MEASURING THE SHADOW PANDEMIC:

VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN DURING
COUNTRY REPORT: BANGLADESHEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Women’s safety in Bangladesh is eroding as
COVID-19 has had significant negative impacts on women’s experiences in both public
and private spaces.1 In particular, reported cases of violence against women and girls haveincreased sharply since the onset of the pandemic, along with exacerbating risk factors
largely due to social and economic stress, social isolation and measures restricting movement. Congruently, the downstream impactsof COVID-19 vary in type and severity based on
pre-existing factors, including socioeconomic
status and vulnerability to other stressors. This
research delves into the relationships between

1measures of violence against women (VAW)
and the demographic, behavioural and socioeconomic factors related to them.
This study found that women’s baseline feelings of safety in Bangladesh, whether it was
inside or outside of their households, wereassociated with significant negative impacts
on their mental and emotional well-being.
In addition to this, external stressors such as
food insecurity and family relations stood out
as having a significant impact not only on experiences of safety (or violence) but also on
women’s well-being overall.

UN Women. 2020. Gender Impacts of COVID-19 in
Bangladesh.

2

1. INTRODUCTION
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Women’s
Global Database on Violence Against Women
found that 54% of women in Bangladesh aged
15–49 have experienced physical violence and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at
least once in their lifetime,2 which is double
the global estimated average of 26%.3
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. 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. In Bangladesh in particular, reported cases of sexual violence against women and children have been on the rise since theonset of COVID-19. Between January 2020 and
September 2021, there were 975 cases of rapeof women and 204 cases of attempted rapereported, outnumbering the total number ofreported cases of rape of women from 2016 to2019 combined.4 These statistics paint a grim
picture, as sexual violence often is underreported, and this led to an outbreak of protests
in October of 2020 that resulting in the passing of the “Women and Children Repression
Prevention (amendment) Ordinance – 2020”,

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Report on Violence
Against Women (VAW) Survey 2015. Dhaka: BBS.
3 World Health Organization. N.D. Global Database on
Violence against Women.
4 Das, Shuva. 2021. “Rape in Bangladesh: An Epidemic Turn of
Sexual Violence.” Harvard International Review. 11 January.

which adopted the death penalty or life imprisonment as the nation’s legal consequence
for rape.5
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 surveying methodology to befeasible in the COVID-19 context, proxy measures on experiences of VAW were used to collect data on sensitive topics to reduce the risk
to the respondents, and thus may not be directly comparable to other studies conducted
before the pandemic.
Having reliable data that were collected inline with methodological, safety and ethicalstandards, without putting women at greater
distress and risk of violence, was 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 inBangladesh from 18 August to 30 September
2021. The survey was conducted with women
aged 18 and older who had access to a mobile
phone – a population that is estimated to be
61% of the total population of women aged 18
years and older in Bangladesh.625Islam Sifat, Ridwan. 2020. “Sexual violence against womenin Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Asian
Journal of Psychiatry. 54: 102455.
6 GSMA. 2020. Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

3

KEY FINDINGS
93%
of women said
that they or other
women they know
have experienced aform of violence.

89%

81%

67%

VerbalAbuse

SexualHarassment

PhysicalViolence

9%

15%

of women feel unsafe intheir homes.

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

22%

36%

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.

98%
of women think that the experience of
verbal or physical abuse at the hands ofa partner is common for women in theircommunity.

81%
said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

87%

62%

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.

72% walking alone at night.
of women feel unsafe

32% walking alone during the day.
of women feel unsafe

97%
of women think that it iscommon for women to
be harassed in public.

4

2. EXPERIENCES OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
2.1. Perceptions of violence against
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 from those ofother women in their community or whether
this experience occurred within or outside of
the household. Therefore, while data from thisstudy should not be interpreted as prevalencedata, it nevertheless provides critical information on the impact of COVID-19 on women’s
perception of well-being and safety.
Aligned with high perceptions of violence,
abuse and harassment of women in Bangladesh, more than 9 out of 10 women (93%) said
that they, or another woman they know, haveexperienced at least one form of VAW (such as
physical violence, verbal abuse, denial of basic
needs, sexual harassment or forced isolation7)in their lifetime. Verbal abuse (89%), sexual harassment (81%) and physical abuse (67%) werethe most commonly reported forms of VAW.

