A. INFORMATION ON GENERAL MEASURES UNDERTAKEN SO FAR TO RESPOND TO COVID-19 EMERGENCY

The Government of Albania paid specific attention to the situation related to COVID-19 since the beginning of this year, considering what was happening in neighbouring countries, as well as around the world. As a result:

1. The Minister of Health and Social Protection issued an Order on 24 January 2020 “For the enforcement of the preparations to prevent and be protected from the spread of COVID in Albania". Specific measures were taken immediately by National Institute of Public Health regarding the health sector (preparation of personnel, environment, laboratories, etc.).

2. A Temporary Committee and a Task Force were established to assess the situation and to take the required measures to prevent and respond to COVID-19 (based on the Minister of Health and Social Protection Order Nos. 53 and 53/1 dated 31 January 2020).

3. Updated daily and weekly information was posted on the Ministry of Health and Social Protection web-page about the COVID-19 situation, in the world, in neighbouring countries and in Albania.

4. A national Action Plan “For the prevention, preparation and response against COVID-19 in Albania” was also prepared by Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MoHSP) in collaboration with National Institute of Public Health.

5. Measures were undertaken to also establish and make ready for the operation of quarantine services in designated areas (based on the Minister of Health and Social Protection Order No. 53/2 dated 26 February 2020).

6. The first infected case of with COVID-19 in Albania was identified on 8 March 2020. Immediate measures were taken to close public and non-public activities and to cancel mass indoor and outdoor gatherings (Minister of Health and Social Protection Order No. 132 of 9 March 2020). The export of medicines and medical equipment, the movement of companions and family members of patients in hospitals were also immediately stopped together with a series of preventive measures taken for all sectors.

7. The closure of educational institutions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was ordered as well (Minister of Health and Social Protection Order No. 135 dated 9 March 2020) followed by a series of orders related to precautionary measures, which are updated periodically, based on the development of the situation in the country.

8. The epidemic situation in the country was declared on 11 March 2020 (Minister of Health and Social Protection Order No. 156/2 dated 11 March 2020). On the same day (11 March 2020) the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic.

9. The situation was declared a “Natural Disaster” on 24 March 2020 by the Government of Albania with the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 243/2020 "On the declaration of the state of natural disaster".

All acts (such as orders, decisions, regulations, etc.) are periodically updated and can be found in the web-page of Ministry of Health and Social Protection, respectively in section “New measures introduced to response against COVID-19”.

B. IMPACT AND MITIGATING MEASURES ON GBV/DV AND ANY OTHER MEASURES TAKEN TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, PROTECT ITS VICTIMS, PROSECUTE PERPETRATORS AS PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH AS REQUIRED BY THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION.

In all above-mentioned measures, ‘social distance’, ‘isolation’, ‘quarantine’, ‘self-isolation’ and ‘stay at home’ are the key words. But the Ministry of Health and Social Protection has been also very careful on following the potential impact that pandemic COVID-19 might have on particular marginalised groups and is trying to introduce as much as possible gender-sensitive COVID-19 precautionary measures.

Specific attention is paid to the issue of violence against women and domestic violence, considering the warning risk of its increase or escalation during the self-isolation period, as demonstrated by other European countries. Specific measures undertaken so far in this regard are:

1. As the responsible state authority regarding the issues of gender equality and domestic violence, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection has sent an official letter to the Ministry of Interior and the Albanian State Police, requesting their support as follows:

- To treat very carefully, prioritise and verify all kinds of information that police hear/receive regarding a potential DV incident happening;

- To facilitate as much as possible the process of DV incidents reporting (through text messages, notification on police webpage or social media page, reporting from neighbours, citizens, etc.)

- To increase the collaboration between police and the local DV co-ordinator employed at municipal level. For all cases assisted in this period of emergency, where there are children in a family, the Child Protection Unit in the municipality must also be notified immediately, no matter if the reporting is not for a child abused but is for the abuse of an adult person. In the situation of isolation, children are also witnessing the violence so they are abused as well, although not directly and not physically, but they have to be protected immediately together with their mothers.

- To undertake precautionary measures not only for the victims/survivors who are classified as “high level of risk” through the risk assessment process, but also for those who are “medium level of risk”, as well as for their children too. The removal of the abuser from the apartment, if possible, should be a priority and for this purpose, during the case risk assessment process, police officers should receive accurate information from the abuser and the victim/survivor about the possibilities that each of them has, to be moved elsewhere until the end of the COVID-19 emergency.

- In the Police’ Order for Preliminary Measures of Immediate Protection, issued for the victims/survivors in “high risk for life”, to be included their children, as well, even when the violence has not directly affected them.

- During the entire COVID-19 emergency period, the police must request the Court to issue a protection order, without first requesting the issuance of an immediate protection order (in respect of the article 12, point 2 of the Law No. 9669 dated 18 December 2006 “For measures against violence in family relations”).

- When removal of the perpetrator form the house is not possible due to current conditions (i.e. his family members are living with them, etc.) police officers must facilitate the process of sheltering the victim/survivor and her children to a safe place/shelter (as it will be decided in collaboration with the municipality, state social service, etc.). In this case, police must also take all required measures to ensure a fast procedure (escort, transport, etc.) to their destination, both for high-risk victims/survivors and those with medium-risk lives. If the new destination where the victim/survivor will be located/sheltered is in another city than the one where the victim/survivor lives actually and where the violence incident happened, police must send the victim/survivor’s folder and request for the protection order to the Court of the city where the victim/survivor is sheltered, to facilitate the court procedures.

- To accompany the local co-ordinator in order to facilitate their work and that of the social services offices in the municipality related with the process of monitoring of the implementation of protection orders, and when needed to facilitate the transportation.

- To proceed immediately in case of any notification that an issued protecting order has been broken.

2. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection has sent to all local co-ordinators against DV in the 61 municipalities of the country a letter to remind them of their key duties and responsibilities regarding the treatment of DV cases with high priority especially now, during the pandemic COVID-19 emergency. Among the key points mentioned in the letter are the following:

- Strengthening the online communication with all members of the Co-ordinated Referral Mechanism against DV established at local level;

- Increasing vigilance to identify potential violent episodes, during the work they are doing in the field to support families or individuals in need;

- Raising community awareness on the numbers available to provide help and support in cases where violence might happen;

- Providing regular information through municipality web-pages and social media on the fact that support will be provided any time to all DV victims/survivors even in the situation of the COVID-19 emergency and isolation;

- Reminding the community members that domestic violence is a crime and it will continue to be punished even in the crisis situation.

3. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection has approved a “Protocol on the functioning of public and non-public residential centres providing housing services for victims/survivors of domestic violence and for victims/survivors of trafficking in the COVID-19 pandemic situation”. The protocol is approved by the Minister of Health and Social Protection Order No. 254 dated 10 April 2020. The aim of this Protocol is to assist the service providers (shelters) to function as effectively as possible in accordance with the restrictions due to preventive measures. It provides the required guidelines related to the necessary services for victims/survivors of domestic violence and trafficking without compromising their health and lives, or the lives of shelter residents, their families and community in general. The protocol contains the following chapters:

- Introduction, where it is mentioned among others that the protocol is valid only for the period of emergency from the COVID-19 pandemic, but is used also in similar emergencies from diseases or other pandemics, by updating it and making it appropriate to be used in accordance with guidelines which will be provided on those kind of emergencies;

- The aim of the protocol and why is important to follow it during COVID-19 emergency;

- Short information on COVID-19 and sources where official trustworthy and updated information can be found about it and about all developments in the country regarding the emergency situation;

- How to act when responding to the COVID-19 emergency, composed by subchapters: a) General rules on how to act during COVID-19 emergency, b) Steps to undertake if a resident shows symptoms of COVID-19, c) Concrete steps to manage the situation, d) Steps to be followed for accepting new cases of victims/survivors at the shelter;

- Standards of sheltering services in the conditions of pandemic COVID-19, where the existing approved standards for victims/survivors of DV and the ones for victims/survivors of trafficking are analysed, the changes they might need to adopt for this situation, as well as the detailed explanations on how the minimum standards for shelters as required by the Istanbul Convention, can be applied in this situation;

- Appendices containing the legal framework (especially the new one approved during this period of time) and a detailed information on how COVID-19 impacts the violence against women and domestic violence;

- References with detailed information on additional sources of information appropriate to be used from the service providers.

The Protocol was drafted with the support of UN Women Albania and is being translated and can be used as an important source of information and model to be used in other countries as well. An on-line training for all shelter staff is foreseen to take place during April related to the approved protocol and its implementation.

4. Ministry of Health and Social Protection has approved an “Order for the management of cases involving children in need for protection during the emergency COVID-19” (Order of the Minister of Health and Social Protection No. 253 dated 10 April 2020). This order contains, among other information/instructions:

- General instructions for Child Protection Units and other institutions focused on child protection and how to act in this pandemic situation;

- How to refer children’s cases to health, social care and psychological services and which are the key numbers or e-addresses to be used during this emergency period;

- Key instructions on case management during this emergency period (where abused or neglected children are highlighted as a group in high risk during this emergency situation);

- Protection measures needed to be used from staffs, individuals and institutions, etc.

This Order has been drafted with the support of UNICEF.

5. The Council of Ministers Normative Act No. 9 dated 25 March 2020 “For taking special measures in the field of judicial activity, during the duration of the epidemic caused by COVID-19” foreseen suspension of deadlines for filing lawsuits, complaints as well as for the performance of any procedural action in administrative, civil and criminal process, according to the provisions of this normative act. When deadlines start during the suspension period, they are postponed until the completion of the emergency period of pandemic COVID-19. But this rule does not apply in family cases related to domestic violence, child custody, children’s rights, and adoption process, alimentary and in some other civil and criminal cases.

6. In the frame of economic measures undertaken from the Government of Albania to support employed people in small businesses, as well as unemployed people, or the ones under the economic aid scheme, as foreseen in the Council of Ministers Decision No. 254 dated 27 March 2020, 482 victims/survivors of domestic violence who have a protection order issued, will benefit from a double payment of economic assistance (for three months, starting from 1 April), as a result of the Protection Order they have. The double payment will be applied also to people under the economic aid scheme, including women head of families, of whom there are around 6,000 who benefit the economic aid (ref. progression data).

7. Important measures are undertaken at central and local level, also due to the support of key donors as requested from Ministry of Health and Social Protection, in the framework of joint programmes/initiatives with key international donors. Based on the adaptation of the UN joint programme, as requested from Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the following measures are being taken:

- a TV spot on key service providers to be called in case of a DV incident as well as on the citizens obligation to report a case they witness, will be launched at the end of this week, with the support of UN Women;

- A specific GIF about the risk of increase in DV incidents or prevalence in the situation of the COVID-19 emergency has been prepared by UN Women Albania and published in social media, as well as a joint message from UN agencies regarding the risk of DV in the COVID-19 emergency, or the message of UN Women Albania Representative Michele Ribotta for the same purpose;

- Local governmental state and non-state actors are putting efforts to strengthen effective local multi-sectorial institutional response in domestic violence cases in the cases already managed during the COVID-19 situation. Through the UNDP support is provided to 15 municipalities to establish and strengthen co-ordinated referral mechanisms for domestic violence cases, expedited local efforts are taking place on how to best use the specialised support services provided by state and non-state actors for DV and GBV victims/survivors in this emergency situation. Municipalities are sharing tailored standardised information on safety tips for DV/GBV victims/survivors in the occurrence of violence incidents and they have reached 55,000 people. Practical and user-friendly information sets are shared by a considerable number of municipalities in their social media channels aiming at maximising community outreach. Five other municipalities supported by the Planning Local Government Project of USAID have also jointed this initiative of sharing standardised information and safety tips for DV victims/survivors through their social media and have reached around 9,584 persons;

- Safety instructions for victims/survivors of DV while staying isolated with their abusers are also prepared and published from UNDP Albania in their social media.

8. Regarding the statistics of Domestic Violence, data from the Albanian State Police show that the number of cases reported followed with a request for protection orders, or followed according to the specific article of Criminal Code related to DV, or number of cases where a protection order is violated/broken, etc., are lower compared to the same trimester of a year ago (2019). These data are presented in the table below:

The tendency of a lower case number is evident even during March 2020 (the month when emergency from pandemic COVID-19 was declared) compared to the same month of the previous year (March 2019), as presented in the table below:

The fact that statistically there is no increase in DV incidents has not influenced any decrease of dedicated attention to this issue. The above mentioned measures will be followed by others in the coming days, as/if they will be needed, in order to create a safer and supportive environment for victims/survivors of VAW and DV even during the pandemic COVID-19 emergency situation.

C. IMPACT AND MITIGATING MEASURES ON OTHER RELEVANT ASPECTS, INCLUDING NOTABLY: SEXUAL HEALTH AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: WOMEN AS WORKERS (INCLUDING ON WOMEN WORKING ON THE “FRONTLINE” AND ON THE IMPACT ON WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT/JOB LOSSES); WOMEN’S ROLE IN UNPAID CARE AND DOMESTIC WORK; VULNERABLE GROUPS OF WOMEN (OLDER WOMEN, MIGRANT WOMEN, WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES, FOR EXAMPLE).

Specific measures undertaken in this frame are:

o Following the measures undertaken to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as pursuant to Law No. 15/2016 “On the prevention and control of infections and infectious diseases”, it is approved the Council of Minister Decision No. 236, dated 19 March 2020 "On taking measures to provide housing assistance to the people in need, in the conditions of the epidemic caused by COVID-19". Through this decision it is foreseen the provision of housing assistance, including for the payment of benefits received by the social protection and social security programme, sending food and non-food products and reimbursable medicines, etc. Beneficiaries from this decision are people under the economic aid scheme, people with disabilities, invalids, retired persons and those who homeless due to the earthquake which happened last November. Women compose a considerable number of this beneficiary’s category. The Central Commission for Providing Assistance has been set up, and it verifies the lists, makes the relevant adjustments, and confirms them to the district prefects, mayors, the State Social Service and the Social Insurance Institute. Lists were drafted within three days of the decision's entry into force and are updated weekly. Food and non-food products are delivered to the families and/or people in need through the staff and volunteers of district prefects and mayors where the Armed Forces are also engaged, while monthly payments, from the defence programme are sent through the official mailing service.

o As mentioned above, the Council of Ministers Decision No. 254 dated 27 March 2020 “For foreseeing the procedures, documentation and the measure of financial aid profitable from workers in small businesses with an annual profit until 14 million ALL, payment of economic aid and the payment for the unemployed people, during the COVID-19 emergency” foresees particular measures such as: (i) the provision of financial aid for employees/self-employees in the level of the minimum wage, for the interrupted period of businesses activities due to the COVID-19 risk; (ii) double payment for persons under the economic aid scheme; and (iii) double payment for individuals who receive the unemployment payment. From these provisions all those who are part of these categories will benefit, including women, if they have applied by 10 March 2020. The procedures for receiving these benefits are also described in this decision.

o At the request of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, UNFPA in Albania is undertaking the following actions:

- Developing a set of informative materials to increase awareness and information among primary health care providers, pharmacists, and community members on important developments in accessing primary health care (in particular, the focus will be on the elderly and their family members/access to medications) and Sexual Reproductive Health Right services in the context of COVID-19.

- Providing support in the implementation of online learning Sexual Reproductive Health platforms in the context of COVID-19 for health care providers.

- Procurement of Personal Protective Equipment for health care workers working in the maternity units.

- Reprogramming planned initiatives to reach with information and services the most vulnerable and marginalised including young key populations. The focus will be on the elderly, young people in prisons, and other vulnerable groups. The youth voice platform expansion at municipal level has been revised and some of the funds reprogrammed to support the most vulnerable (Roma, youth without parental care, poor families with many children and elderly). Around 200 elderly and people leaving alone in remote areas are planned to be supported with food and hygienic needs in some of the municipalities in the country.

- Advocating and exploring innovative approaches to ensure continuity of SRHR services (such as cervical cancer screening), knowledge sharing among health care providers and reaching community activists and volunteers with SRHR information in the context of COVID-19.

- Y-peers have been very active in reaching young people with information in the context of COVID-19, do’s and don’ts, risk of increased domestic violence, supporting messages to health workers in the frontline. Online posts have reached more than 5,000 young people.

- Youth voice network organisations joined the MenEngage campaign with photos showing their help with house chores while they stay at home, together with UN Albania men & boys, Ambassadors of Italy and Sweden. The youth voice Jotabu.al portal and Jotabu apps have been uploading info and messages on Covid-19 reaching up to 25,000 people.

o At the request of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, UNDP in Albania is undertaking the following actions:

- Providing food and sanitary packages for people and families of 800 vulnerable households (i.e. unemployed, the elderly living alone, those with underlying health conditions, people with disabilities, people with mental health problems, Roma and Egyptians, women headed households) who have been seriously affected by the current situation of COVID-19.

- Co-ordinating and mobilising the network of professionals who as of today are connecting with parents of about 200 children with disabilities receiving services in the eight UNDP-supported community centres, to start the delivery of a minimum of services (in home conditions). Furthermore, online training (through Skype and video calls) has been initiated to the professionals of recently operational community centres for children with disabilities. This will help to maintain the acquired knowledge and skills of both professionals and service recipients as well as to comfort the families that might experience more aggravated situations due to the specific needs caused by disabilities.

- Support the Albanian National Association of the Deaf (ANAD) to ensure the constant provision of reliable and updated information related to COVID-19 in sign language for the community of people with hearing impairments, as well as to establish and maintain a hot line for 24 hours to receive requests/claims and provide information/referral services through video calls via WhatsApp for the same community.

The Andorran Government approved on 14 March the Decree of 14-3-2020 in view of the evolution of the COVID-19 crisis, caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is spreading rapidly and unpredictably, hence requiring to further increase prevention and control measures.

These measures basically focus on the generalised lockdown of all services, except those considered essential to provide support to vulnerable people and families.

With regard to gender-based violence (GBV) and domestic violence, and bearing in mind that in the current situation, where violence does not stop, some women may find themselves confined with an abusive partner or certain individuals may be subject to domestic violence from another family member, the Government of Andorra has taken the following actions:

- The services of GBV and domestic violence remain actively working as usual, specifically focusing on socio-educational monitoring, risk assessment, accommodation in shelters, assessment of the economic situation and, when appropriate, providing economic benefits, psychological monitoring and legal advice.

- In addition to the helpline 181, a WhatsApp number (606181) has been enabled 24 hours a day/7 days a week to facilitate women's access to our services and resources, and also to attend any person who may be suffering GBV and/or domestic violence.

- The Government is actively broadcasting information about GBV and domestic violence services through its Department of Communication and other media communication networks.

 - Both the helpline 181 and WhatsApp 606181 numbers are free of charge and available 24 hours a day. In addition, helpline 181 does not leave a trace on the telephone bill.

- A radio slot, which contains information about these services and the way to access them, is being broadcasted through "Cadena Ser" radio station.

- The Social Affairs Department of the Government of Andorra, together with the Police Directorate, have created a video tutorial for police officers in order to update guidelines and good police practices on action protocols for GBV and domestic violence.

- There is also an email address - [email protected] - and the Social Affairs Department website has been updated with information about these services and how to access them.

- The Protocols established with the Hospital, the Police Department, the Social Affairs Department and the Judicial Branch regarding GBV and domestic violence are actively operative. According to these Protocols, cases are being referred to the Equality Policy Area, which implements the circuits provided.

Currently NGOs are providing services to the Support Centres for Victims of the Domestic Violence, Act, in accordance with the instructions of the Office of the Commandant of the Republic of Armenia, establishment which was conditioned with the state of emergency declared in the country, particularly, those NGOs who provide a "hotline"

Services, legal information and psychological support : Simultaneously, 24-hour asylum services are provided in accordance with the sanitary and hygienic norms prescribed for those organisations. Particularly, the newly-admitted beneficiaries are being isolated, following all the conditions prescribed by the isolation norms. It should also be mentioned that within the period of the state of emergency, no significant increase of the number of people who applied for the hotline services was registered.

