual harassment in their lifetime were more likely to say
they had not left their homes alone in the pastmonth (10, compared to 6% among women
who did not have experience or knowledge ofthese types of VAW). Similarly, women who
felt unsafe in their homes were more likely toreport that COVID-19 had limited their interactions with their friends and social groups(66, compared to 57% among women who feltsafe), as were women who felt unsafe walking
alone, during the day or night (64, compared
to 52% among women who felt safe).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

19

6. RECOMMENDATIONSWomen’s experiences of VAW and the impactsof COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire are significant.
With around 46% of women likely experiencing food insecurity at the time of the study
and 66% saying they had lost income since theonset of and mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, external stressors that can increase therisk of VAW are on the rise across the country.
As a result of the intersectionality of VAW, policy and programmatic interventions required
tailoring to the factors driving different experiences of violence. Not only does the type of
response that was best suited to address VAWvary based on the specific experiences of women, but the resources they would seek out vary
as well. This study stresses the importance ofpartnering with existing informal infrastructure to empower communities with the fullsuite of resources they may needed to support
women in vulnerable situations. Considering
this, the research supports three recommendations:
1. Interventions that are meant to address
VAW should consider how policy interventions in other areas may alleviate some of theroot causes of VAW, including through fully
integrating VAW measures in post-COVID-19
recovery plans as an opportunity to build
back better.
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified therelationship between conflict and socioeconomic stressors in relation to VAW in Côte
d’Ivoire, increasing vulnerability among already vulnerable women in particular. Some of
the associated root causes as reflected in thesurvey are food insecurity, income loss and social isolation. These shifts stress the need for
a comprehensive policy framework on VAW to
be included in all COVID-19 relief and recovery
efforts, which mainstreams the issue and its
impact across all policy and programme areas.
More specifically, the results of this survey callfor further linking economic programmes toinitiatives on ending VAW, given their reciprocal causal effects both on women’s rights
and factors of vulnerability, including in programmes to address the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19.
2. Work to enhance the response and provision of essential services by authorities andcivil society structures, and to improve trust,in order to improve reporting and bolster
women’s confidence and feelings of safety.
It is important to recognize that violence may
be underreported to law enforcement and official authorities in Côte d’Ivoire. While themajority of women did expect that womenexperiencing violence would seek help, thiswas largely from friends and family or throughwomen’s centres, groups or NGOs, rather thanfrom police, particularly in cases of intrahousehold conflict. Some groups, mainly womenwith disabilities, also suggested seeking help
from community or religious leaders. Thisshows that among women in Côte d’Ivoire,
especially women who have safety concernsand experience or knowledge of VAW, there
is greater trust in informal institutions andnetworks. Initiatives that capitalize on thistrust and spread awareness of these resources
could help improve feelings of safety for women who are often out in their communities
and help women facing fear or violence within
their homes feel that they have a place to turnto outside of the home or immediate family.
Low knowledge of the resources available towomen, including mental and physical health,financial, in-kind and legal support, suggeststhat more programming to support women
may be needed, and programmes alreadyworking in these areas could benefit from improving awareness among the general population, and specifically those in urban areas.
Investing in these forms of support and in20

awareness-raising campaigns can further encourage women experiencing violence to formally report their experiences and seek help.
It is clear that women with disabilities faceunique vulnerabilities both in their lifetimeand since the onset of COVID-19 that have impacted their sense of safety in their homes andin their communities. Communities can help
empower these women by investing in institutions that are more likely to be trusted by
women with disabilities to provide resources
geared toward their specific needs. These institutions may be able to better serve womenwith disabilities in their communities by hiring
staff who are familiar with the unique struggles and vulnerabilities these women facelocally.
3. Support further research that goes beyond
understanding VAW prevalence to examine
the underlying social norms and behavioral
drivers, particularly around breaking taboos
and help-seeking behaviours.

with disabilities were significantly more likely
to report experiencing or knowing a woman
who has experienced VAW and to see negative
impacts on their mental and emotional wellbeing. These experiences point to underlying
behavioural drivers and social norms that not
only impact specific women’s vulnerability but
also influence whether or not they are able toreach out and get help for their situation.
While this study provides insightful information on the possible prevalence of VAW in Côte
d’Ivoire, further research is needed to understand the social and cultural expectations of
women in their households and communities.
In-depth qualitative research is especially useful in unpacking the “how” and “why” behind
attitudes and behaviours and for building
a more thorough framework to understand
VAW experiences in Côte d’Ivoire to help develop programming to end it.