7

Women who reported having felt unsafe athome or in public, and particularly those whohave felt unsafe in public, were more likely
to have experienced, or know a woman who
has experienced, at least one forms of VAW in
their lifetime, compared to women who havenot felt unsafe. In particular, women who said
they had felt unsafe when walking alone inpublic spaces, whether it was during the day
or at night, were more likely than those who
felt safe to say that they or another woman
they know had experienced verbal abuse (92compared to 81%, respectively) or sexual harassment (84 compared to 73%, respectively).
They were however significantly less likely
to have experience or knowledge of physicalviolence, denial of basic needs, or forced isolation. Women who had felt unsafe in theirhome were more likely than those who had
not felt unsafe to say they or another woman
they know experienced physical violence (84compared to 66%, respectively), denial of basic needs (54 compared to 44%, respectively)or sexual harassment (88 compared to 80%,
respectively).

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 study results.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

5

FIGURE 1

Experience or knowledge of specific forms of VAW, over a lifetime
2%

1%





16%
67%

33%











66%



31%

84%

Physicalviolence
All women

1%



8%

Among women who felt
unsafe at home

7%







89%

92%





10%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone

93%

Verbalabuse
All women

3%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone2%

Among women who felt
unsafe at home



46%
45%

59%











39%



52%

54%

Denial of
basic
needs
All women

4%Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone2%

Among women who felt
unsafe at home
1%



54%
37%

67%









30%



59%





45%

Forcedisolation
All women

2%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone1%Among women who felt
unsafe at home



12%
81%

15%











84%



17%

88%

Sexualharassment
All women

Experience or knowledge
in lifetime

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone
No experienceor knowledge

Among women who felt
unsafe at home

Don’t know

Note: “Don’t know” responses in the dark grey bars comprised 4% or less of total responses in each category

6

Women who acknowledged violence, abuse
and the harassment of women in their community as a problem had particularly highrates of experiencing, or knowing a woman
who has experienced, at least one of VAW in
their lifetime (94%). Additionally, women who
reported frequent household conflict weresignificantly more likely than women who reported infrequent conflict to report experienceor knowledge of at least one of VAW (97% of
those who reported frequent or occasional
conflict, compared to 87% of those that reported infrequent or no conflict). These datasuggest that women reporting experience or
knowledge of VAW in their lifetime may be including their own experiences.
Several groups of women consistently reported experiencing or knowing of someone who
experienced certain forms of VAW more in
their lifetime including physical violence, verbal abuse and sexual harassment.

Income also seemed to have an impact on experience or knowledge of VAW among womenin Bangladesh. Those who reported decreased
income in the household over the past year
were significantly more likely to report knowledge or experience of at least one form of VAW
in their lifetime than women who did not report a change in income (94 compared to89%, respectively). While this was particularly
true for verbal abuse (90 compared to 85%),
the opposite was reported for denial of basic
needs, with those reporting decreased income
less likely to have experience or knowledge of
VAW compared to those whose income stayed
the same (43 compared to 50%). Additionally,
women living in rural areas were more likely
than women living in urban areas to reportexperience or knowledge of physical violence(70 compared to 64%, respectively), and widows were more likely than those that were
single or married to have experience or knowledge of verbal abuse (95 compared to 88%,
respectively).

3. FEELINGS OF SAFETY
3.1. Personal safety inside the home
When it comes to safety within the household,
22% of women said that there has been conflict between adults in their household at least
weekly over the past six months and 36% said
that conflict has become more frequent since
the onset of COVID-19. Those who experienced
conflict more often were more than five times
more likely than those who experienced infrequent conflict to say that the frequency has

increased as a result of the pandemic (65 compared to 12%, respectively). Women who experienced a decrease in household income werealso more likely to say that household conflict
had increased as a result of COVID-19 (39 compared to 23% of women whose income did notchange). Both these points suggest that existing household tensions have been exacerbated as a result of the socioeconomic impacts of
COVID-19.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

7

FIGURE 2

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

All women

36%

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

55%

8%

65%

12%

33%

72%

More frequent

Despite high levels of household conflict, lessthan 1 in 10 women in Bangladesh (9%) said
they have felt unsafe in their household in thelast six months, and 59% of these women said
that the COVID-19 pandemic has made things
worse compared to 15% of women overall.
Women who experienced frequent conflict (atleast weekly) between adults in the household
were more than twice as likely as those who
experienced infrequent conflict to have felt

1%

15%

About the sameLess frequentunsafe in their homes and say their feelingsof safety have gotten worse since the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic (26 compared to 11%,
respectively). Socioeconomic stressors such as
food insecurity also have a significant impact
on safety, as women who reported feeling unsafe at home in the past six months (37%) weremore likely to be moderately and severely foodinsecure compared to women who reported
feeling safe at home (20%).