Taking into account the restrictions imposed by the state of emergency, the organisations, which are providing services to the Support Centres for the Victims of the Domestic Violence, use alternative forms of service delivery, information sharing and exchange, particularly:

• Social platforms: the websites and the Facebook page of the abovementioned organisations share the information on the domestic violence legal acts, the framework of the responsible bodies, the types of support, the services provided to the victims of the domestic violence, as well as contact and hotline services information.

• The materials and presentations discussed during the training-meetings conducted for the beneficiaries have been revised and adapted to the online regime of the organisation of the courses.

• In order to effectively organise the process of guiding and supporting the beneficiaries, it is envisaged to organise online discussions with the participation of the interested bodies and organisations.

• Beneficiaries are also provided with the financial support for food, medicine, housing and utility services. For this purpose, the organisations work to attract other resources as well.

In March 2020, a number of measures was approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia aimed to address the neutralisation of the economic consequences caused by the Coronavirus (N358-L of 26 March, N410-L of 30 March, N411-L of 30 March, N412-L of 30 March, N418-L of 31 March), according to which it is envisaged to support pregnant women who are facing difficulties conditioned by the spread of the Coronavirus, the families with children under 14 years of age, the unemployed persons as well as 18 year old children of families which face social difficulties. The abovementioned measures can indirectly contribute to the prevention of domestic violence.

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The “Council on Prevention of Domestic Violence” section is operating on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia - www.mlsa.am. The latter shares the information on the legal acts aimed to prevent domestic violence, the organisations which provide services to the victims of the domestic violence, including data on the contact and hotline services, as well as the latter provides information on the activities of the “Council on Prevention of Domestic Violence”. During the state of emergency conditioned by the fight against COVID-19, it should be noted that in connection with the provision of the relevant data/indicators of the victims of domestic violence, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, as an authorised body, conducts the centralised registration of domestic violence cases according to the manner prescribed by the Decree No. 1381-N of the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the “Centralised Procedure for Domestic Violence Registration” approved on 10 October 2019. According to the latter, the collection of the relevant information begins immediately after the decision enters into force and is provided six months after the start of the collection of information. Afterward, the information must be provided at least every semester until the 30th of the month following the reporting semester. After receiving the relevant information, the authorised body, within one month, should summarise and publish it. Taking all the above into consideration, the first brief information on the domestic violence cases will be published in May 2020. Simultaneously, it is worth mentioning that during the state of emergency, the Police of the Republic of Armenia can provide information on the domestic violence cases as it has been conducting relevant registration during the recent years.

In the context of a number of decisions adopted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia aimed at neutralising the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19, the Decision No. 411-L of 30 March 2020 “On Approving the Action 7 of neutralising the economic consequences of COVID-19” should be singled out. The latter defines that pregnant women who are single and don't have a job as of 30 March 2020 and pregnant women whose husbands had been registered employees but lost their jobs between 13 and 30 March 2020, will receive one-time assistance in the amount of 100,000 AMD at the expense of the state budget.

Simultaneously, in order to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities and to ensure their social protection, the Commandant’s Office of the Republic of Armenia gave an (N32, item 3) instruction to extend the disability period until 1 June in case of its expiration in March or April 2020. In other words, until then, persons with disabilities will continue to receive the assistance prescribed by the law without the disability re-evaluation process.

Taking into account the difficulties caused by the restrictions of movement conditioned by the state of emergency and based on the necessity to mitigate the consequences as much as possible, the Instruction Draft of the Commandant’s Office of the Republic of Armenia on the extending the validity of the state certificate on the acquisition of the support measures was elaborated and presented to the Commandant of the Republic of Armenia. According to the draft, in case of expiration of the validity of the state certificate on the acquisition of the support measures in March, April or May 2020 (60 calendar days), the validity of the certificate will be extended until 1 June 2020.

Given that the isolation (self-isolation) conditioned by the state of emergency increases the risk of limiting the activities of persons with disabilties, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has asked the Ministry of Health to provide the data on those persons with disabilities who are diagnosed with COVID-19, who are in isolation, or who have difficulties of moving or communicating (musculoskeletal, vision and hearing disorders), and hence need support (support measures, provision of the sign language interpretation services, etc.). Upon receipt of the information, the individual support will be provided, taking into account the gender-specific characteristics as well.

Please note that general measures to contain the pandemic, not specifically taken for the purpose of (domestic) violence prevention/victim protection, such as exit restrictions and home office, home schooling/ e-schooling are not included in this list:

Comprehensive information offensive: In order to inform as many ("potentially") affected victims of domestic violence as possible, information flyers on local support are available in cases of domestic violence have been designed and are about to be printed and distributed in food stores (large chains with multiple locations throughout Austria). In addition, comprehensive information on domestic violence including a list of victim protection facilities and emergency contacts is available online https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/agenda/frauen-und-gleichstellung/gewalt-gegen-frauen/hilfseinrichtungen.html; furthermore an information campaign in daily newspapers will begin in April.

In order to reach also non-German-speaking women, the abovementioned information flyers are being translated into the relevant foreign languages.

Sensitization of the wider public - press conferences: In order to draw attention to the increased risk of domestic violence due to restrictions and to disseminate the support services available and further measures taken, press conferences were held by the Minister for Women's Affairs, the Minister for Family Affairs and the Minister for Justice.

Expansion of online counselling (minimisation of personal contacts in counselling services offered by victim protection institutions): In order to minimise personal contacts, counselling is mainly provided by telephone, e-mail or online. Personal contacts are reduced to the bare minimum (also to counteract the danger of "complete quarantine" in case of infection). Additionally, the online consulting services of the 24-hour hotline (accessible 24/7) was expanded.

Simplification of filing a restraining order: The police hands the restraining order application form directly to the victim, when issuing a protection order or when checking compliance with it (within 3 days of issue). In addition, the restraining order can be filed electronically.

Close co-operation between health authorities, victim protection institutions and the police: In order to maintain the protection of victims in shelters (such as women's shelters, sheltered housing, etc.) in suspected cases of infection, victim protection institutions work closely with the health authorities (no case known so far). The same applies in cases of (suspected) infection of perpetrators barred from home; here the police co-operate closely with the health authorities in order not to endanger victims by imposing quarantine.

Constant contact between victim protection institutions and the Minister for Women's Affairs (women's department): This allows for ongoing adjustments/extensions of measures to be identified. However, it is not sufficient to take measures solely linked to violence directly. Consideration must also be devoted to the framing conditions that particularly affect women. In response, inter alia, the following measures have been taken:

• Simplified filing for advance maintenance payments by the state: In order to prevent financial bottlenecks (and to avoid possible dependencies arising from them), access to advance maintenance payments by the state for single parents has been simplified (acceleration of the procedure, no application for execution required).
• “Special care time” (Sonderbetreuungszeit) for children: On 16 March, a new federal law came into force which allows employees to be granted a special care period of up to three weeks for children until the age of 14, who are subject to compulsory care. For the duration of the special care period, the employee retains his or her full entitlement to continued remuneration.

All necessary and urgent measures have been taken in Azerbaijan to prevent the spread of corona virus (COVID-19). On 27 February, an Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers was created to prevent danger that could be caused by the corona virus pandemic to implement preventive and urgent measures. This headquarters included heads of related state organisations, led by the Prime Minister. In early-March 10 million AZN (5.9 million USD) was allocated to the Cabinet of Ministers to ensure that all necessary measures would be implemented on time.

To ensure access to COVID-19 related information for all, the Operational Headquarters created an informational portal www.koronavirusinfo.az. The goal of the portal is not only to inform but also to educate the population. The portal provides general confirmed information about the corona virus, the current situation in the world, measures taken to combat the virus, and operational news about the rules, instructions and recommendations of the Azerbaijani government on protecting public health. Citizens can ask questions and receive answers through the interactive website. Important information is also provided by a state-wide SMS system.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies and the United Nations Development Programme launched “Stay Home” the www.evdeqal.az digital platform which is a one-stop for all e-service available to citizens in the country during the corona virus pandemic. Besides the links about online shops, products and services ,the platform provides advice on social distancing and staying at home and offers numerous e-learning resources including information on ways of setting up and running digital businesses from home.

Public Health and Reforms Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan introduced a bot to help people make decisions about what to do if they have potential symptoms of COVID-19. The bot was created in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The bot is called ‘Shefa’ (meaning health and recovery) and is available on the www.isim.az website under the “Information about coronavirus” section. This coronavirus self-checker is intended to help the health authorities answer more queries, enabling medical professionals to look after patients who need critical care.

Socio-economic measures:

Azerbaijan has also set up a fund to support the fight against the corona virus to increase the effectiveness of the measures taken and to ensure material support to the medical workers providing relevant services. The state initially allocated 20 million AZN (12 million USD) into the fund. The total voluntary donations of different state agencies, companies and citizens to the fund has reached 112,233 million AZN (65 million USD).

Azerbaijan has introduced adapted social protection programmes in response to COVID-19. They attach special importance to the issue of employment and social protection of the population. As a result, the social protection of employees working in the sectors worst affected by the pandemic and the low-income categories of the population were strengthened along with short- and medium-term employment measures. Ten programmes in the above areas cover 2.5 million people. In general, employment with the preservation of wages of more than 900,000 people working in the public sector and 690,000 people working in non-state companies has been ensured. An appeal was made to entrepreneurs in this regard. The state has paid a significant part of the salaries of more than 300,000 people working in 44,000 business entities. In addition, more than 290,000 representatives of micro-businesses and private entrepreneurs will benefit from state support. For the effective implementation of assigned measures, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted an action plan which contains a compensation programme for damages to the entrepreneurs and their employees beginning 8 April. The programme stipulates the allocation of 215 million AZN (126 million USD) to preserve the salaries of the hired workers and 80 million AZN (47 million USD) to support the individual entrepreneurs.

A one-off payment of 190 AZN (112 USD) is being made to people who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic and also people from vulnerable groups of the population. On the President’s instructions, the one-off payment will be provided to 200,000 people and cover April-May. Starting from 1 April, the number of families receiving targeted social assistance has been increased by 80,000.

Social protection measures also include the creation of 50,000 paid public jobs, the increase of monthly preferential electricity consumption limit for citizens by 100 kilowatts per hour in April and May, allocation of 40 million AZN (23 million USD) for the training of students from low-income families.

The Government of Azerbaijan also began to implement the credit and guarantee support programme which enables businesses to get loans with preferential terms. The economic support programme of the government also envisages tax benefits, privileges for businesses entities. The taxpayers engaged in catering activities will have simplified tax reduction and exemption from income tax. The import and sale of the products necessary for food and medical security and the raw materials that are used in the production of these products will be temporarily exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT). Zero rate of the VAT is applied to the services provided for the prevention of the pandemic. Tax concessions also include the extension of the deadline of income tax payments of 2019, provision of simplified tax exemptions to the micro-enterprises, the exemption from property and land taxes until the end of the year, the exemption from the current tax payments for specific industries, the exemption of the taxpayers from income tax for the relevant amount and period. All efforts and programmes addressing the socio-economic impact of COVID 19 include a gender lens in order to target women.

Families hit the hardest by COVID-19 are mostly the ones with many children which carries an additional burden for women. To mitigate the most-pressing needs for vulnerable families, more than 100,000 food and hygiene kits were disseminated across the country, especially to women-headed households, IDPs and refugees and other vulnerable groups. Relevant public bodies, such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of People, Ministry of Agriculture, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Affairs, Executive Bodies, local municipalities have been actively participating in the process.

Within the framework of the campaign against COVID-19, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs and its eleven Child and Family Support Centres have strengthened their activities in accordance with the instructions of the operational headquarters of the Cabinet of Ministers.

To ensure that women and girls have access to COVID-19 public health messages, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, Family and Children Support Centres and Women Resource Centres facilitate the development and dissemination of targeted messaging on public health to the different contexts and concerns of population. Staff of the regional centres visited vulnerable families, made phone calls to elderly and lonely people, assessed their wishes and needs, provided them with food, psychological assistance and medical masks. Medical masks were distributed among residents of remote areas at the initiative of the Child and Family Support Centres. In addition, special brochures and posters were distributed among the population. In accordance with the “Call to Families” awareness-raising action, more than 3,300 families received information by phone, and special information booklets were distributed to families in remote and rural areas. Medical information about COVID-19 and its prevention were distributed in settlements for IDPs and refugees, as well as in remote and rural communities.

In order to support citizens, psychologists from the Child and Family Support Centre provided psychological assistance online to 303 people.

The special project “Online psychological Assistance” was launched in April 2020. Two webinars on “Psychological Problems in the families during the pandemic and the ways to solve them” were held in the framework of this project. A total of 2,300 people have already benefited from the above mentioned project.

The special campaign “From Family to Family” has been launched in order to decrease the impact of the pandemic on livelihoods, especially due to economic stress and the burden of social isolation. As part of this campaign 75 families assisted 594 vulnerable families.

With the aim of studying the situation of families during the special quarantine regime in the country with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, 441 surveys were conducted by 11 Child and Family Support Centres.

The Child and Family Support Centres in co-operation with the State Customs Committee and ASAN - State Agency of Public Service’s Volunteers - have implemented a number of measures to assist single, elderly women and bedridden people, as well as persons of high-risk age (65+ years) with limited opportunity to leave their homes. As a result of early intervention by the staff of the Child and Family Support Centre during the special quarantine period, cases of domestic violence were prevented, and psychological assistance was provided to the victims. In total 7,000 families from the regions received different forms of necessary assistance.

Special online training, webinars, campaigns, help with households’ duties discussions and TV programmes:

In order to rapidly respond to increased risks of psychological problems and domestic violence amid the “Stay Home” policy, special events have been organised.

• “Psychological problems in families during the pandemic and ways to address them”
• “How to manage mental health and education in self-isolation period”
• “Legal aid to the victims of domestic violence”
• Role of social workers in preventing gender-based violence during the pandemic.
• “Prevention of gender-based discrimination and increasing the value of girls in the society”
• “Psychological pressure and problems in the families during the period of COVID-19 and social distancing”
• Psychological rehabilitation of children with special needs in the period of quarantine
• Life-saving knowledge and guidance on how to be protected from the virus
• Awareness-raising campaign to combat gender-based violence in the context of the COVID-19 crisis
• Access to services for the victims of Domestic Violence during COVID 19
• “Gender and reproductive health”
• “Learning at home” campaign to provide guidance and advice for parents to manage the challenge of staying at home.
• “Stay at home but be active”
• “Men engage” social media campaign encouraging men to support their spouses via sharing their daily household duties
• “Internet safety of children and ways to ensure it”
• “End to the violence” TV programme
• Corona Virus Info Programme on Central National TV channel introduced a number of special issues to discuss and inform on problems on interfamily relation, violence and during the period of self-isolation
• A number of programmes dedicated to “Women’s rights” and “Children’s rights.

The discussions and training included such topics as: the challenges people face during the pandemic; how social isolation affects family relationships; what preventive measures can be taken in the case of family conflict in a quarantine situation; what should be considered when resolving family conflicts; and so on.

The use of women’s networks and civil society has had positive results. For example, as part of the mission to protect the most vulnerable communities, the State Committee for Family Women and Children Affairs, Women Resource Centres and UNDP helped procure and deliver packages of a month’s worth of food to help 340 of poorest rural families cope with COVID-19. Most of the contents of these packages, including the eco-packaging itself ,was purchased from women entrepreneurs, achieving the dual purpose of helping the poorest while also helping women entrepreneurs sustain their small businesses.

Women Recourse Centres focused efforts on vulnerable and socially excluded groups of women providing them with necessary support. During this period, centres had to switch to online training. Over 100 women from remote parts of the country have been participating in online business development training, including risk analyses and sales. Jointly with UNDP, the Women Recourse Centres organise regular virtual individual and group psychotherapy sessions. Centres launched local campaigns to help low income families cope with the pandemic and provided a safe space for over 3,000 rural women to share ideas.

Special awareness-raising sessions has been launched for people with disabilities. For example, in the framework of the project “Addressing the rights and well-being of women with disabilities” funded by the Ministry of Social Protection of the Population and implemented by the UNDP, UNFPA and the SCFWCA, a number of videos and animations have been produced and shared on social networks to support old persons with effectively organising their leisure time, as well as protecting themselves against COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic started, crisis centres and shelters run by non-governmental organisations re-structured their model to facilitate newcomers without risking others to potential COVID-19 infection. The protection of survivors, as well as employees of crisis centres and shelters, is vital during the pandemic. Therefore, those services that could be provided from a distance went into online or distance mode. Volunteers, SCWFCA, Women Resource Centres jointly with international organisations and others regularly provide these centres with personal protection equipment (PPE) and disinfectant.

Impacts on sexual and reproductive health

Special attention was given to the issues of reproductive health during the pandemic. Communication materials for pregnant women and health workers on the response to COVID-19 were developed by UNFPA in partnership with the Azerbaijan Association for supporting development of Gynaecology and Perinatology and Scientific Research Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Materials were distributed among prenatal centres and antenatal clinics.

• Materials on Reproductive and Sexual health in the COVID-19 period
• “Maternal and newborn health in times of COVID 19”
• Handbook on COVID-19 for pregnant women and lactating mothers

Volunteering

It is also important to highlight the important role of volunteers during the crisis. Volunteers are among the first responders to the COVID-19 outbreak and they create social bonds and give a voice to marginalised and vulnerable groups. Due to the fact that the President declared 2020 the "Year of Volunteers", specialised volunteer teams were created due to the difficult situation. The Co-ordination Centre for Azerbaijan Volunteers was established on the initiative of volunteer movements and organisations in order to contribute to preventing the spread of the corona virus and its possible consequences in the country, especially to educate the population and provide social services to people in need. Essential hygiene and sanitation items (e.g. medical masks, sanitary pads, hand sanitisers, etc.), medicine, and food supplies were distributed in order to ensure continuity of care for older persons, persons with disabilities and single parents, including in rural  and remote areas.

Due to social distancing during a global pandemic, a new form of online volunteering contributed to society. School closures, working remotely - all of these situations challenged parents. Teachers, social workers voluntarily created different online groups and pages for parents and caregivers with a set of handy tips to help manage during the pandemic. A lot of necessary information has been shared via social networks; online teaching courses and training for children have been introduced for free.

Webinars have also been organised as part of the project implemented by UNICEF Azerbaijan and the Regional Development Public Union. A special digital communication platform has been created to provide continuous support to people aged over 65 who live alone, low income families, single mothers and other groups of vulnerable families during the quarantine regime. Through this platform volunteers are in constant touch with these groups and provide them with various social services, such as:

• Tips for teachers to provide digital support for children with difficulties on learning during pandemic.
• Protect Yourself from COVID-19 (for people older than 60 years and with chronic disease).
• How to protect mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic-practical tips for people staying at home in quarantine.
• Parenting tips for parents during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• How teenagers can protect their mental health during COVID-19.

Holistic answer

• An Inter-ministerial Conference which gather all competent ministers of the federal and federate states has taken place, on the topic of “Violence against Women and Quarantine Measures”. It discussed the government measures which are currently in place to deal with partner violence now that women have a higher risk of partner violence since they have to stay at home because of the corona crisis.

• The Brussels and Walloon governments (Gouvernement francophone bruxellois, Gouvernement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Gouvernement de la Wallonie, Gouvernement de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles) have created a Task Force “Woman and domestic violence” in reaction to the higher risk of violence caused by the confinement-measures which are taken to fight the Corona-virus.

The purpose of this Task Force is:

• • to monitor the situation of shelter and assistance infrastructures in partnership with the actors in the field, as well as to identify the needs and emergencies that arise in order to respond quickly and effectively;
  • to spread information, new and specific sensitization campaign and make all stakeholders involved aware of the problem.

• The Federal Sexual Assault Referral Centres remain open and operational, 24/24 and 7/7.The Family Justice Centres remain operational. The frequency of conversations with citizens has increased for they are called proactively by the centers.

Police

Police forces were made aware of the problem and they have increased their vigilance.

• While for non-urgent matters, declaration is made online or with an appointment, police services still come to the spot in case of emergency of urgent interventions, for facts that require certain observations or where the perpetrators are still present.