The effects of COVID-19 have also magnified the vulnerabilities and safety concerns of
women in Côte d’Ivoire. In particular, women
who earned more than their partner and those

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

21

7. METHODOLOGY
The survey was fielded via Computer-Assisted
Telephone Interviewing using random-digit
dialing to mobile numbers between 18 Augustand 24 September 2021. The total number ofcompleted interviews was 1,325. Towards the
beginning of the survey period, reported dailyrates of new infections were climbing rapidly;
however, these rates experienced a sharp dropby the close of fieldwork. During the entiretyof fieldwork, the country was under a government-declared Health State of Emergency, which called for stronger enforcement ofprotective health measures while vaccination
rates rose gradually.6

The sample was drawn via random-digit dialing among the population with mobile phone
numbers, so the sample population is limited to women aged 18 or over with mobile
phone access. Women over age 60 were also
specifically targeted with an existing database to ensure adequate coverage of this age
group. However, the percentages for each age
group from this survey more or less match thepercentages for each age group from Côte
d’Ivoire’s Census data.7

Age group

Percentage of adult women based on Census data

Percentage of adult women from sample data

18–29

43%

37%

30–39

24%

32%

40–49

15%

17%

50–59

9%

8%

60+

9%

7%

7

6

Reuters COVID-19 Tracker. 2021. “Ivory Coast”.

United Nations. 2019. “File INT/3-3: Female population
by single age, region, subregion and country, annually for
1950-2100.” in World Population Prospects 2019, Online
Edition. Rev. 1.

22

DEFINITIONSCommunity: A term referencing the geographic area in which the respondent lives.
Food insecurity: This study used the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO)’s formulation
to measure food insecurity, with an eightstatement battery. These data can be used toestablish estimates of the proportion of thesample who were moderately or severely foodinsecure, which can also be disaggregated byother variables of interest through the useof the FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale(FIES) module. Any references in the report toprevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity represent estimates of the prevalence andshould be interpreted as such.
Partnered: A term referring to women who
were married or living/cohabiting with a partner.
Violence against women: Any act of genderbased violence that results in, or was likely
to result in, physical, sexual or psychologicalharm or suffering to women, including threatsof such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivationof liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
Felt unsafe walking alone: Refers to women
who indicated that they felt “not very safe” or“not safe at all” walking alone outside during
the day (at question C02) or during the night(at question C03).

Experienced or knew someone who had experienced VAW: Refers to women who indicatedthat they, or another woman they knew, had
experienced any form of VAW. “Since COVID-19” is added to indicate women who indicated that these incidents had only been occurring since the start of the pandemic.
Experienced frequent conflict: Refers to respondents who indicated that they experienced conflict or arguments in their homes atleast once a week during the last six months(at question C19).
Experienced infrequent conflict: Refers to
respondents who indicated that they experienced conflict or arguments in their homes“once or twice” or “never” during the last six
months (at question C19).
Violence, abuse or the harassment of womenare a problem the community: Refers to respondents who indicated that physical harm,abuse or the harassment of women are “alot”, “somewhat”, or “a little bit” of a problem
where they live (at question C07).
Violence, abuse or the harassment of womenare not a problem the community: Refers to respondents who indicated that physical harm,abuse or the harassment of women are “notat all” a problem where they live (at question
C07).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire23

© 2021 UN Women. All rights reserved.
The views expressed in this publication arethose of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the views of UN Women, the United
Nations or any of its affiliated organizations.
Produced by the Women Count programme
Editor: Jen Ross
Design: Ouissal Hmazzou

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