FIGURE 3

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

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

26%
16%
7%

Frequent household conflict

13%

6%

Occasional household conflict

10%

No household conflict8

Women who participated in income-generating activities were significantly more likely
to have felt unsafe in their homes (13%) thanthose who did not (7%). They were also significantly more likely to perceive that the COVID-19 pandemic had made them feel safer athome (6%) than those who did not generate
income (3%). Women who had children in thehome were also more likely to say they havefelt unsafe at home in the past six months(10, compared to 4% among women who did
not have children in the home), as well as tosay that the situation of COVID-19 has madethings worse in terms of how safe they feelin their homes (16, compared to 11% among
women with no children in the home).
When asked why they have felt unsafe in theirhomes, unsafe shelters (39%), verbal abuse(38%) and physical abuse (22%) were the mostcited reasons. Women in rural areas were more
likely than women in general to say that thereason why they felt unsafe in their home wasdue to physical violence (28, compared to 22%)or verbal abuse (46, compared to 38%).

FIGURE 4

Reasons for women feeling unsafe in their homes (among the 9% who reported feeling unsafe)
My shelter is insecure (e.g., there are no locks)

39%

There was verbal abuse in my household

38%

There was physical abuse in my household

22%

Other adults in the househols had hurt me

17%

I was living with people I could not trust

10%

I was unable to communicate/reach out for help

9%

I had a serious medical condition or disability and felt vulnerable

7%

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

4%

Other women in the household had been hurt

3%Children in the household had been hurt

2%Another reason

19%

Indicates reasons most closely tied to violence

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

9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 (68%),
but this drops to 28% when asked the samequestion about walking alone at night. Experiences of safety also differed across urban
and rural areas. While the majority of womenin both urban and rural areas reported thatthey felt unsafe walking alone at night (74 and70%, respectively), women in urban areas weremore likely to say they did not feel safe walking alone during the day (39 compared to 27%
of rural women). Additionally, women who reported knowledge or experience of VAW weresignificantly more likely than women who did
not to feel unsafe walking alone, day or night(33 compared to 20% during the day, respectively, and 73 compared to 56% at night). They
were also significantly more likely than women who did not have knowledge or experienceof VAW to report feeling less safe while out inpublic since the onset of COVID-19.

FIGURE 5

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

Felt unsafe walking
alone at night

Felt less safe since theonset of COVID-19

73%
56%

54%

33%

30%
20%

VAW reported (respondentor someone she knows)

Over half of women (53%) said that they feelless safe while out alone at night since thestart of COVID-19. This number increases withage. Younger women aged 18–29 were lesslikely to say that their feelings of safety havedecreased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (49%), compared to women aged 30–59(52%), and to women aged 60 and older (69%).
Women who had experiences or knowledge of
VAW were also significantly more likely than
women who did not to report feeling less safe
while out in public since the onset of COVID-19(54 compared to 30%, respectively).

No VAW reported

Full-time caregivers were also more likely thanemployed women or students to say that they
feel less safe now than prior to the pandemic(55 compared to 49% among employed womenand 47% among students), though there wereno major differences between these groups
in terms of how safe they feel during the day
or at night. Women who said their householdincome had decreased over the last year weremuch more likely to say their feelings of safetyin public spaces have been impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic (56 compared to 42%, respectively).

10

4. PERCEPTIONS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
4.1. Women’s perceived safety inside
the homeences of safety in their household appear to be
associated with their perceptions of how common partner abuse is in the broader community, as women who had felt unsafe in their own
home in the last six months were more likely
than those who did not report feeling unsafe
to say that the experience of partner abuse
was very common, though both groups were
almost equally likely to say things have gotten
worse since the onset of COVID-19.