• The use of a new tool (received from the UK) which may assist in postponed hearings. In times of corona it is possible to postpone hearings (for various reasons). In order to guarantee that none of the facts and the memory of this would be lost, this tool could be used. This tool is being translated into the Belgian context by the Federal Police Department of Behavioral Sciences and should be ready soon.

• Some local police, through their victim assistance service, proactively contact people who have filed a complaint at the police station over the past three months concerning acts of domestic violence. This way, the evolution of their situation in quarantine can be monitored. They also contact the various associations involved in domestic violence on the territory to let them know that victims should not hesitate to go to the police.

Justice

• A Task Force has been established within the Public Prosecutor's Office to centralize all questions and problems related to the Corona measures.

• The Public Prosectutor’s Office has officially declared that the guidelines concerning domestic violence remain fully applicable.

• Domestic violence remains a priority : urgent matters should be dealt quickly. There is an increased awareness among the magistrates and public prosecutors to pay even more attention to this issue.

• Urgent hearings will continue to be guaranteed, and temporary preventive measures like an eviction can still be imposed by the Prosecutor.

Social affairs and social care

• A Social Urgency Task Force has been put in place with the aim of analyzing the situation of vulnerable persons, providing permanent monitoring and proposing policy measures. The Institute for the Equality of Women and Men participates in this task force. 

• Several measures have been taken to facilitate the combination of teleworking and childcare, for example:
  • Promoting existing leave systems (time credit, parental leave);
  • The introduction of an exceptional parental leave for the care of children under 12 (or with disabilities) in order to respond to the difficulties linked to the reconciliation of childcare and teleworking and for parents forced to work outside the home;
  • More flexible arrangements for the short term, in particular for parents with kids, parents with children with a disability.

• Maintenance obligations in respect to children (SECAL): women (often single-parent families) depend on - the maintenance obligation from the father but due to a loss of income in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, the father can no longer fulfil his obligation to pay. The government decided to establish a system of automatic payment.

• The abortion centers and Planned Parenthood health Center remain open and operational.  It is possible to provide electronic prescriptions for contraception and morning after pill.

• Electronic prescriptions are possible and doctors can conduct tele-consultations when physical contact is not advisable.

• The provision of psychological help has been expanded for persons under 18 and over 65.

Assistance and sensitization

• Press releases are spread and digital posters are distributed on websites and social networks of the various governments and partners to display information :

• Reminding the call-numbers of the existing emergency, relief and assistance services available to victims of domestic and intra-family violence.
• Reminding the help lines to perpetrators in order to prevent acts of violence.
• Giving tips n how families can handle extra stress.
• Indicating that the Sexual Assault Referral Centers remain pen and operational.

The domestic and sexual violence services report that they will continue to provide service and assistance. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the services offered are taking a different form, which means that online and telephone conversations can be held but some of them remains open and operational for emergencies.

• Shelters remain open and operational, they manage some temporary centers who have opened to increase available places and apply distancing schemes and offering quarantine for infected victims. So Wallonia and COCOF has strengthened the reception system for victims of domestic violence by providing some 150 new places with psycho-social support.

• The Houses of Justice actively contact victims and perpetrators in domestic violence cases, by telephone or video conference, to inquire about the situation and to ensure follow-up.

• Other local initiative are taken. For example, the Social Welfare Centre of the city of Mons has set up the collaboration "Talk to your pharmacist" to provide assistance to victims of domestic violence during the period of confinement.  It enables all pharmacists of the 19 municipalities of Mons to become valuable intermediaries between the victims and the Public Welfare Center for Intra-Family Violence of the City of Mons.

• The helplines / help chats (0800-30 030 and www.ecouteviolencesconjugales.be, 0800 98, 100, 1712 and https: // https: //www.seksueelgeweld.be of https://www.violencessexuelles.be) have been strengthened and are regularly monitored to be able to respond quickly to demand. It can be adjusted if necessary.

• Domestic violence :
  • 1712, the Flemish help line, infrms its employees on ways to be of better assistance to the victims, for example by agreeing on code words and giving instructions on how to thoroughly delete calls or chat conversations afterwards. The competent Minister has provided extra budget (140K euros for two extra employees) to guarantee this service.
  • 0800 30 030, the french-speaking line dedicated to domestic violence has doubled the number of respondents, set up a third simultaneous listening station, increased the hours and availability of the chat (50 hours per week) and set up a system if necessary for lifting anonymity.
• Sexual vilence:
  • The chat team of the Federal Sexual Assault Referral Centers has already written out various scenarios to quickly scale up the chat with extra people if this becomes necessary. They also haven’t noticed a significant increase up until now.
  • 0800 98 100, the French-speaking SOS rape line maintained its listening service as well as nline psychological follow-up, social and legal assistance.

Survey

• In the weekly national health survey launched since the COVID -19 national measures, questions will be asked on domestic violence.
• On the initiative of the University of Ghent, a short national survey will be conducted in four languages (French, Dutch, German and English) on domestic violence and sexual violence since the COVID-19 measures. Participants, all over Belgium, will be asked if they want to participate in a monthly follow-up so that the longer-term effects can also be monitored.
• On the initiative of the University of Liège and in collaboration with a Swiss and French university, a study was launched on the impact of COVID-19 measures on the well-being and violence between partners, both among young people (from 12 years old) than adults.
• A study on the different impact of the Corona policy measures on men and women is being conducted by the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men and is expected within a few weeks.

On 17 March 2020, at the 5th extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a decision was adopted on the declaration of a state of natural or other disasters in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina has activated the work of the Co-ordination Body for the Protection and Rescue of People and Property from Natural and Other Disasters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which carries out its activities in accordance with the Framework Law for the Protection and Rescue of People and Material Goods from Natural and other accidents in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The law stipulates that the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall decide on the search for international assistance for protection and rescue and co-ordinate the implementation of standard operating procedures for acceptance of the assistance after the declaration of natural or other disasters.

In order to target the assistance during the pandemic in a socially conscious manner, the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina has prepared a draft Plan of the Measures for Urgent Assistance to the most vulnerable categories of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The plan, which will soon be the subject of the Council of Ministers’ approval, is urging that special attention should be paid to the most vulnerable categories of citizens, such as the refugees and persons in the collective centres, persons with disabilities, and especially children, the underprivileged, Roma families and others. In the mentioned plan, a section on the priority measures for protection of victims of gender-based violence during the pandemic period is included.

Immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the NGOs who run the safe houses, in order to consult on the priority government measures to combat an increase in domestic violence and to improve the service delivery. The response was very prompt, detailed and unanimous in that the pandemic, economic downturn and restriction of movement constitute a conducive environment for gender-based violence.

Based on the information collected from the NGOs and other institutional partners, and in line with the Bosnia and Herzegovina Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 (2018 – 2022), the Gender Action Plan in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018 - 2022), and the emergency measures recommended by the government, the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina developed a Project Concept, “Support to victims of gender-based and domestic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic”. The project is conceived to be part of the abovementioned plan from the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and contains a proposal to the government and the international donors to allow re-allocation of the funds to support NGOs who are looking after the victims of violence against women and girls and domestic violence. The plan foresees addressing the most urgent needs of the victims of gender-based violence by implementing the following actions:

• Inform the public and particularly the victims, through the media campaign, about the available support services and ways to obtain them;
• Ensure that safe houses have sufficient capacity to adequately respond in the state of emergency caused by the pandemic;
• Provide additional SOS telephone-lines and personnel to facilitate them; and
• Provide possible additional accommodation through social protection institutions that have the capacity for quarantine.

In the meantime, until the plan is approved by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina has started with the activities which do not require additional financial means. This includes issuing press statements, sending out letters and recommendations to the institutional partners, and appearing in various media, drawing the attention of the public on the additional threat the pandemic poses on women, and victims of gender-based violence especially.

Regarding the problems women are facing in the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina has disseminated a call for proposed actions regarding the impact that pandemic has on women and the economic hardship that women are going through as a result. The call has been sent to both civil society organisations and associations of women entrepreneurs that are actively working on the issues of economic empowerment of women. The aim is to provide the women most affected with the economic downturn with direct support from the emergency measures set up by the government, as well as from the funds provided by international donors.

Also, in order to ascertain the impact of the worsening economic crisis on women, the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested from the relevant authorities at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina to provide gender-disaggregated data on loss of employment figures. That will enable the agency to develop further actions in addressing the economic consequences of the pandemic and in finding a way to support women who lost the possibility to earn their income, in the most constructive way.

In addition to the measures adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the governments of the two Bosnia and Herzegovina entities – Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska – have adopted and implemented measures to combat the consequences the pandemic has had on the lives of the citizens available here.

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the problems identified in the course of the consultations the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina has had with the safe houses was the impact the measures of risk-mitigation and sanitary precaution, enforced by the relevant authorities during the pandemic, have on the protection of victims of gender-based violence. Namely, according to the orders of the Federal Civil Protection Headquarters, the victims of violence must first conduct a “sanitary questionnaire”, performed solely by the headquarters, so that they can obtain a permit to be taken to a safe house or any social institution, which significantly slows down and complicates the entire victim support process.

The Agency for Gender Equality informed the Gender Centre of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina about this problem immediately. The Gender Centre addressed the Federal Ministry for Social Affairs and requested the ministry to consider conducting the procedures in the more gender-sensitive manner. One of the proposed measures is to train the staff of the NGOs providing assistance to the victims to perform the sanitary questionnaire themselves, so that no time is lost during the time-sensitive process of providing shelter to the victims.

Since the start of the pandemic caused by the COVID 19 virus, the Government of Republika Srpska has adopted more than 90 measures, aimed primarily at preventing catastrophic outcomes of the pandemic in terms of saving lives and controlling the degree of infection, and then preventing the economic collapse and enabling a normal daily life in all segments of work and activity in the best possible way. The Government of the Republika Srpska’s measures.

With regard to domestic violence and gender-based violence in general, it is important to emphasise that all institutions and services in charge of dealing with gender-based violence in the Republika Srpska are available to all women and citizens in general, via publicly known contact-information. Protection and prevention of the victims, and the treatment and prosecution of these offences takes place in accordance with the applicable legal provisions and, in that sense, the Gender Centre of the Republika Srpska informs that during pandemic the function of the subjects of protection and public services has not deteriorated.

The problems caused by the crisis connected with the spread of COVID-19, along with the health risks and the consequences of the infectious disease, are able to create risks of domestic abuse and other forms of abuse. An opportunity to support the most vulnerable people and groups of people has been provided in this regard.

А person who has suffered from domestic abuse or is a victim of trafficking is immediately placed in a crisis centre regardless of their current address. When the person is accompanied by a child and is its parent or guardian, the child is placed alongside them. When the person who has suffered from domestic abuse or is a victim of trafficking is a pregnant woman or a woman with a child who has not yet turned 3 years of age, and is at risk of abandoning her child, she is immediately placed in a crisis centre in a “Mother and Baby” unit alongside the child. In the case where the mother is accompanied by another of her children, who has turned 3 years old, the child is also placed with the mother. If there is a direct danger to the lives of the people and their children, the provider of the social service informs the bodies of the Ministry of Interior of the corresponding location of the crisis centre or the “Mother and Baby” unit. When the placement of the people is performed by the provider of social services, they inform the bodies of the Ministry of Interior and the Social Assistance Din the Social Assistance Agency.

Children and/or people who have suffered from abuse can use the social service “Crisis Centre” over a period of six months. The actions are focused on providing individual support, satisfying daily needs, providing legal advice to the user, or socio-psychological help when immediate intervention is needed, including through mobile teams for crisis intervention.

The social services , which are actions delegated by the state, for children and people who are victims of abuse on the territory of the state, are as follows at this time:

• 18 crisis centres for children with a total capacity of 196 persons;
• 6 crisis centres for persons with a total capacity of 196 persons;
• 124 centres for public support with a total capacity of 4,950 persons;
• 12 “Mother with Baby” units with a total capacity of 79 persons;

In the case of domestic abuse in a state of emergency in the state, the women and their children can turn to the “Social Assistance” departments in the whole state, as well as to the Ministry of Interior at the following number: 029 822 574; [email protected] or at 112.

Everyone in need of support can call the national, round-the-clock, specialised phone line for professional help – 080 011 977. For the cities Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dimitrovgrad, Dupnitsa, Haskovo, Lovech, Pernik, Ruse, Silistra, Sofia, Тargovishte and Varna, special crisis teams have been created to co-ordinate and reconcile the actions providing the support in the period of the emergency state, in accordance to the anti-crisis measures of the state and municipalities.

Ministry for Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy

• On 25 March 2020, the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia decided to introduce the necessary measure for the organisation of social welfare institutions and other social service providers during the COVID19 epidemic.
• The Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy is specified as the body for the coordination and organisation of work of social welfare institutions founded by the Republic of Croatia or units of local and regional self-government, or with which the Ministry has a Co-operation Agreement on the provision of social services.
• The Institute for Public Health issued recommendations on the treatment of social care institutions containing general measures regarding the health and hygiene care of users during the COVID19 epidemic.
• All information to social care providers are available in the link.
• Protective masks have been provided to shelters for victims of violence and will continue to be procured as needed.
• The ministry has issued a statement on acting in a situation of increased risk of domestic violence and abuse and neglect of children due to increased isolation measures to combat the COVID19 epidemic 
• Recommendations and information for potential victims on how to behave in situations of suspected violence are publicly disclosed.

• The ministry has sent a public appeal to all citizens, family members, neighbours, friends in protecting potential victims of violence and reporting suspected violence.
• There are 19 shelters for domestic violence victims in the Republic of Croatia and sufficient numbers of places is provided.
• The work of the shelter and the availability of capacities are constantly monitored with the aim of urgent care of victims of domestic violence.
• Social welfare centres have formed crisis teams for crisis intervention, which, even in situations where security and life (family violence, abuse and neglect of children) are endangered, report urgently to the field and take all necessary measures in accordance with the powers and rules of the profession.
• Social welfare centres have provided 24hour on-call duty to deal with urgent situations such as domestic violence.
• Family centres provide counselling and assistance services for victims of domestic violence.
• Counselling is provided through electronic media and/or telecommunication means (Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Zoom, etc.) and is conducted by specially trained professionals employed by family centres.
• Experts at social care centres take to the field and carry out increased control and monitoring of families at risk.
• The social welfare centre will provide the victim of violence promptly with accommodation when required.
• Shelters are obliged to provide conditions for the purpose of ensuring mandatory isolation upon their reception in case of crisis accommodation.
• When necessary, and if the victim accepts, she should be provided promptly with accommodation in a shelter and further measures should be taken in consultation with the police.
• The ministry provides continuous financial support for the shelter and continuously monitors the operation of shelters and the availability of capacities with the aim of urgent care of victims of domestic violence.

The ministry also financially supports the work of counselling centres for victims of domestic violence run by civil society organisations and professional associations. The counselling centres now work through electronic media and/or telecommunication means (Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Zoom, etc.).

• A total of seven SOS phones in the Republic of Croatia operate 24 hours a day during all 7 days of the week, at which victims can at any time receive the necessary counselling assistance.
• Directory of institutions, organisations and other establishments providing assistance, support and protection to victims of family violence is available on the ministry's website, as well as the address book of county teams for prevention and combat against violence against women and domestic violence.

Ministry of the Interior

• The Ministry of the Interior has invited the public to report any findings on any form of domestic violence.
• Based on reports or information about the current exposure of women, children and other close persons to domestic violence, physical violence, sexual abuse or other threatening behaviour, the police act urgently to take measures to prevent further abuse and protect victims.
• Assessment of the risk of revictimisation and/or further victimization of the victim, as well as professional and thorough verification of direct reports of exposure to violence, is particularly important.
• Police officers take all legal measures and actions within their jurisdiction to prevent further victimisation of the victim, inform her of her rights and prosecute the perpetrator, all in accordance with the provisions of the Istanbul Convention.
• In partnership with the City of Zagreb Child and Youth Protection Clinic, the ministry is conducting a campaign called "Behind the door". The goal of the campaign is to act preventively in protecting children and other victims of domestic violence during the COVID19 pandemic and to appeal to civic courage and personal responsibility to prevent abuse and timely notification of the system.
• Preventive activities will take place through media and social networks (Instagram, Facebook….). The implementation of the activities will seek to contribute to raising awareness of the problem and risks of abuse or any other form of threatening behaviour in times of health crisis and in isolation.

Ministry of Justice

• The Ministry of Justice Victims and Witnesses Support Service carries out its work by providing support and information to victims and witnesses by telephone or email and referring them to competent authorities and institutions or civil society organisations that can provide further assistance and support. Also, the victim, the injured party or the victim's family are informed of the release of prisoners from prison. The victim can also find out all additional information about his/her rights on the web site of the Ministry of Justice.
• The website, intended for victims of crimes and misdemeanours, contains more information about victims' rights, information about support services and what services victims are entitled to receive, answers to questions related to reporting a crime and the steps which may follow.
• Victims and witnesses support departments, established at seven county courts (in Osijek, Rijeka, Sisak, Split, Vukovar, Zadar and Zagreb) provide support to victims and witnesses of domestic violence offences. They provide emotional support and give information to victims, witnesses and their family members about their rights, as well as technical and practical information. Information and support are provided irrespective of the stage of the proceedings and the victim will receive information and support even when she/he has not reported the crime. Departments also refer victims and witnesses to specialised institutions and civil society organisations, depending on their needs. Victims and witnesses can contact the departments by telephone or email.
• The ministry finances the activities of a partner network of victims and witnesses’ assistance and support organisations in counties where victims and witnesses support departments have not been established. This is done in order to expand the victims and witnesses support system and to provide support to citizens throughout the whole Republic of Croatia. The programme "Support and Cooperation Network for Victims and Witnesses of Crime" is implemented by ten civil society organisations in 13 counties. The network provides the following services free of charge: emotional and practical support, technical and practical information and information on rights, legal and psychological counselling services, escorting to court, escorting to police, state attorney’s office and/or social welfare centres, support even if the victim has not reported a crime, and support after the end of court proceedings.
• Victims can also obtain all the necessary information in Croatian, English, French, Hungarian, Italian and Spanish at the website.
• With the aim of further developing the support system for victims of crime and misdemeanours, the ministry ensures the work of the National Call Centre for Victims of Crime and Misdemeanours 116 006. The National Call Centre provides citizens, after calling the toll-free telephone number with information about the process of criminal proceedings, information on victims' and witnesses rights, emotional support, practical information, and refers them to institutions and organisations where victims may receive additional forms of professional assistance. The 116 006 line is available throughout the whole Republic of Croatia and is free of charge and anonymous. Apart from Croatian, the line is available also in English. Working hours of the 116 006 line are every working day from 8 am to 8 pm. The National Call Centre is also available through its Facebook page.
• The drafting of a legal proposal that will regulate the deadlines for exercising victims' rights in criminal and misdemeanour proceedings during the COVID19 virus epidemic crisis is underway. This regulation seeks to prevent the loss of a certain right for a party due to as missed deadline, which is caused by specific current circumstances that complicate the work of judicial bodies and communication of citizens with lawyers and courts.
• Within the prison system, the prevention and suppression of violence against women and domestic violence in the context of the requirements of the Istanbul Convention is implemented through the regular measures and activities envisaged by the National Strategy for the Protection against Domestic Violence, which can be implemented under the circumstances of the COVID19 crisis. The security measure of compulsory psychosocial treatment, including the treatment of perpetrators of domestic violence, is carried out in accordance with Article 70 of the Criminal Code (Official Gazette, Nos. 125/11 and 144/12) and the Ordinance on the execution of psychosocial treatment imposed on the perpetrator of a criminal offense characterised by violence (Official Gazette, 103/18), and programmes for the treatment of perpetrators of sexual offences and programmes for the development and encouragement of responsible parenting are implemented. In addition, criminal authorities continue to co-operate with the Victim and Witness Support Services, ensuring that victims are informed.
• Considering that in order to protect the health of prisoners, visits and use of the benefits such as outings of prisoners are restricted during this period, in order to preserve family ties, activities are being undertaken to enable the contacts of prisoners and their family members. In this regard, the possibility of making telephone calls is expanded, and upon realisation of the technical preconditions, the possibility of making video visits will gradually expand, with particular attention being paid to maintaining contacts between prisoners and their minor children.
• After the COVID19 epidemic had been declared in the Republic of Croatia, in accordance with the recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health and the National Civil Protection Headquarters, on 13 March 2020 the Minister of Justice issued recommendations for the work of all judicial bodies in the Republic of Croatia for the duration of epidemic.
• All judicial authorities continued to operate, taking only the proceedings and actions prescribed by the regulations as urgent with adequate security controls, while hearings and other nonurgent actions were postponed until further notice. In order to organise work in new circumstances, the heads of judicial authorities have the authority to allow employees to work from home if it is possible, and the recommendations state that communication in work with parties and all participants of proceedings is carried out electronically wherever possible.