In contrast with expressions of personal safetyinside the home, nearly all women (98%) said
they think that the experience of verbal or
physical abuse at the hands of a partner is common for women in their community. Moreover, the majority of women (81%) thought
this issue had worsened since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Women’s own experiFIGURE 6

Perceptions of partner abuse, by experience of safety

All women

40%

58%

2%

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

41%

58%

1%

Among women who
had felt unsafe intheir home

56%

Very common

43%

Common1%

UncommonNote: “Very Uncommon” and “Don’t Know” were 0% for all groups displayed

Similar to patterns seen when discussing
women’s safety in public spaces, older women were more likely to think that it was very
common for women to experience verbal or
physical abuse at the hands of a partner (48%of women 40 and older, compared to 35% of
women under 40). Younger women were alsoless likely to say the situation of COVID-19
has made things worse for women in termsof experienced verbal and physical abuse at
the hands of a partner (77% of women under
30, compared to 83% of women aged 30 andolder). Women in urban areas (85, compared
to 78% in rural areas) and those with higher

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

11education levels (86% of college-educatedwomen, compared to 78% of women with a
primary education or less) were also more likely to say that COVID-19 has made things worse
for women in terms of partner abuse.
Women who reported experiences or knowledge of physical or verbal abuse in their lifetimes were significantly more likely than those
who did not to think that physical and verbal
partner abuse was common in their communi-ties and were also much more likely to thinkthat partner abuse had gotten worse since theonset of COVID-19. These data points suggestthat women may be including their own experiences when reporting on the experiences ofwomen in their community, as well as bolstering the evidence-based theory that women
who experience safety issues themselves are
more likely to think that abuse is common in
the community overall.

FIGURE 7

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

99%

96%

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

99%
91%
82%

78%

84%

58%

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced physical abuse

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuse

In line with experiences of violence outside
the home, the majority of women (96%) said
they believe that women would seek help ifthey experienced verbal or physical abuse at
the hands of a partner. However, in this case,a greater proportion of women (71%) said thatthey would most likely seek help from family, and just 6% said they would first go to thepolice, indicating that domestic violence may
be underreported to authorities particularly
in comparison to violence in public spaces.
Aside from seeking support from family, 10%of women overall said women would primarily
seek support from a community leader and 9%
said women would primarily seek help fromwomen’s shelters, centres or NGOs.

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced physical abuse

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuse

Women who themselves had felt unsafe intheir homes were significantly less likely tobelieve women would primarily seek support
from their family (59, compared to 72% among
those who felt safe), and significantly more
likely to think women would primarily seek
help from a community leader (16 compared
to 10% among those who felt safe in theirhomes).
In line with findings from safety issues in public spaces, there were significant trends forsources of support sought when looking at
women by age and urbanicity. Women aged
50 or older were significantly more likely tocite family as the primary source of support

12

for women experiencing physical and verbal
abuse at the hands of their partner (83%),
particularly when compared to women aged
30–49 (72%) and those aged 18–29 (62%). This
group of younger women aged 18 to 29 weremore likely than those aged 30 or older to seek
help primarily from women’s shelters, centres
or NGOs (15, compared to 7% of women aged
30 or older) as well as the police (9, compared
to 5% of women aged 30 or older).
Women living in urban areas were significantly more likely to think women would primarily
seek support from women’s shelters, centres
or NGOs (11%) than women in rural areas (8%),
and women in rural areas were significantly
more likely to cite primarily approaching community leaders for support (14%) than women
living in urban areas (6%). Across all groups,
only 6% of women said that they expected
women facing abuse at the hands of theirpartner to first go to the police, though nearly
half of women (47%) said that legal support
services to help in reporting VAW incidents
to police were available to women in theircommunity.

The vast majority of women (89%) reported
that the COVID-19 pandemic has limited theirinteractions with friends and social groups.
Women who reported that they felt unsafe
at home were more likely than those who felt
safe to never leave the house (23 compared to19%, respectively) and also reported a reduction in external interaction at higher rates (93compared to 89%, respectively).

4.2. Perceptions of violence against
women in the community
When asked about violence, abuse and the harassment of women in their community, themajority (87%) of women said that they believe
they are at least somewhat of a problem andan additional 11% said that they are a little bitof a problem. Violence, abuse and the harassment of women in the community were more
likely to be perceived as a major problem by
women who felt unsafe while walking alone
during the day or night, as well as by women
who had felt unsafe in their own home.

FIGURE 8

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

All women

36%

Among those who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

51%

43%

Among those
who felt unsafe
in their home

11% 2%

50%

51%

6% 1%

45%

2%
2%

A lot

Somewhat

A little bit

Not at all

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh13In addition to personal safety being associated with perceptions of violence, abuse andharassment of women in the community,
women aged 40–49 were the most likely of all
age groups to report these as an issue (93%,compared to 87% of women overall), and weresignificantly more likely to perceive them as an
issue than younger women aged 18–29 (83%)
or 30–39 (85%). While the majority of women
who were full-time caregivers (85%) felt that
violence, abuse and the harassment of womenin the community were a problem, they wereless likely to feel so than other groups, particularly employed women (91%) and students(88%), likely because these groups spend moretime out in their communities.
Six out of 10 women (62%) said that violence,
abuse and the harassment of women have increased in their community since the start of
the COVID-19 pandemic. This number increases
with age. Younger women aged 18–29 are lesslikely to think that violence, abuse and harassment of women have increased since the startof the COVID-19 pandemic (52%), compared to
women aged 30–59 (63%) and to women aged
60 and older (79%).
Women who had experienced safety issues,
whether they were inside or outside of thehousehold, were also more likely to think that
violence, abuse and the harassment of women in their community have increased since
the onset of COVID-19. Nearly three quartersof women (71%) who said they felt unsafe
when walking alone during the day or at night
thought that violence, abuse and the harassment of women had increased (compared to
41% among those who reported always feeling safe). Similarly, more than two-thirds ofwomen (67%) who experienced occasionalor frequent conflict in their households said
they thought violence, abuse and harassmentof women had increased compared to 56%of those that experienced infrequent or nohousehold conflict. Additionally, women who
experienced a decrease in household incomein the past year were more likely to say that

violence, abuse and the harassment of women
have increased since the onset of the pandemic (65%) compared to those with unchanged
income (52%).

4.3. Women’s perceived safety inpublic spaces
Nearly all (97%) of women surveyed said they
think it is common for women to experiencesexual harassment in public at night, which ismore than the 72% of women who said they
themselves have felt unsafe at night. Thosethat had felt unsafe when walking alone,
whether it was during the day or at night, wereslightly more likely than those that always felt
safe to say that it is common for women to experience sexual harassment in public spaces atnight (98 compared to 93%).
COVID-19 has negatively impacted women’s
own perception of safety in public spaces,with 70% of women saying that the situationof COVID-19 has made things worse in termsof women experiencing sexual harassment inpublic spaces at night. This was particularly
the case in urban areas (74 compared to 68%
among women in rural areas), and among
those who said their income had decreased in
the past year (72 compared to 64% for those
whose income did not decrease). Similar tosexual harassment perceptions, woman who
had themselves experienced safety issues atnight were also more likely than those who did
not to say that sexual harassment has gotten
worse since the onset of COVID-19.
Experience or knowledge of VAW was also associated with women’s perceptions of women’s safety at night and of the impact of COVID-19. Women who reported experience or
knowledge of sexual harassment or verbal
abuse were significantly more likely than those
who did not to think that women experiencing
safety issues while out at night is common (99compared to 89% for those who reported experience or knowledge of sexual harassment

14

compared to those who did not, and 98 compared to 88% for those who reported experience or knowledge of verbal abuse comparedto those who did not). They were also more
likely to feel that women’s experience of safety in public spaces at night has worsened since

the onset of COVID-19 (73 compared to 52%
for those who reported experience or knowledge of verbal abuse compared to those who
did not, and 75 compared to 51% for those whoreported experience or knowledge of sexual
harassment compared to those who did not).