Ministry of Science and Education

• From 16 March 2020, the teaching process in the Republic of Croatia is carried out according to the model of online teaching and through three TV channels.

All information is available in these links.

• The ministry has provided free telephone lines in order to provide psychological support to students, teachers and parents during the COVID19 pandemic.

All information is available at the following links:

https://mzo.gov.hr/vijesti/koronavirus-vazne-informacije-3583/3583

https://mzo.gov.hr/vijesti/otvorene-linije-kriznog-tima-za-psiholosku-podrsku/3648

Ministry of Health

• Health care for victims of domestic violence is provided at all three levels of health care based on the right from compulsory health insurance/voluntary health insurance and the right to emergency medical care.
• The Ministry of Health has issued a recommendation to health institutions to expand communication channels via mobile and landline phones, email and video communications to which the victim may contact a GP/family as well as other services at the primary health care level and seek advice and recommendation. In case of need and with prior agreement and observance of all protection measures, the victim may conduct an examination at the doctor's office and receive a visit from the spouse, if it is an urgent intervention. Emergency medical care as well as emergency hospital treatment is available within 24 hours.
• A network of health institutions for the implementation of psychosocial treatment of perpetrators of criminal offences with a characteristic of violence was created based on the pronounced measure of a competent court.
• Psychosocial treatment is carried out as part of psychiatric treatment, or in some cases as separate, independent outpatient treatment.

Government Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities

• The National Plan of Protection and Promotion of Human Rights and Combating Discrimination 20212027 is currently being drafted, coupled with a three-year action/implementation plan. This will entail a set of measures aimed at combating gender- and family-based violence. Members of the working party will be included via online consultations in order to make new measures relevant in the context of the COVID-19 crisis as well as consequences arising from the impact of pandemic on protection of human rights.
• The new National Plan for Combating Human Trafficking is also to be drafted in the upcoming period. In the process of developing the strategic act and corresponding action plan, it will be incentivised state administration bodies which will draft measures contributing to the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. It should be noted that the ongoing National Plan for Combating Human Trafficking 20182021 also entails several measures contributing to implementation of the Istanbul Convention. In the new iteration these measures will be supplemented and enhanced considering the COVID-19 crisis.
• Within the framework of the INCLuDE project, cofinanced by the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), a round table aimed at discussing integration of women under international protection is planned to take place in September 2020 (tentative date). This will also cover the influence of the COVID-19 crisis on the integration of women under international protection.

1. Domestic and gender-based violence

While the numbers do not show a substantial increase in reported cases of domestic and gender-based violence in the Czech Republic, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis cannot be evaluated unequivocally due to the unprecedented nature of the situation. Rosa, a Czech NGO specialising on providing help to the victims of domestic and gender-based violence, has reported it has received twice as many phone calls during the COVID-19 crisis as it did in the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, the length of individual phone calls has tripled.

The Committee for the Prevention of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, an advisory committee to the Government Council for Equality of Women and Men, has issued a set of recommendations to the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, and Prosecutor General’s Office. The recommendations were concerned with: the monitoring and evaluating of statistical data; issuing methodological recommendations to the Authority for Social and Legal Protection of Children which would set the duty to regularly contact victims of domestic violence in families where children are at risk; maintaining confidentiality about the addresses of asylum housing; informing the wider public about organisations which offer help to the victims and perpetrators; and ensuring prompt testing of victims and their children who decide to seek admittance to the asylum housing where tests on SARS-CoV-2 are required.

On 8 April 2020, the Prosecutor General’s Office published information on the prosecution of cases of domestic and gender-based violence during the state of emergency. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the declaration of the state of emergency due to the COVID-19 crisis justifies the application of aggravating circumstances under Section 42, letter j) of the Act No. 40/2009 Coll., Penal Code:

The Court may consider following circumstances as aggravating, particularly when the offender committed the criminal offence during an emergency situation, natural disaster or another event seriously threatening life, public order or property, or at the territory where evacuation is in progress or has been carried out.

Police of the Czech Republic has issued an instruction, in which it recommends police officers to expel the perpetrator with an ordered quarantine or isolation from the household in cases of immediate danger to the health and life of the victim.

The help to the victims of domestic and gender-based violence will also be provided by the Czech Post, as its personnel are among the few people who may be in contact with the victims due to the lockdown. The mail delivery personnel will be trained in recognising the signs of domestic violence, communicating with the victim and offering help.

On 16 April 2020, the Government Commissioner for Human Rights together with representatives of NGOs, held a press conference specifically aimed at the protection of victims of domestic and gender-based violence. The media were informed about information materials, which were published by the Office of the Government and which provide help to victims of domestic and gender-based violence by alerting them to available support services. The materials will be distributed online via the government’s social media and via the communication channels of selected stakeholders and organisations. Institutions, organisations and companies will also be approached by the Office of the Government with the request to put up leaflets with crucial information for the victims in their premises. The Office of the Government also disseminates information about the application called Bright Sky, which can help victims evaluate their situation, offer advice, store evidence about the occurrence of the violence, and interconnect the victims with relevant organisations or police.

2. Reproductive rights

Since 18 March 2020, the presence of fathers (or another accompanying person) at births was prohibited by an extraordinary measure adopted by the Ministry of Health. Various stakeholders (including the Governmental Commissioner for Human Rights) asked the Ministry of Health to review the prohibition and to evaluate that it did not represent disproportionate deprivation of the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

The ban was also contested by NGOs, members of parliament, and the wider civil society. A petition to allow fathers’ presence at birth, which was launched on 19 March 2020, was signed by over 40,000 people.

On 15 April 2020, the Ministry of Health revoked the extraordinary measure.

3. Healthcare

Women constitute the majority of the employees in the healthcare sector: according to the data collected by the Czech Statistical Office, 78 per cent of those working in the sector are women. Women dominate among nurses and midwives (97.5 per cent) but are also a majority among doctors (53.7 per cent).

Several hospitals have offered bonuses to front-line workers since March. For example, the Motol University Hospital paid out a bonus of 4,000 CZK per eight-hour shift to doctors and nurses who worked in the ward where COVID-19 patients were being treated. On 16 April 2020, the Minister of Health urged all public hospitals to grant bonuses to doctors and healthcare personnel who take care of COVID-19 patients. According to the Minister, the front-line employees should receive a bonus of 100 – 500 CZK per hour, depending on the risk they face, while those responsible for blood-testing should receive a bonus of 1,500 CZK per hour.

4. Economic aid

On 31 March 2020, the government adopted the Targeted Programme for the Support of Employment, which aims to mitigate the negative consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on employment in the Czech Republic. The programme sets rules for the partial compensation of the employers’ expenses which were allocated on the employees’ wages for the duration of obstacles to work arising from the quarantine and extraordinary measures adopted due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The programme does not cover contracts performed outside an employment relationship. Since work under these contracts is mostly carried out by women, the Committee for the Reconciliation of Work, Private and Family Life noticed the negative impact on gender equality and contacted the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which had drafted the programme, with a request for its amendment.

However, based on discussion at the governmental level, the situation of people working outside an employment relationship will be provided by an amendment of the social benefits system (the social benefit “Extraordinary immediate help” will be more easily accessible).

On 7 April 2020, the government approved a financial help scheme for self-employed persons. The help, which is set to a fixed amount of 25,000 CZK, is intended for those whose businesses were affected by the COVID-19 crisis and is available upon presenting a statutory declaration.

On 1 April 2020, the government also intervened in the relations between landlords and tenants. Tenants who are not able to make the rent payment due to lack of finances arising from the COVID-19 crisis may postpone their payments. Furthermore, the landlord is not allowed to end the person’s tenancy.

On 17 April 2020, the government approved a proposal to increase the benefit available to a parent who is unable to work due to taking care of a child under the age of 13 whose preschool or school facility is closed. The benefit, which normally amounts to 60 per cent of a daily assessment base, has been increased to 80 per cent of a daily assessment base and can be claimed by parents for the period between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2020. The daily assessment based is calculated using the applicant’s average earnings over the past twelve months.

5. Families

Under the state of emergency, which was declared on 12 March 2020, freedom of movement was restricted. However, the government has reflected upon the complicated situation of families with children and visits to parks and nature have been permitted throughout the entire state of emergency. Furthermore, while covering one’s face in public (e.g. with a face mask or a scarf) has been mandatory since 18 March 2020, the order does not apply to children under two years of age

Schools, including universities, have been closed down since 11 March 2020, and it is expected that they will begin to re-open in May. The first students who should return to schools will be this year’s high-school graduates (11 May 2020), followed by the youngest pupils up to the 5th grade of the elementary school (25 May 2020). The size of the classes will be limited to up to 15 pupils per class to limit the spread of the virus.

Nurseries and kindergartens have not been closed down by government order and many continue to operate.

6. The gendered aspects of the COVID-19 crisis

The Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences has informed the public to the gendered aspects of the COVID-19 crisis and the effect of the crisis on the widening of inequalities, as the majority of the employees in the sectors, which were closed down during the COVID-19 crisis, are women. For example, women make for 80 per cent of the tourist guides, 83 per cent of receptionists, and 89 per cent of those employed in hairdressing and cosmetics salons.

Women have also been disproportionally more affected by the COVID-19 crisis due to the fact they have been more likely to stay at home to provide care for children after the closing of schools. Hence, they are more likely to face the decrease in their salaries and will encounter greater hardships when returning to work during the economic recession.

7. Women’s participation in decision-making processes

To evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy, the National Economic Council, an independent advisory body assisting the government, was re-established in April 2020. The role of the National Economic Council is to identify the issues arising due to the COVID-19 crisis, draft recommendations and ensure the meeting of the goals set by the country’ strategic documents, including The Czech Republic: The Country for the Future. The re-established council originally consisted of 14 men and 1 woman.

To tackle the lacking diversity of the National Economic Council, the Committee for Balanced Representation of Women and Men in Politics and Decision-making adopted a recommendation, in which it urged the Government Commissioner of Human Rights to appeal to the Prime Minister and other Cabinet members to strive for equal representation of women and men when appointing members of advisory bodies tasked with tackling the COVID-19 crisis. The Committee has also drafted a list of potential female candidates who could be appointed in the National Economic Council.

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR GENDERN EQUALITY

Like all countries, Cyprus fights against the COVID-19. Domestic violence rates have been rising according to figures released by the Association for the Prevention and Treatment of Domestic Violence (SPABO) since 9 March 2020, when the first case occurred in Cyprus.

The Commissioner for Gender Equality issued a Press Release calling on women victims of violence to report the perpetrator, either to the police 112 help line or to 1440 24-hour help line operating by SPABO. She informed that all support and protection structures in the State are functioning properly and services to victims of domestic violence continue.

She stressed that imposing self-restraint on health, new working conditions, financial insecurity, diminishing social contact, staying at home, give perpetrators the “opportunity” to impose the dominant role that their sick minds think they have on the woman.

She urged women:

- not let the fear overwhelm them and stay trapped in a situation that can be fatal for them and possibly  for their children;

- to escape the vicious circle of violence, break their silence and open the door to escape.

The Commissioner stated that "The enemy of your life has a face and is inside your home Don't let him hurt you again mentally and physically. Take life in your hands". 

We also have an advertising campaign. A poster was issued with the message that violence against women kills and it was distributed within the civil society. Also, the campaign was on social media.

The Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family in Cyprus had to manage 10 cases per day of domestic violence in the first month of COVID-19 restrictions.

An alarming account for March, due to COVID-19, with the Helpline’s 1440 recording system reaching 2,075 calls, since the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Cyprus and until 31 March 2020. A total of 2,075 calls, of which 921 calls were answered, while 1,154 calls remained unanswered due to the congestion of the line, hence with unknown context. In 23 days, there were 15 requests for shelter, 12 requests for individual counselling appointments and 230 reports of Domestic Violence. The calls and the reports about domestic violence keep rising dramatically with the rate increasing to almost double, compared to the rates of previous months.

As evident, the restriction due to COVID-19 increased the frequency, intensity and the danger of violence against women and children while at the same time it constitutes an instrument in the hands of perpetrators with new tactics and ways of abuse emerging.

Women are currently isolated in their homes with their perpetrator for long periods of time, are further isolated from their social lives, their working zones and from their social support, elements that intensify the authority of the perpetrator which result in greater control of the lives of women and aggravating the severity of violence.

At the same time, children are further victimised and dangerously exposed to episodes of domestic violence since they remain isolated as well and at home with the abusive parent or mother’s partner, with their physical and psychological health at risk.

The Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family in Cyprus, through their protocols and action planning, continues to provide help through the 1440 Helpline, teleconferences, e-mail and messages while at the same time all the shelters are in full operation.

The association has developed the following actions:

1. Management protocol for COVID-19 incidents in shelters;
2. Management protocol for new admissions to a shelter;
3. Management protocol for staff work in COVID-19 conditions;
4. Collaborate with private doctors to examine women and children living in shelters or applying for admission;
5. Co-operation with private companies to ensure alternative accommodation for women and children in cases where a shelter is full or if there are positive cases of COVID-19. Τhe housing is in the provinces where there are shelters;
6. Management protocol for alternative accommodation housing for women and children;
7. Equipment with masks, antiseptics, vitamins for women and children for all programmes;
8. Development of collaboration at the ministry level with the aim of disinfecting the buildings;
9. Developing new methods of communicating with women and children through other means (teleconferences, e-mail);
10. Creating a live chat service;
11. Creating an SMS service for support and consulting;
12. Purchase of services by professional psychologists and social workers for further staffing of programmes;
13. Preparation of new manuals to manage cases of domestic violence by teleconference, live chat and SMS.

Measures taken by the Cyprus Police

The Cyprus Police during the current period and in the midst of the restrictive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to deal with allegations of domestic violence, giving the weight required to investigate these serious crimes, while adjusting its actions in accordance with the provisions of government decrees issued and implemented under the Law on Infectious Diseases.

The Police investigate all allegations of domestic violence and, where necessary, arrests are being made, as well as appeals to the courts, remand orders, and protective orders to exclude suspects, for the better protection of victims (as the Courts of the Republic of Cyprus continue to adjudicate serious and urgent cases and to issue the required Judicial Decrees). The Police also apply the Risk Assessment Protocol in cases of violence between ex-spouses, spouses or partners.

As part of the measures taken due to the pandemic, the Police have made sure that there is the possibility of taking visualized testimonies from children during the investigation of domestic violence cases, in larger rooms, in order to comply with the provisions of the decrees regarding the number people per square metre and the distances to be observed between individuals.

In addition, some already launched procedures for further use of technology have been accelerated, with the aim of victims of domestic violence/gender-based violence to have easier and more direct access to the Police, when they are in a difficult and mainly dangerous situation.

In general, with regard to the management/investigation of reports/cases of domestic violence, as well as all the complaints managed by the Police, the instructions deriving from the decrees for the prevention of corona are observed (use of protective equipment in police stations and other police facilities, thermometer and antiseptic use, special handling of prisoners).

Regarding the data related to the complaints made to the Police about domestic violence, during the period that we are going through, from the data that are kept, there is no significant difference regarding the number of complaints of domestic violence, which seems to be slightly lower than in the two months before the implementation of the precautionary measures to prevent coronavirus (prohibition of unnecessary travel, etc.).

However, the Police remain vigilant and co-operate with other co-responsible bodies, such as the Social Welfare Services, as well as NGOs such as the Association for the Prevention and Control of Violence in the Family (SPABO), which is responsible for managing the 24h help-line 1440, where we are informed by these bodies about cases of domestic violence, with the aim of their proper management and consequently the protection of victims.

The following are comparative data on domestic violence allegations. It is noted that these are unofficial, as the official data are prepared at the end of each year and are posted on the Police website. In addition, for clarification purposes, it is noted that compared to last year, there is a general increase in complaints of domestic violence and this seems to be due to some other reasons. In any case, for the current, examined period of the pandemic, there is no increase in these complaints compared to the previous two months of the restrictive measures against the pandemic.

Measures taken by the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance to support employees, the self-employed and businesses in response to the Coronavirus crisis

1.            Special Leave for Parents

Granting of “special leave” for parents working in the private sector for care for children up to 15 years of Age (up to Third Grade of High School) due to the suspension of attendance at schools, public and private, at nursery and childcare centres.

• For “special leave”, which may last up to four weeks at this stage, which does not include holidays, the following allowance will be granted:

For a parent with a salary of up to € 2,500: for the first € 1,000 of the parent's salary a “special leave” allowance of 60% of the salary will be paid and for the subsequent € 1,000 of her/his salary, a 40% allowance will be paid. In this case the allowance does not exceed €1,000 per month. It is noted that in the case of single-parent families, the rate of payment of the benefit varies between 70% and 50% respectively. In this case the allowance will not exceed €1,200 per month. For single parents whose income is more than € 2,500, an ad hoc examination of the application shall be carried out.

• The leave will be granted to one of the two parents. If one parent receives the said leave, the other party cannot obtain a corresponding leave at the same time. Also, if one parent works/receives an unemployment benefit/participates in a Work Suspension Plan and the other does not, the working parent is not entitled to it unless the parent who is not working has herself or himself been infected with the virus, or is hospitalised, or is a person with disabilities, or is a person in quarantine.

• Parental leave to care for children will be granted if the nature of their work does not allow teleworking or working from home or flexible working hours, and if there is no internal assistance. The permit will be granted in consultation with the employer upon submitting an application.

• This permit applies to the parents of persons with disabilities (regardless of age), provided that no care allowance is granted for such persons.

• The period of special leave will be considered as a period of simulated insurance.

• For the public sector, employees who are judged by their respective ministers to come to their jobs but need to stay at home to care for their children should, in consultation with their supervisor, make arrangements to replace them.

2.            Complete Business Suspension Plan.

The basic requirement for participation in the plan is that no employee is fired from 1 March 2020, and if the application is approved, it should not dismiss any employee as long as the business participates in the plan and for an additional period equal to the period of participation in the plan plus one additional month (except for reasons justified). It is understood that businesses will not be able to fire employees for financial reasons during the above period.

Any business that has currently suspended all its operations by a governmental decree are entitled to access the Complete Business Suspension Plan designed to avoid layoffs by providing affected employees with an unemployment benefit, for as long as the business is suspended.

For businesses employing more than nine employees, Special Unemployment Benefit will be paid to 90% of their employees.

The remaining 10% include managing shareholders, partners holding 20 % of shares, general managers and executives. For businesses employing up to nine employees, Special Unemployment Benefit may be paid to all employees of the company irrespective of their status.

The Special Unemployment Benefit paid to beneficiaries is calculated as follows:

1. For employed persons for whom the insurance conditions in respect of unemployment benefit under the Social Security Act are met, at 60% of the value of the insurance points.

2. For employed persons for whom the insurance conditions are not met on the basis of on Social Security Act and they are insured in the Social Insurance Fund on January 2020, the January 2020 salary (insured earnings) will be taken into account or the previous last salary (insurable earnings), for which there is evidence in the register of Social Security Services, the amount of the benefit will be determined by a subsequent decision.

3. The maximum amount that can be paid as a Special Unemployment Benefit for a period of one month cannot exceed € 1,214.

3.            Partial Business Suspension Plan

The basic requirement for participation in the plan is that no employee is fired from 1 March 2020 and if the application is approved, it should not dismiss any employee as long as the business participates in the plan and for an additional period equal to the period of participation in the plan plus one additional month (except for reasons justified). It is understood that businesses will not be able to fire employees for financial reasons during the above period.