FIGURE 9

Perception of safety issues, by experience or knowledge of types of VAWThought women experiencing safety issues
while out at night is common

99%

Thought women experiencing safety issues
while out at night has gotten worse since
the onset of COVID-19

98%
88%

88%

75%

73%

52%

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced sexual harassment

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuse

Nearly all women (99%) expected that womenexperiencing safety issues in the public spaces would seek help, and about 4 in 10 women(38%) said that they expected women would
primarily seek help from family, though primary sources of help were diverse, with 27%
women saying they would most likely seek
help from the police, followed by community
leaders (17%).
The likelihood that the primary source of support for experiencing safety issues in public
spaces was family increased with age – 32%
of women aged 18–29 chose this as the main
source of support, compared with 51% of women aged 60 and older. Younger women aged
18–29 were more likely to primarily seek help
from women’s shelters, centres or NGOs (13compared to 2% of women aged 60 and older).

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced sexual harassment

51%

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuse

The police were also a more likely source ofprimary assistance for younger women (32%of women aged 18–39 would mainly seek help
from the police, compared to 22% of women
aged 40 or older).
While women in both urban and rural areas
believed women would most likely seek support from family at similar rates (37 and 38%,
respectively), women in urban areas were significantly more likely than those in rural areas
to think women would primarily call a helpline
for support (11 compared to 4%, respectively),
whereas women in rural areas were significantly more likely than women in urban areas
to think women would most likely approachcommunity leaders for support (20 compared
to 14%, respectively).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

15Interestingly, education levels also have a significant impact on primary sources of help
sought by women when dealing with harassment and safety issues in public spaces. Women with a primary education or less were far
more likely to seek support from their families(43 compared to 36% of women with secondary education and 27% of women with at least
a college education) or community leaders(21 compared to 14% of women with secondary education or higher). Women with higher
education levels were more likely to primarily
seek help from the police (32% of women witha secondary education or higher, compared to
23% of women with a primary education orless) or helplines (16% among women with atleast a college education, compared to 8% of
women with secondary education, and 3% of
women with primary education or less).
When asked if security and/or crime-prevention support services were available for women in their community, one woman in five(21%) responded positively. This may be driven
by availability in specific areas, as urban women were more likely to know of services thanthose in rural areas (24 compared to 19%) or it
may be related to greater awareness, as thosewith higher education levels tended to know
about services (27% of those with a secondary
education or higher, compared to 15% of thosewith a primary education or less).
It is clear that women have an increased senseof anxiety and fear outside of the household,and that this has impacted their ability toengage in public spaces. While nearly half ofwomen (46%) said that they leave their houseby themselves at least once a week, over one
third of women (35%) only leave their houseby themselves once or twice a month, and one
fifth of women (19%) reported they had notleft their house alone at all in the past monthor longer. Women who participate in incomegenerating activities were significantly more
likely to leave their house daily than those who
do not participate in these activities (39 compared to 8%, respectively). Additionally, women who said that they had felt unsafe walking
around alone, whether it was during the day
or at night, were nearly twice as likely to say
they had not left the house alone in the pastmonth (21 compared to 13% of women who always felt safe), suggesting that experiencing
safety issues can have a significant impact on
women’s mobility.

16

5. IMPACTS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMENThis study indicates potential relationships between measures of VAW and changes in women’s behaviours and their feelings of mental
and emotional well-being. Impressions andexperiences of safety (or lack thereof) may be
associated with symptoms and anxiety anddepression for women, particularly those whohave felt unsafe in their own home in the past
six months. Women who said that they had felt
unsafe, whether it was in their home or in the
public spaces, were more likely to report issues
with mental health and say that the COVID-19
pandemic has impacted them negatively.

FIGURE 10

Measures of mental health, by feelings of safety33%

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

45%
33%
39%

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

48%
40%
53%

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

All women

63%
55%

Felt unsafe at home

In addition to personal experience of safety
being associated with indicators of poor mental health, income was also a closely associated factor. Women who reported decreased
income over the past year were more likely
than women whose income did not change toreport not being able to stop or control worrying (41 compared to 32%, respectively), having little interest or pleasure in doing things

Felt unsafe walking around alone(35 compared to 26%, respectively) and feeling
down, depressed or hopeless (56 compared to41%, respectively) at least half the time. This
was also reflected in measures of food insecurity, where women who said they had felt
symptoms at least half the days since the onset of COVID-19 were more likely to have experienced food insecurity.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

17

Irrespective of women’s safety issues in the
public or private sphere, the majority of women in Bangladesh reported that the COVID-19
pandemic had an exclusively negative impact
on their mental health. For women who experienced frequent conflict in their homes, thisnegative impact was much higher comparedto those who experienced infrequent conflict,however, again suggesting that COVID-19 may
be intensifying stress in households that already faced conflict.