Any business that has partially suspended operations or has a reduced turnover of more than 25% in March 2020 and anticipates a corresponding decline in turnover for the month of April 2020 as well, compared to the corresponding months of the previous year (or the immediate previous months if the business was not in operation during the previous year) and its decrease in turnover is due solely to the situation that has occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it can benefit from the Partial Business Suspension Plan.

Businesses that employ up to 50 employees can be included in the Special Plan Partially Suspend Business Operations and declare 75% of the total their employees to be paid a Special Unemployment Benefit.

Businesses that employ more than 50 employees can declare 60% of the total number of their employees to be paid the Benefit.

For the period for which the Special Unemployment Benefit will be paid, the employer is exempt from his obligation to pay the salary to his employees who received the benefit. For the companies that will join the Partial Business Suspension Plan, the employer has the ability to employ staff who will receive the Special Unemployment Benefit to the company by paying those staff the balance of their salaries and similar contributions to Social Security Funds corresponding to the additional amount that will be paid by the employer.

4.            Special Allowance for the Self-Employed

Those eligible for the Self-Employed Special Allowance are:

1. self-employed workers who have completely suspended their work in accordance with decrees of the Minister of Health and the relevant decisions of the Council of Ministers which are posted at www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus and have not been differentiated the nature or manner of their operation, or

2. self-employed workers who have partially suspended their work, that is, reduced their turnover more than 25% in the month of March 2020 and foresee a corresponding reduction in the cycle and for the month of April 2020, compared with its corresponding months last year and their decline in turnover is solely due to state of their business due to the COVID 19. If the company did not operate in the previous year then the comparison will be done in the months preceding March 2020.

The Self-Employed Allowance (weekly) will be equal to 60% of the weekly amount of the insurable remuneration under which the payee was obliged to pay contributions to the Social Security Fund for the fourth quarter of 2019.

The Self-Employed Special Allowance may not be less than € 300 if it is for a period of four weeks and with a ceiling of € 900 for the same period.

5.            Schedule of remuneration for afternoon work programmes at the Ministry of Education

Allowance, equivalent to full remuneration, to approximately 5,000 persons employed in the afternoon and evening programmes of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth (Music Schools, Sports Schools, State Institutes of Education, Training Institutes, Education Institutions, Education Institutions, Evening Technical School Programmes and the "School and Social Inclusion Actions" Programme) and other similar programs of the Ministry of Education.

6.            Sickness Benefit

Payment of sickness benefit amounting to 60% of the value of the insurance points to a maximum of € 1,214 per month to:

• Employees who have particular health problems and are on the list prepared by the Ministry of Health, who must be absent from work for the purpose of protecting their health and not deteriorating it. Provision of a certificate by their personal physician is required.

• Cases of compulsory absence from work for persons who are placed either in home quarantine or medical supervision quarantine by the authorities, provided that they hold a certificate issued by the Ministry of Health.

• Persons over the age of 63 up to the age of 65, who do not receive statutory retirement and continue to work and are in quarantine, provided they hold a certificate issued by the Ministry of Health.

• For the purpose of assisting self-employed workers, sickness benefit will be paid as for employees.

There is an estimated cost of 16m for every 20,000 employees.

7.            Social Security Income Submission Request Extension

Extension of the time period for submitting a request for paying on real income to the social security fund for self-employed persons for one month, until 30 April 2020 (expires 31 March 2020).

8.            Mobile Service Units

Creating mobile service units that will cater to the needs of the elderly and vulnerable people by arranging for the provision of food, medicine and other necessities that they may need. NGOs, voluntary organisations and enterprises will be assisting to achieve this goal.

For the provision of the services and benefits described above we will follow more simplified and faster procedures. A special website, where all the schemes and their corresponding application forms can be found, was launched (www.coronavirus.mlsi.gov.cy) to facilitate the timely and efficient processing of the applications and the disbursement of the benefits and allowances. 

All women who are victims of domestic violence or threats of violence have access to an extensive nationwide support system covering psychological, social, health care and judicial services and labour market support.

According to the Act on Social Services, every municipal council has a legal obligation to provide temporary accommodation for women who have experienced violence, threats of violence or any similar crisis in relation to family or marital status. Women may be accompanied by children and receive care and support during their stay. Women staying at women’s shelters receive introductory and co-ordinated counselling, and the municipal council must offer psychological treatment to children accompanying their mother at the shelter.

National action plans supplement the nationwide support system and services. They focus on specific areas and target groups, test new initiatives in the fight against violence and strengthen knowledge and prevention. Denmark has had five national action plans on intimate partner violence since 2002.

In 2019, the Parliament allocated funds for permanently strengthening outpatient counselling services for victims of domestic violence and for treatment programmes for perpetrators.

This support system is still functioning during the lockdown.

Since the Danish Government announced a lockdown of many sectors, a number of new measures have been taken to address the issue of domestic violence in a situation, where many victims are forced to stay at home with a violent partner.

The municipalities continue to offer shelters for victims of domestic violence across the country. The Parliament has agreed to urgently establish 55 new temporary rooms in women’s shelters in response to the crisis. Because of this, shelters now have more vacant capacity for victims in need of security and support.

As part of a large scale plan to address the effects of the corona crisis on vulnerable groups, the Parliament has allocated funding for providers of outpatient counselling services for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence to increase to increase their capacity. Funds have also been allocated to increase the capacity in shelters for male victims of domestic violence.

The national hotline on domestic violence is an essential service in the current situation. It provides urgent support for victims and can refer them to other services such as shelters and legal counselling. The hotline has had a small decline in the average number of calls per day but a rise in the number of callers in need of a shelter. The hotline has introduced an e-mail service to reach victims of domestic violence who may not be able to make anonymous phone calls as they are in their home with their children and partner and all times.

Some counselling services for victims, including group therapy sessions, has had to close temporarily due to the crisis. The national hotline has introduced new scheduled phone counselling sessions for victims to account for this and their experiences are positive.

Because of the corona crisis, tracking of victims of trafficking in persons and social services for identified victims are conducted at a minimum level in order to follow guidelines from health authorities.

After the lockdown, Denmark has seen a rise in unemployment, particularly from jobs in construction and industry. 55 percent of the newly unemployed are men.

Similar to other countries, Estonia has taken additional steps to guarantee support for the victims of gender-based and domestic violence, as well as for the specialists of shelters:

• Developing customised guidelines for women`s support centres for working in emergency situation and providing help and shelter for women in need of help. These guidelines also include guidance for women’s support centre (also shelter) workers who are in a risk group because of their health condition or age, e.g. recommendations and instructions to work from home and with telecommunication and online options. Additionally, the guidelines include references to relevant general guidelines, recommendations, etc. from the Health Board;
• Providing personal protection equipment (e.g. gloves) and disinfectant for women`s support centre workers and rooms, especially to shelters;
• Mapping extra women’s shelter accommodation options through local governments;
• Mapping volunteers’ reserves for extra help, if the need arises;
• Holding regular web briefings with women’s support centres all over Estonia to share good practises and solutions, co-ordinating through state level;
• Sending encouraging messages through the media about help services (victim support, 24/ 7 crisis helpline, women’s support centres and shelters);
• Some women’s support centres have been practising and communicating (especially through social media) about web-based solutions and chat options, as a possibility to get help if making a phone-call is not possible;
• All women’s shelters have made the Health Board guidelines available and explained these to clients and employees;
• Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) meetings continue to operate. Multi-agency teams have virtual meetings to share information about survivors of domestic abuse who have been assessed to be at risk of serious harm or homicide. These virtual meetings ensure continuing co-ordinated highest level of support and keep the safety nets in place;
• Additional opportunities will be created in co-operation with the private sector for domestic abuse victims to get help during coronavirus lockdown. For example, developing specific code words women can use in designated institutions in order to mark that they need help from the police.

Examples of other measures

While all schools from primary level up to universities have been closed by order of the Government since 16 March, with regular studies substituted by e-learning, operation and organisation of work of kindergartens and day-care centres is decided by local governments or other kindergarten operators. The local governments are obliged to guarantee childcare if parents need to go to work, i.e. for parents who work, e.g. in healthcare, police, rescue, social services, transport, food production, grocery stores, etc.

The closure of educational establishments lays an even greater burden on parents with children with special needs who require further monitoring and support in both studying and self-care activities at home. Therefore, the government has made available temporary special allowance to grant replacement income for the parent who due to the need to care for the child with special needs is temporarily forced to be absent from work. The allowance is granted for parents who raise a child with severe or profound disability, child who has weakened immunity or a child with certain special educational need, whereas the parent has to be registered to unpaid leave. The amount of the allowance is 70% of the average wage of the parent, whereas the minimum amount of allowance per month is 540 euros and the maximum amount 1050 euros. More detailed information about the allowance and the conditions of eligibility is available in Estonian and Russian at the homepage of the Social Insurance Board.

On 19 March, the government approved a temporary subsidy programme to compensate for the drop in labour earnings. The subsidy grants an income for the employees and helps the employers to surpass temporary difficulties without need to lay off staff or call bankruptcy. It is paid up to two months during March until May for the employees whose employers are impacted by the extraordinary circumstances caused by COVID-19. Up-to-date information on the temporary subsidy programme, including the conditions of eligibility is available in Estonian, Russian and English at the homepage of the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.

The sickness benefit scheme has been temporarily expanded to also cover the first three days of sick leave which previously has been at the persons own liability. Due to an emergency situation it is temporarily possible for an employee to apply for a sick leave online. The case may be opened by a person who is ill, has a child who is ill, needs to care for a close family member, or has been exposed to COVID-19.

According to the national COVID-19 testing strategy, priority groups for testing include, in addition to older people and the chronically ill, also healthcare and social workers. Front-line workers in healthcare, rescue and police forces and other providers of essential services (including e.g. social workers) with no symptoms are tested based on a random sample. Since 28 March, due to cases detected in nursing homes, testing has been carried out on all nursing home clients and personnel. More generally, people of all ages are tested when they are symptomatic and it is medically indicated. The necessity of testing is decided by the family doctor. Treatment of COVID-19 is considered emergency care and is covered by EHIF also for people without health insurance coverage.

Emergency conditions

On 16 March 2020, the Government, jointly with the President of the Republic, declared emergency conditions referred to in section 3, paragraphs 3 and 5 of the Emergency Powers Act (1552/2011). Because the situation cannot be managed with the regular powers of public authorities, the government is entitled to exercise powers under the Emergency Powers Act. The purpose of the act is to protect the population, to secure its livelihood and the national economy, to maintain legal order and fundamental and human rights, and to safeguard the territorial integrity and independence of the state in emergency conditions.

Emergency conditions referred to in section 3, paragraph 3 of the act consist of a particularly serious event or threat that affects the livelihood of the population or the foundations of the national economy and results in the vital functions of society being significantly endangered. Emergency conditions referred to in section 3, paragraph 5 consist of a very widespread outbreak of a dangerous infectious disease, the effect of which is comparable to a particularly serious disaster.

Parliament passed decrees on the use of powers under the Emergency Powers Act on 18 March and 27 March. The government and the competent authorities implement the decisions and recommendations in accordance with the Emergency Powers Act, the Communicable Diseases Act and other legislation. The competent authorities have issued further instructions falling under their responsibilities.

One of the decrees lays down provisions on the functioning of healthcare and social welfare units, on healthcare and social welfare services and health protection, on derogations from the terms and conditions of employment relationships, on restricting the right concerning dismissal, on the obligation to work, and on the provision or suspension of instruction and education. The other decree provides that the sale of medicines, goods and services used in healthcare services may be restricted in the whole country.

By virtue of the Emergency Powers Act, Finland applies exceptional, fixed-term restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly and the right to liberty of movement: Finland's borders have been mostly closed, Finns and persons permanently residing in Finland who return from abroad are directed to conditions corresponding to a two-week quarantine, public meetings are limited to a maximum of ten people, unnecessary presence in public places is to be avoided and people over 70 have been obliged to avoid contacts with other people as far as possible.

The government will keep the temporary restrictions as minimum as possible. The powers provided under section 118 of the Emergency Powers Act may be exercised only if it is necessary to do so. Therefore, some of the restrictions have already been lifted, such as the restrictions on movement between the densely populated Uusimaa county and the rest of Finland. The legal grounds for continuing the temporary restrictions on movement are no longer considered to exist.

Other necessary special measures are also applied. The police monitor compliance with the movement restrictions as required by the emergency conditions and receive executive assistance from the Defence Forces only when their own resources prove insufficient. The restrictions protect the realisation of other fundamental rights in this completely exceptional situation.

The Emergency Powers Act may justify derogations from human rights treaties binding on Finland, especially the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

However, of the five emergency condition situations defined in section 3 of the Emergency Powers Act, derogation from human rights obligations is limited to the most serious military crises threatening the existence of the state: (1) an armed or equally serious attack against Finland and its immediate aftermath; or (2) a considerable threat of an armed or an equally serious attack against Finland such that preventing its effects requires the immediate use of emergency powers provided by the act.

In respect of the other emergency conditions defined in section 3, public authorities must act within the flexibility margin allowed by the human rights treaties, i.e. the so-called acceptable restrictions, temporarily and in accordance with the proportionality principle. This is the case for the COVID-19 infectious disease pandemic.

Because no emergency conditions referred to in section 3, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Emergency Powers Act exist in Finland, and as powers under the act are not used for derogating from international human rights obligations but only for imposing restrictions permitted by the treaties, the other States Parties have not been notified of the emergency conditions and the application of the act through the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Constitutional Law Committee of Parliament has stressed compliance with human rights obligations in the application of the Emergency Powers Act.

Impact & mitigating measures on GBV/DV

There are indications of an increase in domestic violence, e.g. in the number of police home alert missions and in the chat services provided by organisations. For the moment it seems that the buying of alcoholic beverages is increasing. This can increase the threat of domestic violence. So far, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are visible with local variation and probably with a delay.

As regards statistics, reported assaults, homicides and sexual offences that happened in private residences can be used as an estimate on intimate partner and family violence. This data from January to March will be released on 17 April 2020. Actual statistics on intimate partner and family violence produced by Statistics Finland are available at the end of year.

In Finland, help and support is available despite the coronavirus. A website “Declaration of Family Peace” brings together many actors and service providers that can be approached on a low threshold. The website illustrates that help is available in maintaining family peace, crisis prevention and aftercare. Through the sites, one can reach, among other things, peer support and professional help for both children and adults.

Finland has a comprehensive state-funded shelter network. The shelters offer 24/7 advice and support to victims of domestic violence. The shelters are short-term refuges for women and their children in situations where staying at home would be impossible or dangerous because of violence, threat or fear. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) monitors the situation in shelters on a daily basis. So far, the situation has been stable and sufficient shelters have been available.

THL has instructed shelters in case of COVID-19 cases e.g. how to act if a person in a home quarantine experiences intimate partner violence and needs a shelter and how to prepare for a situation where a shelter (customers, staff) is quarantined and how to act if a shelter customer is placed in solitary confinement (other than a shelter).

The national telephone helpline Nollalinja can be called anonymously and free of charge 24/7. It provides assistance to:

• women who have experienced psychological, physical or sexual violence or threat of violence;
• anyone who has experienced psychological, physical or sexual violence or threat of violence in an intimate relationship;
• family members of victims of violence;
• professionals and officials who need advice in their customer work.

The national telephone helpline Nollalinja also provides up-to-date information on the nearest available shelter.

In addition to Nollalinja many helping telephone lines have already been in place and provided by non-governmental organisations. Many municipalities have also opened telephone lines, chats so that residents can take contact, get support, and advise if they are in difficult situations. These services have drawn attention also in media e.g. in the news of national broadcasting company YLE.

The Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters is a nationwide child welfare organisation that helps children and families in difficult and insecure situations and prevents domestic violence. The member associations across Finland maintain 10 mother and child homes, 7 homes focusing on treatment of drug and alcohol-related problems and 18 shelters for the victims of domestic violence. All of the associations also have daytime support services. They help customers to find other necessary services in the network of welfare services.

Lyömätön Linja, Miehen Linja supports men when they have used or fear they might use violence within their family or another intimate relationship. Men can also contact the service if they need help to deal with other challenging issues within their family. The service gives also preventive counselling.

There are also chats and other social media channels where young people can discuss and tell if there is domestic violence at home.

Dozens of municipalities have opened new websites to provide information on services, including 24/7 services in the case of domestic violence (e.g. City of Tampere). The municipalities have increased the resources in family services also in the evenings and weekends. All the emergency calls by the families will be followed by intensified family services.

Child protection assistance is also always available and can be reached through an emergency centre or social emergency service.

In Finland, the police continue its work to prevent violent crimes including gender-based violence/domestic violence despite of the ongoing crisis. The police is maintaining a situation chart and is monitoring closely the impact of the crisis on the gender-based violence/domestic violence with the intent to anticipate the possible changes. The police publishes weekly updates on the COVID-19 impacts where also the gender-based violence/domestic violence is one of the monitored issues through the number of house calls made during the reported period

The coronavirus pandemic has brought additional tasks to the police, which means that the work must be prioritised. Urgent tasks related to the protection of life and health of persons, including the gender-based violence/domestic violence cases, have been prioritised. The police estimates that the number of gender-based violence/domestic violence cases will be increasing if the pandemic continues.

The criminal investigative measures may be challenging at the time of the coronavirus pandemic, but the risk assessments including the use of restraining orders and the guidance of the victims to the support services continue as usual. The Police Board maintains close contact with the non-governmental organisations providing support services for the victims of gender-based violence/domestic violence and the Police Departments have been instructed to do the same.

The police have a national network of victim, mediation and guardianship issues (USEL), consisting of a staff-level representation of all Police Departments and Units (National Bureau of Investigation and Police University College). The National Police Board has the chairmanship of this network. The network meets regularly and shares relevant information. One of its tasks is to promote and ensure the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the police administration. As regards measures to combat intimate partner violence, the activities include close co-operation with the Victim Support Finland (RIKU) and the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The most recent meeting with these actors was held on 5-6 February 2020.

The police have carried out a one-week media campaign against domestic violence early 2020 with the Victim Support Finland. Just before Easter, the police participated in another similar campaign.

As part of the general measures intended to enhance the police skills in relation to gender-based violence/domestic violence questions, the National Police Board on 13 March 2020, instructed all the Police Departments and Units to organise training on effective police response to gender-based violence/domestic violence. The Police Departments and Units are required to report back to the Police Board on the number of training courses performed during 2020.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Prosecution Service has remained operational and is able to carry out its duties in cases where the police conduct a preliminary investigation. This also applies to various violent crimes against women. The capacity of the Prosecution Service has been maintained through many general measures to prevent the spread of the virus to employees and citizens. The prosecutors have also been instructed to present to the courts the organisation of a trial remotely if anti-virus measures prevent a personal presence and the case is appropriate for such a proceeding.

Impact & mitigating measures on other relevant aspects

Social and health care services

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has published the guideline Taking into account the state of emergency caused by Covid-19 in the operation of basic social and health care services. In addition to the guideline, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has provided detailed operational guidelines and considerations during the coronavirus pandemic in various situations.

Fertility treatments have been suspended for the time being due to the lack of precise data on the effect of coronavirus on the foetus and the course of pregnancy. In this regard Finland follows closely the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

Furthermore, sexual health services can be suspended in this exceptional situation. However, everyone has the right to emergency care, and this includes sexual health when it comes to, for example, abortion or a sexually transmitted disease that requires acute treatment.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has also published bulletins instructing the treatment of persons belonging to vulnerable groups (including the elderly and persons with disabilities) during the coronavirus pandemic.

Municipalities have increased the resources in family services also in the evenings and weekends. All the emergency calls by the families will be followed by intensified family services. Municipalities have teamed up with local parishes and charity organisations for reaching out to the self-isolating elderly population by phone. Many municipalities also provide services for a chat or help with errands and other everyday needs.

Municipalities have published multilingual information on corona virus, e.g. the City of Helsinki at and the City of Espoo.

Employment and occupational health

Unemployment measures and benefits are not linked to a person’s gender. Employers are now in a situation where they have to adjust their operations as the demand is weakening due to the coronavirus pandemic. The livelihood of employees will be strengthened as many of them are facing unemployment or layoffs. The Unemployment Security Act (1290/2002), the Act on Financing of Unemployment Benefits (555/1998) and the Act on Unemployment Funds (603/1984) have been amended temporarily. The amendments entered into force on 15 April 2020 and will remain in force until 6 July 2020. The amendments will be applied retroactively, starting on 16 March 2020.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health maintains a website on frequently asked questions, which provides information to citizens on the livelihood of the individual and the family.

Similarly, there are no separate gender-based occupational safety and health measures in Finland. These measures are addressed to all employees equally, regardless of gender. As regards the coronavirus pandemic, there are measures aimed neither specifically at women nor in particular to women as employees or unpaid care work for women. Instead, Finland has comprehensive legislation on occupational safety and health, which is also applied during the pandemic. In addition, many measures have been taken before the pandemic in relation to occupational safety and health and the reconciliation of work and family life.

In Finland, preventive measures related to occupational safety and health apply to all employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (738/2002) and further to the Occupational Health Care Act (1383/2001). The employer is obliged to take care of the health and safety of employees at work by taking the necessary measures. To this end, the employer must take into account work, working conditions and other work environments, as well as factors relating to the employee's personal circumstances.

The employer must acquire and make available to the employee personal protective equipment which meets the requirements laid down and is appropriate, unless the risk of an accident or illness can be avoided or adequately limited by measures taken at work or working conditions.

In the coronavirus pandemic, no specific instructions have been issued for female employees, but the protection of employees is based on an assessment of the risk to the employee of becoming ill in the work s/he does. If the employee cannot be removed from work or changed to less harmful, the employer must provide the employee with personal protective equipment. In this case, account must be taken of the possibility for employees to use the guards properly; for example, the use of a tight respirator if pregnant.

Here are a few examples of measures already taken by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health before the pandemic that are also useful in the current situation:

• Reconciling work and family life;

• Supporting mental health in the workplace;
• Supporting employees during organizational changes (cf. collective bargaining, redundancies);
• Strengthening resilience in work communities and here 
• Guides for public sector contingency planning and preparedness.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has compiled information about working during a coronavirus pandemic. Themes include teleworking, mental well-being, prevention of viral infections in various professions:

State Secretariat for Gender Equality and the Fight against Discrimination

The current health crisis and the particular context of confinement increase tensions within households and, consequently, the risks of domestic violence for women and girls. According to figures provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, domestic violence increased by more than 30% in France between 17 and 26 March.

This note reviews the measures implemented by the public authorities since the beginning of the crisis to ensure that acts of violence are reported in good time (1), to continue to support victims of violence by adapting it to the circumstances (2) and thus guarantee women's rights, in particular that of access to voluntary interruption of pregnancy (3).

1. Ensuring that the alert is given in time

1.1. 3919, the listening, information and guidance number

3919 is a national helpline for women victims of all forms of violence, as well as for their families, friends and professionals, managed by the Fédération Nationale Solidarité Femmes (Women Solidarity National Federation). In addition to offering a helpline, women can find information and appropriate referral to local support and care services. Free and anonymous, it is open seven days a week, from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 10 pm, and from 9 am to 6 pm on weekends and public holidays.

The hotline is subject to a business continuity plan in times of epidemic. In collaboration with the service provider Orange, a technical solution has been provided to the 3919 listeners so that they can continue their activity remotely. Phones with a hands-free kit and headset with microphone were provided, as well as computers, which made it possible to route calls to the smartphone numbers of the listeners at their home, on shorter hours (Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm).

3919 is experiencing a drop in call volume with 100 calls per day at the start of containment as opposed to the usual 400 calls per day. This considerable decrease is also observed in other European countries and can be explained particularly by the confinement of the victim with her violent partner.

To overcome this difficulty in making a call, the reporting methods have been adapted to allow the victim to report discreetly and without arousing the attention of the violent partner:

1.2. A reporting of gender-based and sexual violence adapted to the situation

The stop-violence website (arretonslesviolences.gouv.fr) and the Police emergency number (17) are the preferred contact channels in case of violence. In the event of serious and immediate danger, which requires an intervention, it is advisable to contact the emergency police directly.

During the entire period of confinement, the sexual and sexist violence reporting platform is fully operational and active 24 hours a day. It provides assistance and advice, as well as the opportunity to interact with law enforcement officials trained in gender-based and sexual violence in an anonymous and secure manner.

Since 1 April 2020, a new reporting channel has been available for victims of domestic violence: the possibility of sending an alert text message to 114 help line to trigger the intervention of the police or gendarmerie. 114 is usually the emergency number for the deaf and hard of hearing.

A reporting system in pharmacies for women victims of violence has been set up with the support of the National Order of Pharmacists. As frontline professionals, pharmacists can provide an entry point for alerting law enforcement and enabling emergency intervention.

Ephemeral information points have been opened in partnership with local associations, State services and managers of shopping centres to receive victims of domestic violence, in conditions that guarantee both confidentiality and health security. Women will thus be able to call for help while shopping far from the violent spouse. Some groups are taking other initiatives, such as Monoprix or Casino, which relay the warning systems in all their sales outlets. This can be done by posting them in stores or on their Internet websites, or by indicating them on each purchase receipt.

2. Continue the accompaniment of women, in compliance with the rules of containment

For each of the French departments, an inventory of the situation of local associations and emergency shelters for women victims of violence is regularly conducted. The women's rights regional directors and departmental delegates, who constitute the decentralized women's rights network, are mobilised to ensure this monitoring, in collaboration with the local actors.

The activities of the State-funded associations are limited in order to protect employees, volunteers and accompanied persons. The means of intervention of national and local associations have been adapted to maintain their activities or to develop new actions related to the crisis.

A one-million euros fund has been allocated by the public authorities for:

• Helping victims' aid associations to continue their work,
• Funding an additional 20,000 nights in accommodation or hotels to provide emergency shelter for women victims of violence and their children, as well as for violent partners evicted from their homes.

Furthermore, the eviction of the violent partner must remain the rule, including during periods of confinement. Even if the courts are closed, cases of domestic violence are dealt with by the courts as a matter of priority. Immediate appearance hearings are maintained in order to allow the immediate punishment of violent partners.

Family court judges continue to issue protection orders. These are highly protective measures aimed at ensuring prompt and effective protection for victims of violence, organizing the material situation of women and relations with children after separation.

Finally, a national "Don't Hit" telephone number for perpetrators of domestic violence was launched on 6 April 2020. This is the first domestic violence prevention telephone number dedicated to violent men. It can be reached on 08.019.019.11 from Monday to Sunday from 9 am to 7 pm and is managed by the National Federation of Support for Perpetrators of Violence (FNACAV). During the period of confinement, 22 counsellors, psychologists or specialists in the care of perpetrators of violence, offer to listen to callers and put them in touch with one of the 36 FNACAV structures. Temporary accommodation, in centres or hotel rooms, may also be offered depending on the situation.

3. Guaranteeing women's right of access to contraception and abortion

Put under stress by the epidemic, the French health system must adapt to prevent difficulties in access to abortion and contraception.

The decree of 15 March 2020 authorises with immediate effect pharmacists to extend until 31 May 2020 the renewal of an expired prescription for chronic treatment. Women can be dispensed the contraceptive pill simply by presenting their old prescription.

Measures have been implemented by the Ministry of Health and Solidarity to ensure that requests for abortion are responded to within the legal time limit:

• All consultations necessary for medical abortions may be carried out by teleconsultation, if the woman so wishes and the practitioner considers it possible:
• A teleconsultation for information and prescription dispensing;
• A consultation for taking the medicine that stops the pregnancy: in the case of a teleconsultation, the woman can go and get the medicine from the pharmacy, in collaboration with the doctor or the midwife;
• A follow-up teleconsultation within 14 to 21 days.
• The High Health Authority has authorised the extension of the time limit for performing abortions at home with medicine from sept to nine weeks of amenorrhea.
• City doctors and liberal midwives are encouraged to maintain medicated abortions and health facilities are encouraged to ensure the continuity of instrumental abortions.

Delegation for Women's Rights and Equality, Economic, Social and Environmental Council (ESEC) (France)- Information in French only

-Crise sanitaire et inégalités de genre, 23 March 2021

High Council for Gender Equality (France) - Information in French only

- Pour une protection réelle des femmes victimes de violences conjugales : quatre leviers essentiels - 3 June 2020

- Pénurie de médicaments : un risque d'atteinte aux droits sexuels et reproductifs des femmes - 27 May 2020

- Garantir l’accès à l’IVG à toutes les femmes - 29 avril 2020

- Le confinement : un révélateur des rôles sociaux des femmes et des hommes, 14 April 2020

- Violence conjugales et confinement : la seule solution de protection est l’éviction des agresseurs, 31 March 2020

GEORGIA

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the Government of Georgia has been taking pro-active measures to ensure the protection of women’s rights, as well as the rights of vulnerable and minority groups through access to information, access to services, access to basic subsistence support and access to healthcare and education. Gender equality, violence against women and domestic violence are among the priority areas in response to COVID-19.

Gender Equality mechanisms in Georgia exists both at the legislative and executive branches. The Gender Equality Council at the Parliament of Georgia and the Inter-agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (under the Prime Minister’s Human Rights Council) act in a co-ordinated manner to promote and protect women’s rights in the country, including throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Measures taken by the Inter-agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, in co-operation with non-governmental and international organisations, focused on access to information, access to services, access to basic subsistence support, and access to healthcare.

I. ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To ensure access to COVID-19-related information for all, the Government of Georgia created a governmental web-portal www.StopCov.ge (in five languages), hosted regular information briefings, disseminated critical information through state-wide SMS system (in three languages), used online and printed media, disseminated printed material and used official social pages of central and local governments to share reliable and updated information on COVID-19 prevention and protection, including for ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities.

In parallel, access to information on state-provided services for domestic violence and gender-based violence survivors was ensured through the following channels and activities:

1. Communication Strategy on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence during the COVID-19 crisis.

In order to rapidly respond to increased risks of domestic violence amid the “Stay Home” policy, the Inter-agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in close co-operation with non-governmental and international organisations, has developed the Communication Strategy on Domestic and Violence against Women during the COVID-19 crisis. The strategy outlines key messages and priority actions of the governmental entities and non-governmental organisations to ensure that information on state-provided services is available for all.

A communication strategy and an ongoing communication campaign aims to raise awareness, build knowledge, and decrease acceptance of domestic violence and violence against women among the Georgian population. The working process brought together donors from various international organisations, as well as NGO-representatives.

“The Government of Georgia continues its strict policy against domestic violence during the COVID-19 crisis. Domestic violence victims and survivors are not alone. The Government stands ready to protect them and provide state-funded support services for all. Combating domestic violence is a joint responsibility of all of us.” – these are key messages of the campaign.

2. Information on alternative ways for reporting domestic violence and gender-based violence.

Even though, unlike a number of European countries, Georgia did not go on full lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis, the general “Stay Home” policy might make it challenging to report domestic violence. Therefore, information on alternative ways of reporting domestic violence, such as chat boxes, mobile applications, and silent SOS signals are widely shared by the government. Namely,

• A countrywide SMS system is used to provide information to every citizen on alternative ways of reporting domestic violence and violence against women. Cellular SMS messages are being sent in ethnic minority languages (Armenian and Azerbaijani) as well.
• Utilising pharmacies and grocery shops to share information. As most locations for large gatherings in the country have closed during the COVID-19 crisis, pharmacies and grocery shops continue to work. These spots might also be the safe spaces for victims (survivors) of domestic violence to learn about alternative ways of reporting domestic violence and do so immediately. In co-operation with the Inter-agency Gender Equality Commission, most of the pharmacy and grocery shops in the country have information posters on domestic violence services, including in ethnic minority languages.[1]
• TV and social media videos. Information on state services, alternative ways of reporting domestic violence, police-protection mechanisms, instructions to download 112 application, and call for zero-tolerance for domestic violence is shared through TV and social media ads as prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other members of the Inter-agency Gender Equality Commission.[2]

3. Information on domestic violence and gender-based violence services for returnees. More than 9,000 Georgian citizens have returned to the country amid the COVID-19 crisis. The government is currently utilising over 90 hotels for 14-day mandatory quarantine upon return to the country. In co-operation with the National Tourism Administration under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, all quarantine hotel rooms are equipped with flyers on domestic violence state services so that citizens, who come back to the country are adequality informed of state-provided services and can plan accordingly, if they are domestic violence survivors or at the risk of domestic violence.

II. ACCESS TO SERVICES

Ensuring uninterrupted access to domestic violence and gender-based violence protection services even during the COVID-19 pandemic is the government’s priority. Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs continues to have rapid police response to reported domestic violence cases, and in parallel, crisis centres and shelters, run by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs continue to provide access to an extensive nationwide support system to all survivors of domestic violence. Namely,

1. Emergency and Consultation Hotlines.

Emergency hotline 112 under the Ministry of Internal Affairs continues to provide 24/7 free service for all. The application has a chat mode and a silent SOS button, which means that a potential victim could call the police by pushing the SOS button, even without dialling the phone number. Instructions on downloading the 112 application are widely disseminated using the state-wide SMS system, as well as TV and social media ads.

The domestic violence and gender-based violence consultation hotline 116 006 run by the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking[1] continues to provide legal, psychological, and social consultations in eight languages, namely, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, English, Farsi, Georgian, Russian and Turkish languages. The hotline also offers telecommunication and chat options.

2. State-run Crisis Centres and Shelters. Ten state-run shelters and crisis centres continue to function non-stop and support survivors of domestic violence. In addition, there are two crisis centres run by non-governmental organisations.[4] As the COVID-19 crisis started, crisis centres and shelters re-structured their model to allocate newcomers without risking others to potential COVID-19 infection. Protection of survivors, as well as employees of crisis centres and shelters, is vital during the pandemic. Therefore, those services that could be provided from a distance went into online or distance mode, and others are regularly supplied with personal protection equipment (PPE) and disinfectants.

3. Tailored Policy Solutions. Quick and efficient police-response is key to Georgia’s success in combating domestic violence. During COVID-19, the Police continues to be the first responder of domestic violence cases. Moreover, a policy-level decision was made not to fine those potential victims of domestic violence who, in order to escape violence, leave home during the curfew hours (9:00 pm to 6:00 am). As a result, no domestic violence victims (survivors) have been fined even if during the curfew hours.

III. DATA COLLECTION

1. Special Methodology to track domestic violence statistics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though an increase of domestic violence cases during the crisis is not yet observed in the country, the government realises the risks amid the countrywide “Stay Home” policy and continuously monitors such risks. Therefore, by adding indicators and incorporating additional variables, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has developed a tailored and more detailed methodology to track domestic violence cases during the COVID-19 crisis.

2. Sex-disaggregated data on COVID-19 confirmed cases. As part of the COVID-19 response, sex-disaggregated data is being collected and analysed on a daily basis by the National Centre for Disease Control. Accordingly, the relevant information factsheets are prepared by the government and shared publicly, as well as with local and international organisations on a weekly basis.

A total of 1.9 million women make up 52 percent of the population (the total population is 3.7 million) of Georgia. As for sex-disaggregation of COVID-19 confirmed patients, women make up slightly more than half – 51 percent of all COVID-19 confirmed cases.[5] Subsequently, men up make 49 percent. At all the stages of the crisis, COVID-19 confirmed cases were more or less equally distributed among women and men.

IV. SOCIO-ECONOMIC SUPPORT TO WOMEN

1. Access to basic subsistence support for all, alongside the access to information, is a key priority for the Government of Georgia during the COVID-19 crisis. Families hit the hardest by COVID-19 are mostly the ones with many children adding additional burden to women. To mitigate the most-pressing needs for vulnerable families, close to 150,000 food and hygiene kits[6] were disseminated across the country to women-headed households, single parents, ethnic minorities, Roma settlements and other vulnerable groups. Relevant public bodies, such as the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Tbilisi Mayor’s Office, local municipalities, and the Prime Minister’s Human Rights Council have been actively participating in the process.

2. Women as part of the Anti-Crisis Plan. On 24 April 2020, the Prime Minister presented the Anti-Crisis Plan that included social compensation for various vulnerable groups and people who have lost income amid COVID-19. Women are heavily represented in each of those groups, not only as income-earners in official and gig-economies, but also as parents of children with disabilities, families with three or more children, and so forth.

3. Women’s Economic Empowerment through small grants and economic programmes. To mitigate the socio-economic effects of COVID-19, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has expanded economic support programmes, such as Enterprise Georgia. As a result, some pre-conditions and barriers to applying to the programme were eliminated that would allow more women to apply. Moreover, women-run businesses and women-applicants will receive extra points during the assessment.

V.SUPPORT TO WOMEN IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Despite the fact that the Government of Georgia is deprived of the possibility to exercise effective control over the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia due to ongoing illegal Russian occupation, it remains strongly committed to take care and provide support to local communities.

To this end, the government continues undertaking proactive measures to prevent the spread of and combat COVID-19 on the ground. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government of Georgia (at the highest level) declared that residents of the occupied territories would not be left behind in the fight against COVID-19. As a response to COVID-19, numerous actions have been implemented by the Government of Georgia to ensure access to information, access to quality healthcare – including international technical assistance[7] and access to basic subsistence support.

To ensure access and rapid health response, the government solicited a visit of WHO experts to the Abkhazia region for rapid needs assessment. In addition, inter alia, in co-operation with international organisations, the Government of Georgia regularly provides personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene commodities to frontline workers, a full majority of whom are middle-aged women (some representing risk group themselves), as well as medical support to occupied regions of Georgia. In parallel, consultations are held for local medical staff – also mostly women in the Abkhazia region on issues related to the identification and treatment of COVID-19.

The Government of Georgia expressed readiness to examine and provide treatment to all COVID-19 infected persons from the occupied regions; to this end, one woman from Abkhazia region has been successfully treated, while others have been transported on the Georgian-controlled territory for further monitoring and medical examinations.

The Government of Georgia remains deeply concerned over the critical situation in occupied Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, following the long-term closure of the occupation line that fully isolates the region from the rest of Georgia. The spread of COVID-19 in the Tskhinvali region will jeopardise the lives of local residents, including women, as medical facilities on the ground are totally unprepared and unequipped to cope with fast-growing threats. The occupation regime in Tskhinvali publicly rejected the offer of the Georgian Government to assist the local communities by delivering various protective medical items and equipment and to treat the patients in need. To this end, strong international support is needed to enable free movement across the occupation line and access of local population to free medical treatment.

[1] Information material is prepared and printed with the support of UNFPA.

[2] Videos are prepared with the support of the EU Delegation (“EU for Gender Equality Programme”) and INL of the United States Embassy in Tbilisi.

[3] LEPL under the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs.

[4] State and NGO-run crisis centres and shelters are supported by UN Women.

[5] Data presented as of 30 April 2020 (n=373), source: NCDC.

[6] Food and hygiene kits delivery is supported by UNICEF, Red Cross, World Vision, and NGO “Sector 3”.

[7] Provided by WHO and UNDP.

Continuing to offer support services and shelter spaces to women during the coronavirus crisis is an important issue for the German Government. We are in close contact with women’s organisations, who are assuming an increase in the numbers for referrals to support services and shelter spaces. Measures to reduce the number of coronavirus infections, like quarantine and social isolation measures, could increase conflicts within families and at the same time reduce opportunities to reach security, for example, by staying with friends and family. This makes it even more important that support services and women’s shelters can offer protection and support to an increasing number of women and their children, who are affected by violence.

Measures

1. Continued running of the National Violence Against Women Helpline 08000 116 016

The National Helpline “Violence Against Women”, funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, is continuing their extremely important service during the coronavirus crisis. It offers around the clock support on 365 days per year and can be reached via phone, chat or email. More than 80 qualified support workers offer help and guidance to women, who are affected by violence, people from their social circle and professionals working in the sector. The support is free, anonymous, confidential and available in 17 languages.

2. Creating a social security umbrella for the women’s shelter and support services sector in Germany

Women’s shelters and support services, like other social services, are faced with new challenges and burdens because of the coronavirus crisis. They deliver great and indispensable work, not only during the coronavirus crisis, for the prevention and protection of women from domestic and sexual violence. Because of this, we have got to do anything in our collective power to make sure these services are able to continue their vital work in this time of crisis and avoid financial implications.