FIGURE 11

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, by frequency of household conflict
Women who had
frequent conflict intheir homes
Women who
sometimes had
conflict in their
homes
Women who had
infrequent conflictin their homes

COVID-19 has
had only negative
impacts

66%

12%

49%

43%

COVID-19 has had
both negative andpositive impacts

Age also seems to have a significant relationship with women’s experience of COVID-19
and their mental and emotional well-being.
Women aged 18 to 39 were much more likely
to say that COVID-19 had an exclusively negative impact of their mental and emotional
well-being (57, compared to 48% of women
aged 40 to 59, and 25% of women 60 and older), while those who were 60 and older were
far more likely to say there had been both positive and negative impacts (52, compared to 17%
of women under 60). Women who generated
income were also more likely to say that they
faced exclusively negative impacts of the pandemic on their mental and emotional well-be-

15%

30%

18%

COVID-19 has
had only positive
impacts

15%

31%

7%

6%

8%

COVID-19 has
had no impact
at alling (56, compared to 49% of women who did
not generate income). Additionally, women
who felt any negative impacts of COVID-19 on
their mental or emotional health were more
likely to be moderately or severely food insecure when compared to women whose mental
and emotional health were not affected.
When asked about the availability of mental
health services, just 10% of women overall said
that these were available to women in theircommunity, suggesting that more could bedone to help improve awareness of, and accessto, critical support services to women acrossBangladesh.

18

FIGURE 12

Awareness and availability of services for women
45%
34%

31%

31%

30%

16%
11%

7%

2%
Information about security
and crime prevention

Basic needs such as
shelter, food, clothing

Medical support

56%
50%
41%
30%
16%

16%
8%

12%

1%
Mental healthprofessionals

Women aged 18-29

Legal support or help in reporting
the incident or dealing with police

Women aged 30-59

The impacts of violence against women in
public and private spheres were also observed
when analysing women’s socialization andmovement patterns. The majority of women
who reported feeling unsafe, whether it was

Financial support

Women aged 60 and older

outside or inside the household, said the COVID-19 pandemic has limited their interactions
with friends and social groups (81 and 80% respectively, compared to 64 and 70% of women
who did not feel unsafe).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

19

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
The impacts of COVID-19 on VAW in Bangladesh are significant. Women in Bangladesh
encounter violence in public and in private
spaces, at the hands of strangers and of those
closest to them. As nearly all women in Bangladesh (93%) said that they or another woman they know had experienced a type of VAW
in their lifetime, urgent action is required toensure a safe future for Bengali women. Additionally, with around 22% of women likely
experiencing food insecurity at the time of thestudy and 78% saying they had lost income,mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, external stressors that can increase the risk of VAW
are on the rise.
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 thetype of response that is best-suited to address
VAW vary based on the specific experiences ofwomen, but the resources they would seek outvary as well. This work stresses the importanceof partnering with existing infrastructure that
supports women in vulnerable situations toempower communities with the full suite ofresources they may needed to support women.
Considering this, the research supports threerecommendations:
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.
While this study provided insights on someof the factors associated with VAW, such as
fluctuations in income or life stage, the results
emphasize the pervasiveness of VAW in

Bangladesh. Given that so many women haveexperiences or knowledge of VAW, it is hardto provide a description of any particularly affected group. It is clear in this case that all programmatic interventions in Bangladesh needto incorporate measures to help ameliorate
women’s vulnerability to violence, whether
this is directly through programming thatshifts gender norms and educates both men
and women on the topic, or indirectly throughprogramming focused on other substantive
areas. In the case of Bangladesh, gender mainstreaming that emphasizes the causes andrisk factors of VAW is direly needed to help
the large number of VAW survivors across thecountry.
Bangladesh was struck hard economicallyby COVID-19, with the nation’s poverty rateincreasing from 14.4 to 18.1% in 2020.8 This
points to an urgent need for focus on economic support policies as well as greater support
for, and focus on, raising awareness on existing local community programmes designed toassist those who are already vulnerable andhave been made even more so by the effects ofthe pandemic. Programming responses to COVID-19 present a unique opportunity to shift
to a more integrated approach to VAW programming in which all policy areas are seen as
having potential to create positive impacts for
women.
2. Enhance the response and provision of essential services by authorities and civil society
and improve trust in order to boost reporting
and bolster women’s confidence and feelingsof safety.
Results from this study show that women are
expected to seek help when they face VAW,
although most expect this help to come from
8

World Bank. N.D. Bangladesh Overview.