The German Government passed a bill for easier access to social security and protection of social services because of coronavirus. This bill also includes measures for violence protection services, like women’s shelters and women’s support services.

3. Practical solutions for coronavirus-related shortages in shelter spaces

Women’s shelters report that they struggle to comply with the infection protection measures, like limited contact, and the increasing infection risk. At the same time, worries exist that the number of referrals might increase during this time. Networks of NGOs working in the violence against women sector have already provided special information and advice for their member services and are continuing to work on practical ways to comply with the infection protection measures in the daily running of women shelters. Some of these measures are the short-term renting of hotel rooms and holiday accommodation. The German Länder and local authorities are working tirelessly on finding quick and practical solutions in this time of crisis.

4. Making use of police protection orders and the violence protection law

According to the violence protection law (“Gewaltschutzgesetz”) victims of domestic violence have access to civil law protection measures like a contact ban or restraining order against the perpetrator. The perpetrator can also be banned from shared accommodation. The responsibility for these measures is with the family courts. The police can also ban violent people from the home for several days depending on local government regulations.

5. Increasing co-operation with the federal working group on perpetrator work

Work with perpetrators of domestic abuse is an extremely important factor for preventing domestic abuse. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth is currently in conversations with the federal working group on perpetrator work to discuss options for project funding. We would like to increase the quality of perpetrator work through national co-operation.

Because of the effects of Covid-19, the working group advises its almost 80 member organisations to not have personal client contact, including group, individual and couple sessions, until further notice. Client contact should still be made available via phone or online. Clients should be offered to contact support services online or on the phone in crisis situations. Mandatory appointments can also be scheduled online or via phone.

6. Initiative “stronger than violence” offers information about support services

The website of our initiative #stronger than violence combines existing support offers for women and men, who are affected by violence, and offers practical solutions and ways to help and support. The website additionally offers up to date information on where to access help and support during the coronavirus crisis. An overview of the most important (crisis) support services are instantly available when opening the website.

7. Government funding programme “Against Violence towards Women”

On top of the coronavirus-related measures, the German government supports the building of women’s refuges and other support organisations with the government funding programme “Together against violence towards women”. In total, the German Federal Government offers 120 Million Euros to better equip the support structure for women who experience violence. The aim is to make support services easier accessible, especially for groups, who have previously struggled to access protection and help.

General Secretariat for Family Policy and Gender Equality

The General Secretariat for Family Policy and Gender Equality (GSFPGE), organisational unit of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, supervises and co-ordinates the integrated network of structures operating across the country to tackle gender-based violence and protect and support women victims.

The network consists of:

- the SOS 15900 helpline, a nationwide telephone line that provides immediate assistance in emergency cases on a 24-hour basis, all year long; at the same time, it is possible for women to communicate electronically through the e-mail address: [email protected]

- 42 counselling centres that provide social, psychological, legal and employment support services, as well as,

- 20 shelters that offer safe accommodation to women victims of violence and their children.

As part of the emergency measures to address and prevent the further spread of the COVID-19, the GSFPGE has sent instructions to all structures on their operational procedures in the current situation in order to protect the health of both employees and women victims addressed there. At the same time, the GSFPGE has also informed the local government bodies, in the framework of which the counselling centres and the shelters are operating. All structures continue to offer their services adapted to the emergency restrictive measures in force due to the coronavirus, while tele-working and telephone support sessions have already been ensured and are being implemented.

In emergency cases that need accommodation, the General Secretariat, in collaboration with the Hellenic Society of Forensic Medicine, offer special accommodation, with free housing and meals throughout Greece. In these cases of women victims of violence, free medical tests will be provided by the Hellenic Society of Forensic Medicine. In addition, free of charge medical tests for their children will be offered by the Organisation "The Smile of the Child".

Moreover, with continuous posts on the social media of our governmental organisation and in the media (press and electronic press, television news broadcasts), the possibility of increasing incidents of domestic violence is stressed in order to inform and raise public awareness. At the same time, women who remain at home, are urged not to remain silent but report possible violence incidents. They are also informed about the support structures.

A video spot is published as part of the central campaign of the Greek Government "We Stay at Home", with the message "We Stay at Home but We Don't Stay Silent".

In addition, a weekly statistical processing of data deriving from the common database of the network was launched, in order to have a complete and accurate assessment of the effects of the restrictive measures on the increase of domestic violence rates.

Statistical Data

The statistics of the SOS 15900 telephone line for March 2020 give the overall picture, the total number of calls and, where recorded, and their content.

Comparing the March 2020 data with the data of February 2020, we can proceed to the following conclusions:

We initially note that in March, the service's call centre received 64 additional calls more than in February. In total, there were 454 calls in March, compared to 390 in February. This means that, within one month, the percentage increase in the total number of calls was 16.4%.

Calls reporting a "violence incident" rating, range from 279 for February and 325 for March. For March, the call centre received an additional 46 calls about violent incidents than in February. For both months, the percentage of calls with reference to a case of violence in relation to the total number of calls received by the centre remained stable, at 72%.

Regarding the calls in which domestic violence was reported as a form of violence, 156 calls were recorded in February and 166 in March, a percentage increase of 6.4%. However, compared to all calls received with some form of violence, calls for "domestic violence" accounted for 87% of all calls in February and 72% in March.

Comparing the March data for the years 2020 and 2019, we can conclude:

For the year 2019, in total, the statistics under review appear to be higher than in the year 2020. We observe 449 recorded calls in March 2019 with content reporting a violent incident as opposed to 325 calls for March 2020. Also 274 calls with report on domestic violence in March 2019 compared to 166 calls in March 2020.

Furthermore, the GSFPGE informs civil society organisations about its actions in order to address any emergencies of domestic violence that may have been directed towards other agencies.

Finally, the Secretary General for Family Policy and Gender Equality has already sent a letter to Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, on the Greek actions concerning gender-based violence and the consequences of the pandemic COVID-19, while at the same time, with this letter, she has accepted his appeal on confronting domestic violence in the framework of this dreadful pandemic.

Research Centre for Gender Equality

Similar actions have been taken by the Research Centre for Gender Equality (KETHI), which is the legal entity of private law under the auspices of the GSFPGE, responsible for the scientific supervision of the Network of Structures.

KETHI has conducted a sponsored information campaign on support structures for victims of violence on social media with a short video (Gif).

Department for Combating Domestic Violence of the Hellenic Police (Ministry of Citizen Protection)

We also note the close co-operation of our governmental organisation with the Department for Combating Domestic Violence of the Hellenic Police Headquarters, in order to effectively address the problems of women victims of violence and refer them to the appropriate support structures.

The Department for Combating of Domestic Violence, in the context of its mission, and bearing in mind that the temporary restriction measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the limit of its diaspora might both lead to increase of domestic violence incidents, and make more difficult the access to or affect the willingness of the citizens to access police services, has sent orders with special guidelines to all subordinate police services regarding the reporting of domestic violence incidents.

In particular, these orders highlighted the need for strict implementation of existing legislation and the demonstration by police staff of the required sensitivity, responsibility and professionalism. The need for immediate and appropriate action was also stressed during the handling of incidents of domestic violence and also the need to inform the victims about the available housing structures and psychosocial and legal support services.

Finally, in order to assist the work of the police officers who handle domestic violence cases, lists of contact details were sent again, with contact information and the addresses of the counselling centres the Research Centre for Gender Equality and the Municipalities.

It is also pointed out that the Hellenic Police Headquarters makes every effort to effectively handle incidents of domestic violence, while examining the measures and actions that can be taken to prevent and address this phenomenon, based on the emerging needs and the special conditions that have occurred.

The Region of Attica, in collaboration with the Secretariat General for Family Policy and Gender Equality, is staffing the 1110 Open Telephone Support Line with specialist scientists, with the aim of addressing the domestic violence issue in a holistic way.

With the collaboration memorandum signed between the Region of Attica and the Secretariat General for Family Policy and Gender Equality, the two parties are committed to co-operating on the issue of domestic violence during the period of the pandemic and lock-down.

The 1110 psychologists will guide women victims of domestic violence to call the SOS 15900 Helpline for psychological support and guidance.

According to statistics from the SOS 15900 Helpline, since the date of designation of the COVID-19 as a pandemic (11 March 2020) until 21 April 2020, the line has received an increased number of calls.

63% of the calls concerned incidents of violence, 26% were non-relevant phone calls, 10% were simple information requests on various gender issues and 1% were pranks.

The Secretariat General for Family Policy and Gender Equality is in direct contact with non-governmental organisations, other non-profit organisations and the civil society in general, collaborating with them to better address the phenomenon of domestic violence during COVID-19.

The video spot that was published as part of the central campaign of the Greek Government "We Stay at Home", with the message "We Stay at Home but We Don't Stay Silent", has been widely broadcast on all national television channels.

The Pan-Hellenic Pharmaceutical Association participates in the Pan-European campaign entitled "Mask-19", against domestic violence. Pharmacists across the country are urging and directing victims of violence to report the incident to the relevant authorities and authorities, giving them the contact details (Help Line SOS 15900, e-mail: [email protected], Police 100, or a local police department), or by giving the victims a special form with the code Mask-19, in which they enter their full details (name, home address, telephone numbers or other contact details), sign it and deliver it to the pharmacist, who will forward it directly to the relevant authorities. The Secretariat General for Family Policy and Gender Equality supports the participation of the Pan-Hellenic Pharmaceutical Association in this campaign.

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) features the SOS 15900 helpline on its ‘’Helplines for victims of violence’’ section, while emphasising the valuable support and aid provided by the helplines in combating domestic violence during COVID-19.

In addition, via the SURVIVOR project (Enhancing services for refugee and migrant GBV survivors), migrant women requiring assistance for domestic violence issues, can receive information regarding the transportation during COVID-19 translated in Farsi and Arabic while the Research Centre for Gender Equality (KETHI) conducted the translation of information leaflets regarding the COVID-19 restriction measures in various languages.

A three-party collaboration among KETHI and NGOs providing translation services to women victims of domestic violence, when required, and relevant training, is ongoing.

Briefing on COVID-19 and domestic violence in Iceland. Icelandic adaptation in response to societal pressures impacting domestic violence infrastructure and response

Context/Background: Governmental and executive response to increased gender-based violence due to societal pressures brought about by travel restrictions, requested and required quarantine, follows a presumption that societal impact caused by COVID-19 can potentially lead to increased vulnerability for people in abusive relationships.

The Directorate for Equality is responsible for implementing the objectives of the Gender Equality Act. The act requires the directorate to collaborate and assist government agencies and non-governmental organisations in the pursuit of the objectives of the act.

The act defines gender-based violence as violence based on gender which results in, or could result in, physical, sexual or psychological injury or suffering on the part of the victim; also, the threat of such and coercion or arbitrary deprivation of freedom, both in private life and in public.

The National Commissioner’s Office handles police matters on behalf of the Minister of Judicial Affairs. The Police Commissioner, Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, has in a press briefing, on 27 March 2020, presented a working outline of the police response to an increase in the number of instances of domestic violence. The outline calls for preliminary awareness and importance of maintaining infrastructure, aiding in any required adjustments to procedure for responding to reports of abuse and maintaining multi-sector co-operation throughout the response. In order to assess these changes, emphasis will remain on quality of data and multivariate response from all those organisations part of the fundamental infrastructure for tackling domestic violence and abuse.

The infrastructure:

Emergency rape wards: In Iceland, two emergency rape wards operate for people who have suffered rape, attempted rape or other sexual violence. Specialised nurses, psychologists and doctors staff the wards.

The women’s shelter: The shelter is for women and children seeking immediate and long-term protection following physical or psychological abuse in their homes by family members. The shelter is a non-governmental alternative for victims of abuse, founded in 1982. The shelter advocates non-violence through improved public and institutional understanding of the nature of violence in close relationships.

Stígamót - educational and counselling centre for survivors of sexual abuse and violence. The centre is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1990. Stígamót provides individual counselling for survivors of rape, sexual molestation, sexual harassment, pornographic exploitation and prostitution. The service is for women and men. The main methodology of the organisation based on self-help and empowerment.

Non-violence (formerly “men take responsibility”): A therapy programme previously aimed at men, now open to both genders, aims to provide counselling for persons who resort to violence against their partners. The programme provides both individual and group therapy for both women and men. The methodology reflects tested methods developed by the Norwegian institute, “Alternativ til vold”.

Bjarkarhlíð - support and information centre for survivors of violence: Provides information about the appeal process and the justice system with the police. Bjarkarhlíð offers assistance from police to ensure safety for survivors and aids in assessing of the risk of further violence.

Decisions in response to immediate need:

Funding additional needs for services of the Women’s Shelter: The first government economic response to the effects of COVID-19 includes additional investment in women shelters. Additional financial resources are delivered as a grant payment for the year 2020 allowing for increased investment in housing for the Women´s Shelter. The grant will directly facilitate speed up development on a housing project currently under way. The project is constructing eighteen apartments for both short and long-term stay.

Campaigns to highlight infrastructure and resources available: Government has declared a need for increased awareness raising, directed at victims of violence and those may will become more vulnerable to abuse, as a result of the effect of COVID-19.

The Directorate for Equality has been responsible for developing information campaigns about resources available for those who have suffered from domestic violence. In recent years an emphasis has been on informing immigrants and populations non-native to Iceland and the Icelandic language. The Directorate of Equality has published information regarding the Icelandic justice system and Icelandic society. Publications address issues such as equal rights and gender equality, residence permits, trafficking in human beings, divorce, custody issues, issues regarding rights of access, financial issues, violence and threats in intimate relationships and threats. The outreach material published provides information for assistance, addresses, telephone numbers and websites for various institutions and organisations.

A decision has been made to expand the reach of previous awareness raising programmes, by providing the Directorate for Equality with additional funding for publication and awareness-raising on social media.

I: Impact & mitigating measures on GBV/DV

Official statistics on domestic abuse are not currently available.

• An inter-agency Action Plan for Domestic Abuse in Ireland's COVID-19 Response has been developed to respond to the increased risk and incidence of domestic abuse. The action plan covers three areas - raising awareness that services and supports will be available throughout the COVID-19 emergency for those experiencing domestic abuse, maintaining and prioritising services for those who need to access them, and ensuring that victims can access the courts and seek protection from perpetrators.

• • Frm early April, An Garda Síochána (Ireland's police force) established ‘Operation Faoisimh’, a proactive initiative designed to ensure victims of domestic violence are supported and protected throughout this period. Victims of incidents recorded in 2018-2020 will be contacted and those at high risk will be visited. Gardaí will respond quickly and robustly with a pro-arrest intervention policy to any report of domestic abuse despite the current COVID-19 emergency.
  • The issue f domestic abuse and availability of services for victims was highlighted in the government's daily briefing on COVID-19 on 10 April. On the same date a new awareness campaign directed at victims of domestic abuse was launched by the Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration. The #stillhere campaign (https://www.stillhere.ie/) includes new TV and radio advertisements carrying the message to victims that services are still available despite the COVID-19 emergency. The campaign is being conducted by State services in partnership with organisations from the community and voluntary sector, and the advertising campaign will run for three weeks across TV, radio and video on demand.
  • The Department f Justice and Equality is engaging with NGOs to ensure that they co-ordinate between one another to maintain helplines and other supports for victims, and over €160,000 in additional funding has been provided to community and voluntary groups to support their work at this time. The additional funding has been allocated to extend the Support and Referral Service and the High Risk Support project operated by Women's Aid; to support the Rape Crisis Centre Network Ireland and the work of local centres and manage information flows to and from frontline trauma support workers; to produce additional support packs from Ruhama for women seeking to exit prostitution; and to extend the Male Advice line and extra telephone support for the Men Ending Domestic Violence programme operated by the Men's Development Network.
  • The Legal Aid Bard is giving priority to domestic violence and childcare cases, with every centre maintaining a phone line or email address for victims seeking supports. A Helpline has also been set up to ensure that persons experiencing domestic violence issues get prompt legal advice and legal representation in court where needed.
  • The Curts Service is giving priority to domestic violence and childcare cases, with every district continuing to have a court open to hear applications for protection, interim barring and emergency barring orders.
  • Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has put a range f practical supports in place. Where a service has a loss of staff due to COVID-19, Tusla will fund additional temporary staff in replacement. Some PPE has already been provided to service in the sector, with additional supplies to be provided next week. Additional ICT resources are being provided to the sector to enable continuity of services to the public through supporting remote working. More than 50 staff are currently funded to the amount of €60,000 for this purpose. Tusla is also working with providers to identify additional accommodation capacity to respond to individual cases/needs.
  • The Prbation Service in its management f offenders is emphasising the risks f the current situation and the need for people to understand and manage their own triggers. The risk assessment criteria applied by the Irish Prison Service in deciding temprary releases take accunt of convictions relating to domestic abuse, breach of barring orders, etc.
  • It was recgnised that the public health emergency had given rise to concerns in many families in relation to implementing court orders for matters such as access in family law cases. It has been confirmed in the daily government briefings that, while court orders in relation to access remain in place, parents may come to mutually agreed arrangements for alternative contact such as phone calls, Skype or other methods. Mediation services remain available to help parents come to an agreed arrangement. The Family Mediation Service of the Legal Aid Board is offering free telephone mediation and conflict coaching.
  • Funding will als be put in place for anticipated post-COVID-19 increase in needs for victim support services and other services.

II: Impact & mitigating measures on other relevant aspects

Ireland's National Action Plan in response to COVID-19, updated on 16 March, identified the need for additional supports and arrangements for people who are at particular risk or vulnerable, including older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions and people who are more socially vulnerable. Information in plain English on the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on key services and the supports available is published by the Citizens Information Service and available on its phone service.

• In early March, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) set up a COVID-19 Subgroup - Vulnerable People to provide guidance around the specific preparedness, measures and actions that need to be taken to protect vulnerable groups and individuals in society. Its membership includes representatives of the voluntary sector and of groups representing persons with disabilities. The Sub-Group has issued a checklist for those providing services to vulnerable people. The situations addressed include those of the homeless population, the Traveller and Roma communities, people with addiction problems, people in direct provision (accommodation centres for applicants for international protection) and victims of domestic, sexual and gender violence.
• The Health Service Executive (HSE) is providing assistance at both national and local level to ensure information and assistance reaches vulnerable groups. A COVID-19 Public Information Booklet with information about COVID-19 including how the government is responding, the symptoms and advice on self-isolation, was issued to every household in early April. Information on COVID-19 is available in a number of accessible formats, including an Easy Read version of the COVID-19 Public Information Booklet to help those who sometimes find content hard to read, understand or act on; materials translated into a number of languages; and materials available as an audio guide and printable posters. Through the COVID-19 Health Communications Stakeholder Support Group, partner packs containing information leaflets and posters have been distributed among civil society and community organisations who are engaged in outreach, with further resources including a mental wellbeing programme (gov.ie/together) to launch this week.