20informal sources, and many women are unaware of resources that are available to them.
This was particularly true among older womenwhen compared to their younger counterparts,
suggesting that there is a need for further policy interventions such as those that enhance
the quality and accessibility of the response
and services available to women survivors ofviolence, as well as efficiency in the treatmentof cases.
Despite high awareness and accessibility of atleast some forms of support among younger
women in particular, women expressed great
reluctance to report VAW to official authorities and express preferences to report to otherentities, including NGOs, shelters, or family
members. Given the pervasiveness of VAW in
Bangladesh, improving referral pathways forreporting, sensitizing law enforcement agencies towards women experiencing VAW, andrefocusing judicial and social services systems
to provide trustworthy and credible support
for women is critical for the long-term healthof the country.
In addition to improvements to formal reporting systems, interventions seeking to provide
support to women survivors of violence in
Bangladesh should also expand the informal
institutions and networks that women alreadyuse. Centralized resources may not be accessible for all women and therefore careful placement of resources in more informal channels
where women already feel comfortable reporting and supporting NGOs and civil society
organizations focused on ending VAW withharmonized tools and government support toachieve their objectives.

3. Sensitivity around traditional roles andnorms and shame associated with experiencing VAW in Bangladesh require programmaticinterventions that aim to shift harmful social
norms while conducting further research on
how gender norms may silence VAW
survivors.
While this study provides insightful information about the concerning current state of
VAW in Bangladesh, further research thatseeks to understand the social norms and behavioural associations that underlie the experience of VAW and help-seeking behaviour is
critical in order to end VAW. In-depth qualitative research is particularly useful in unpacking the “how” and “why” behind attitudes
and behaviours. Such research can help build
a more thorough framework of the underlingsocial and gender norms and the reasons why(or why not) women experienced VAW andsought help. This could help to develop campaigns to end VAW in Bangladesh and support
women survivors of such violence, making
them feel more safe and comfortable seeking
help through official channels.
As part of these efforts, it is critical to undertake programming focused on destigmatizing
VAW, as it remains a shameful topic in Bangladesh that women are not comfortable discussing and have conflicting feelings about. With
women’s roles in Bangladesh being governedby traditional cultural and social norms, mostsurveyed women reported assumed non-income-generating (89%) and caregiver (72%)
roles in the household. Given the substantial
role that social and gender norms play in ending VAW, it is critical that any interventions
seeking to improve or eliminate environmental stressors that are root causes of VAW are
paired with educational programming thatengages men along with women to address
masculinities, bolster women’s well-being,
and improve women’s safety within the home.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh

21

7. METHODOLOGY
The survey was fielded via Computer-Assisted
Telephone Interviewing using random-digit
dialing with mobile numbers between 18 August and 30 September 2021. The total numberof completed interviews was 1,242. During thesurvey period, Bangladesh had no lockdown inplace, and had just lifted a lockdown as of 11
August that had been in place since 23 July after the country’s Eid holiday celebrations.9
The sample was drawn via random-digit dialing among the population of mobile phone

9

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 toensure adequate coverage of this age group.
However, the percentages for each age groupfrom this survey match the percentages foreach age group based on projections from theUnited Nations World Population Prospects
2019.10

Age group

Percentage of adult women based on Census data

Percentage of adult women from sample data

18–29

32%

32%

30–39

24%

24%

40–49

19%

19%

50–59

13%

13%

60+

12%

12%

COVID-19 timeline in Bangladesh

10 United Nations Population Division. 2019. World Population
Prospects 2019.

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 at least one 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 in 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 in the community: Refers
to respondents who indicated that physicalharm, abuse or the harassment of women are“not at all” a problem where they live (at question C07).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Bangladesh23© 2022 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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