• The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) is one of the civil society organisations involved in this initiative. The NWCI and has compiled a list of resources and supports for women impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing matters such as physical and mental health, income supports and rights, supports for women experiencing violence and supporting communities.
• The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection have introduced a range of measures to provide income support to people affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and advice for both employers and workers. A COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit has been introduced for employees and self-employed who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are medically certified to self-isolate as a result of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment for employees and the self-employed who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and approximately 532,000 people are currently receiving payments under this scheme. A temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme has also been put in place for employers who have lost 25% or more of their trade to support them to retain staff or re-hire staff they have had to lay off, and over 42,000 employers are currently registered. A Business Support Call Centre is open since 13 March to provide information on government supports for businesses and enterprises affected by COVID-19. A Workplace Protection and Improvement Guide has been put in place by the National Standards Authority of Ireland which provides practical business guidance on physical distancing, home working, staggered work, and what to do if an employee is symptomatic.
• The government has introduced measures providing that parents are not required to pay childcare fees during the COVID-19 crisis, and providing funding supports to childcare providers to assist with staff and ongoing costs during the closure period.
• The Health Service Executive's Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme has issued specific information on sexual and reproductive health services during the COVID-19 emergency. This includes information on the continued availability of contraception services, unplanned pregnancy services and termination of pregnancy. A number of services have moved to phone or remote support, while continuing to provide the same level of service. Details, which continue to be updated in line with evolving restrictions and evidence linked to coronavirus, are available here. Restrictions are in place on visitors to maternity hospitals and procedures are updated as the situation changes.
• Travellers and Roma are identified as a vulnerable group by the NPHET, with special measures being taken relating to providing information and assistance, COVID-19 testing, and housing and social distancing measures, as follows:
  • Dedicated COVID-19 helplines fr Travellers and Roma have been established to offer guidance and support to both communities in relation to testing and best practice. There are Romani/Romanian translators available to ensure accessible information to members of the Roma community.
  • The Department f Justice and Equality has provided additional funding to assist in the provision of necessary services during the COVID-19 crisis. This includes the prioritisation of the development of two videoclips for Travellers on “COVID-19 and Social Isolation” and “Pregnancy and COVID-19”. Work has commenced on a “Be Well” Campaign co-ordinated by the health workers which is to include information on the importance of diet and exercise and looking after your mental health.
  • Traveller and Rma support organisations have implemented new ways of working with vulnerable groups by using social media communications, phone consultations and WhatsApp groups, working from home and interacting directly with vulnerable groups, from a distance, within the Community.
  • The Traveller and Rma communities have been included in priority groups for fast-tracking of COVID-19 tests on the basis of a population risk analysis and the disproportionate number of Travellers and Roma with underlying health conditions and overcrowded living conditions. The provision of transport for Travellers and Roma to attend testing centres safely without compromising the health of the general public has been identified as an area of concern and measures are being identified which may address the needs of Traveller families for transport support.
  • The Department f Housing, Planning, and Local Government (DHPLG, which has responsibility for Traveller and Roma housing) has contacted Local Authorities requesting that measures be put in place which are designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and lessen the risk of infection for vulnerable and other members of the community. This includes the provision of extra toilets, running water and extra refuse collection. They have requested that where these additional measures prove not possible, it may be necessary for local authorities to work with the families involved, to move residents to alternative accommodation on a temporary basis. DHPLG have advised local authorities to consider applying for funding for the purchase of mobile homes in cases of emergencies. DHPLG have requested Local Authorities ensure that lines of communication are open with the Traveller Community and Traveller Organisations in every area and are monitoring all developments and issues arising on Traveller and Roma sites including instances where testing is required.
  • Sectin 5(7)(c) of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020, which came into effect on 27 March 2020, offers specific protection to Travellers from eviction except where movement is required to prevent hardship and only with the consent of the families involved. This extends to authorised and unauthorised accommodation.

• People with disabilities: The HSE has developed a set of guidance documents and resources for disability services in collaboration with service providers in the voluntary sector, and approved by the NPHET subgroup for Vulnerable People. All daily government briefings on COVID-19 are televised and accompanied by Irish sign language interpretation. Deaf Irish Sign Language users can get information about COVID-19 (Coronavirus) using the Irish Remote Interpreting Service (IRIS). Advice for people with existing mental health conditions is included in specific advice provided by the HSE on minding your mental health in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. A podcast has also been created with the assistance of the National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS) which offers a series of relaxation techniques specifically designed to help young people cope with anxiety related to COVID-19.

• Applicants for international protection: Intensive work has been underway in the Department of Justice since the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis to ensure that to the best of their ability, the health and welfare of asylum seekers and refugees availing of their accommodation services are protected. They are guided in that by the HSE and the National Public Health Emergency Team, and a range of measures have been undertaken to support contingency planning and preparedness in accommodation centres housing applicants for international protection.
  • A dedicated team was established in the Internatinal Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) to manage issues relating to COVID-19 in accommodation centres, working with and following the advice of the HSE.
  • The HSE has been cnsidering the most effective prevention and cocoon measures for the most medically and socially vulnerable residents in centres. The nine HSE Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) regions are assessing all centres where people are living in congregated settings to establish their state of readiness and are offering appropriate advice to assist. A national clinical telephone service providing public health advice to IPAS, centre management and residents has been put in place, including an online GP service.
  • Accmmodation centres have been closed to visitors since 23 March to support social distancing. Contingency plans prepared by all accommodation centres were actively reviewed by IPAS.
  • Frm 31 March additional beds, initially 650 and rising to 850 by 9 April, have been procured to support international protection applicants during the COVID-19 crisis, to provide additional accommodation to support the measures required for vulnerable residents, the provision of offsite accommodation for self-isolation, and help with social distancing measures by reducing overall numbers in some existing centres. This additional accommodation is mainly in hotels in Cork, Dublin and Galway.
  • Accmmodation centres were asked to provide self-isolation capabilities for use by persons suspected to have the virus, with such cases to be managed by Public Health. Off-site self-isolation facilities were piloted and by 9 April, four dedicated self-isolation facilities had been secured.
  • Public health infrmation is distributed to all accommodation centres on an ongoing basis, guided by public health advice. The Department of Justice and Equality wrote to all residents, centre managers and staff members in advance of the public announcement on 31 March, to inform them that steps were being taken to protect the most vulnerable and reassure them their welfare was of paramount importance to the government.

III: General measures

• Ireland is currently (as at 14 April) in a delay phase, with initiatives put in place planned to slow down the spread of the virus. On 27 March, the government announced that until 12 April (and subsequently extended to 5 May) everyone was to stay in their home wherever possible, with exceptions for some workers in key businesses who must also work from home if possible to do so. Exceptions also include leaving the home for vital family reasons, such as providing care to children, older or vulnerable people. Cocooning measures have been put in place for those over 70 years of age and those who are extremely medically vulnerable to COVID-19, where they stay inside and isolated as much as possible. All non-essential health procedures are postponed, visits to hospitals, residential healthcare centres, other residential settings and prisons are curtailed. Schools and childcare facilities are closed. Travel has been restricted beyond 2km from home, with limited exceptions such as shopping for food.

• These measures are reflected in regulations and enforced by the police (An Garda Síochána). High visibility patrolling across the country by members of An Garda Síochána is focused on encouraging people to adhere to public health measures, informing and encouraging compliance by the public as well as taking enforcement action where required. This is in addition to its focus on normal policing operations as well as pursuing its ethos of community policing seeking out those who are vulnerable and providing assistance.

• Over 70,000 responses have been received to the Health Service Executive’s 'Be on Call for Ireland' campaign inviting qualified health professionals not currently working in the Irish health service to apply for a role, with registration fees waived for successful applicants that have lapsed registration in Ireland.

• In early April, the government operationalised the Framework for Local Authority Community Support and put the helplines and support structures in place over the weekend. This Community Call is co-ordinating community activity and directing community assistance to where it is needed, and will marshal the volunteering energy of the country. The Community Call is overseen at national level by a group from the Departments of The Taoiseach, Housing, Planning and Local Government, Rural and Community Development, Health, and the County and City Management Association. At local level, the Community Call is overseen by the Local Authority Community Response Forum managed by the Local Authorities and led by the county Chief Executive. While family, carers and neighbours are encouraged to ensure people who are cocooning have the support they need, additional arrangements have been put in place. Older people in need of support are encouraged to call the Helpline run by ALONE, a national charity supporting older people, or to contact the local police station.

• Dedicated phone lines are operational in each county and at national level. Coronavirus Community Support Teams, co-ordinated by all local authorities, are providing supports for vulnerable members of the community. The following services are provided: the collection and delivery of food, essential household items, fuel, and medication in line with guidance; transport to community testing centres, clinical Assessment Hubs, GP and hospital appointments; social isolation supports and engagement; meals and their delivery; and other medical/health needs. A community support helpline/call centre operates in every local authority and is cross-referenced by the ALONE National Helpline. Specific COVID-19 advice has been issued for people who need support and those giving support under local authority community supports.

• From 25 March, the postal service An Post introduced a range of new services for the COVID-19 emergency. The ‘Request a Check-In’ is a facility for family members to request a specific ‘An Post Check-In’ by the local postman or postwoman for an older or vulnerable person during the current ‘Cocooning’ period. If that person has any specific needs for groceries or a prescription, the post person will put them in contact with ALONE, the national charity ensuring personal support to older and vulnerable people during the current crisis. As well as delivering the post, postal workers will also collect letters and parcels from the older and more vulnerable members of the community, with no charge for this.

Impact and mitigating measures on gender-based violence/domestic violence and any other measures taken to prevent violence against women

The Department for Equal Opportunities is pleased to report as follows in matters of countering gender-based violence, supporting women as workers and in the family environment.

We would also draw your attention on the establishment of the newly Task Force “Women for a new Renaissance” under the leadership of the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family, composed of 12 women representing several sectors, from scientific to humanistic, in order to draft ideas and proposals for the post-COVID-19 social, cultural and economic restart.

The main tasks of this task force are to:

• produce analysis and scientific evidence relating to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on gender issues;

• formulate proposals to increase the percentage of women in all areas of work, to overcome barriers to advancement in career paths, especially in the fastest growing fields (STEM, computer computing, cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, etc.), to contrast gender stereotypes that prevent women from reaching leadership positions and to build a more inclusive sustainable future for all;

• draw up a policy document with the definition of priorities and policies in operational terms to address the challenges for gender equality in all sectors and to strengthen the presence and role of women in all the areas examined, with a focus on the social, cultural and economic revival of Italy after the epidemiological emergency of COVID-19.

Frequently asked questions on the measures taken by the Italian Government to manage the COVID-19 emergency were published on 11 March 2020 on the website www.governo.it. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the activities of the Anti-Violence Centres (CAV) which “provide services instrumental to the right to health or other fundamental human rights” have not been suspended. Women who find themselves in an emergency caused by violence can request assistance from CAV due to “necessary reasons”.

At the same time the toll-free number, 1522 is always active 24 hours a day to reply to requests for help and support to victims of violence and stalking.

The anti-violence and anti-stalking toll-free number and app 1522 data for March and April 2020 show a significant growth in phone calls and contacts to report incidents of domestic violence and requests for help. While the months of January and February 2020 recorded a decrease in the use of this service, compared to the same months in 2019 (455 calls in January 2020 compared to 623 in January 2019; 508 calls in February 2020 compared to 528 in February 2019), and to the average monthly number of calls in 2019 (587 calls), during the lockdown from COVID-19 the number of women who turned to the public utility number increased. In March there were 716 contacts (670 in March 2019), while from 1 to 18 April 2020 they rose to 1,037 (397 in the same period in 2019). It should also be noted that there was an increased use of the app 1522. While there were only 37 reports via chat in January 2020 and 50 in February 2020, confirming a substantial preference for phone calls, following the communication campaign aimed at spreading knowledge of the app, the number of reports via chat rose to 143 in March and 253 in the first 18 days of April 2020.

On 24 March 2020, the new awareness campaign, “Libera puoi” was launched by the Department for Equal Opportunities to support women victims of violence during the COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to promote the aforementioned toll-free number 1522 and to give information about the 1522 app, which is available on IOS and Android systems, to allow women to chat with operators and ask for help and information safely, without running additional risks of being heard by their attackers.

Following the input from the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family, the Minister of the Interior sent a Circular to all the Prefectures so that further accommodation could be identified and made available to women victims of violence, granting full health safety conditions. The circular pointed out that the measures adopted by the government and related obligations regarding the respect of social distancing (isolation of COVID-19 patients, quarantine of exposed subjects, measures for the workplace, gathering prohibition) to contain the spread of COVID-19 epidemic, may affect the work of CAV and shelters, which provide accommodation, protection and support to women victims of violence throughout the territory. In order to overcome these difficulties, the circular recommends to the prefects, with the involvement of mayors and local associations, to identify or confirm, where already existing, new housing solutions, even temporary, to host women victims of violence who for health reasons cannot be accommodated in existing CAV and shelters. This could be granted according to Article 6 of the Decree Law of 17 March 2020, which provides for the requisition for use, even temporarily, of hotels or other suitable buildings to accommodate people under health surveillance and fiduciary isolation or permanently at home, when these measures cannot be implemented at home. Therefore, when difficulties occur, in order to offer proper accommodation, CAV and shelters can contact the prefectures to find suitable solutions and the Department for Equal Opportunities provides an extraordinary budget to cover the related costs.

Following the authorisation of the Unified Conference, on 2 April 2020, a decree was signed by the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family, which provides for an urgent allocation of 30 million euros in favour of regions, in accordance with the previous Prime Ministerial Decree of 4 December 2019. The decree also specifies that 10 million euros will support complementary countering gender violence activities carried out by CAV and shelters.

Also, on 2 April 2020, the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family, the President of the Federation of Italian Pharmacists’ Associations, the Presidents of Federfarma and Assofarma, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to make women victims of domestic violence and/or stalking fully aware in the framework of COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to provide them with all the information they need to ask for help and to safely report violence. The pharmacies on the national territory will receive material that will allow women to access basic indications to prevent and deal effectively with any situations of violence or stalking by men. To this end, information guidelines have been prepared and will be made available in pharmacies.

Recently a new public call for the financing of urgent interventions to support CAV and shelters in relation to the COVID-19 emergency has been released online. This initiative is part of the measures introduced by the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family and implemented by the Department for Equal Opportunities to support the work of all those involved in preventing and combating gender-based violence and protecting women who are victims in the current epidemiological emergency. The call is addressed to CAV and shelters recognised at regional level, which meet the minimum requirements set out in the agreement signed by the government and regions, the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano and local autonomies at the Unified Conference on 27 November 2014. The application procedures have been simplified as much as possible in order to speed up the disbursement of resources. The applicants will have access to a maximum contribution that varies according to the type of structure, set at 15,000 Euros for the shelters and 2,500 euros for CAV, to be used for interventions for the best management of COVID-19 emergency. Eligible expenses include, for example, those relating to the identification of housing solutions aimed at the isolation and quarantine of women victims of violence, the purchase of personal protective equipment and the sanitation of environments. Applications may be submitted until 31 July 2020 for which more than 5 million Euros have been allocated and which provides for maximum, simplified administrative procedures to create the conditions for immediate and safe support for women.

Impact & mitigating measures on other relevant aspects

To face the current COVID-19 emergency, the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family has increased by 5 million Euros the Special Section of the Fund for SMEs dedicated to female entrepreneurship with resources from the Department for Equal Opportunities.

Many measures have also been undertaken by Italy to target families and children’s issues within the context of the COVID-19 emergency. Among them, an agreement between involved ministers and other stakeholders, to set guidelines guaranteeing safety in outdoors activities for families, teenagers and kids, and a circular adopted by the Minister of Health concerning maternity protection.

Furthermore, the following are worth of mentioning:

Extraordinary leave for parents and babysitting bonus

As a consequence of the spread of the COVID-19 virus all over the country, and considering the subsequent temporary suspension of the provision of child education services and teaching activities in all Italian schools, Article 23 of Decree Law No. 18 of 17 March 2020 (the so-called Cura Italia Decree) introduced extraordinary leave and a bonus for parents, with the aim of supporting them during the period of temporary closure of school activities. Starting from 5 March 2020, parents working in the private sector with children up to 12 years of age have access to a specific 15-day leave covering 50% of the salary. The leave can be enjoyed by both parents alternatively and only if no other income support measures apply for the family members.

Age limits do not apply to children with serious disability certified under Law No. 104/1992.

Furthermore, starting from 17 March 2020, as an alternative to the extraordinary leave, private sector working parents can choose to receive a specific bonus for the purchase of babysitting services amounting to 600 Euros. For parents working in the public and private accredited health sector, as well as for the police and the defence personnel employed with anti-COVID tasks, the babysitting voucher is increased to a total of 1,000 Euros (as for the latter health personnel in hospital could benefit from it according to a ratio of 70% of female workers and 30% of male workers). The above mentioned measures can be requested by foster parents as well.

Toll-free number

At the request of the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - Department of Civil Protection, a specific toll-free number providing psychological support for the most vulnerable people (especially older people) during the COVID-19 emergency situation is currently in the process of being activated.

“Educhiamo” (Let’s Educate) Call for Proposals

The Department for Family Policies is elaborating a public call for proposals for the financing of non-formal and informal education projects for the empowerment of children and youth, with a view to allowing them to acquire knowledge and abilities that will contribute to the development of their potential as active and responsible citizens and promote their commitment towards their society, while respecting differences. The call will be aimed at promoting such activities to accelerate the recovery of society following the coronavirus global emergency, in collaboration with civil society organisations and local bodies. The total amount that will be allocated should be 30 million Euros and will fund projects on children’s and youth’s empowerment, intercultural exchange, intergenerational dialogue, non-discrimination and equality, inclusion of disadvantaged people and persons with disabilities, promotion of healthy lifestyles among children and youth, environmental protection and sustainable development, appreciation of local cultural heritage and respectful use of social media.

Family Card

On 18 March 2020, the new Family Card was launched by the Department for Family Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The card allows families with three children under 26 years of age to access discounts and price reductions on goods and services offered by the companies participating in the initiative and listed in the online portal specifically set up by the department. (https://www.cartafamiglia.gov.it/cartafamiglia/). With the entry into force of Decree Law No. 9 of 2 March 2020, the Family Card has been extended to all families with one child living in the Italian territory, with a view to providing additional support to families during the current virus crisis.

The “#CiStoDentro” (#IAmIn) initiative

The “#CiStoDentro” (#IAmIn) project is the new initiative launched by the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family to provide all parents with a tool for experimenting new ways to play with their children at home during the current lockdown. The initiative is available on the website of the Department for Family Policies (http://famiglia.governo.it/ci-sto-dentro/) and includes several sections, such as 1) information on Coronavirus; 2) the possibility to send a letter to the Minister; 3) pieces of advice on new games to play at home; 3) suggestions on books to read; and 4) a photo gallery.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia has declared an emergency situation to restrict the spread of COVID-19 defining specific measures that subsequently have been extended with additional precautionary and social distancing measures.

Several social protection measures have been approved for the period of COVID-19 outbreak, including:

• Automatic extension of the current statuses (for example, disability status, status of a needy person) that entitle the receipt of certain benefits – to prevent any interruption due to the emergency situation;
• Retaining full (previous) pay for providing the assistant service for persons with disabilities, irrespective of the fact that the service provision itself is limited due to the emergency situation (no onsite learning, cancelled social activities, etc.), with corresponding changes to simplify reporting. Persons providing the assistance service are mainly women.
• Entitlements to the parental benefit expiring during the state of emergency are extended for the duration of the state of emergency (capped at 700 EUR) for persons who are not able to return to work and gain income due to the emergency circumstances. Since the majority of the beneficiaries of the parental allowance are women, the measure will mainly affect women.
• Guidelines for municipal social services enabling to accept applications online, by phone, or in another way – to ensure the needed support while avoiding social contact as far as possible, etc.
• During the emergency situation, new clients are not being admitted to institutions providing social services, except for victims of violence (crisis centres) and children left without parental care (longterm social care and rehabilitation institutions), as well as homeless people (shelters).
• Municipalities continue providing free meals, cofinanced from the State budget, to support vulnerable families (families with three and more children, persons in need, unemployed) during the emergency situation when schools are closed.
• Municipal social assistance has been extended to support those not eligible for an adequate unemployment benefit with a specific benefit for the crisis situation. The State budget will partly compensate crisis benefits paid by municipalities (local governments).
• The government agreed on 9 April, that families receiving those crisis benefits will receive an additional 50 EUR for each child under 18. This amount will be paid by the State. This measure needs to be approved by the Parliament this week (1417 April).

In order to ensure the continuity of social services also in cases of domestic violence, guidelines have been drawn up for social services and police. Services for both victims of violence and perpetrators are basically provided remotely (using technologies -  chat, online consultations, telephone). Crisis centres continue to provide the services.

The social services of local municipalities shall inform citizens about the opportunities to receive services through different information channels, such as an informative page, the home page of the service and social media. The phone numbers of the NGO’s providing services to the victims of violence and to the perpetrators, as well as helplines are distributed.

In order to ensure that the public is informed as widely as possible about the available support during the emergency situation, women, in particular, will be addressed via the national radio station encouraging the reporting about violence cases and to receive support provided by the state in cases of domestic violence.

Following the announcement of quarantine in the country, the Lithuanian police are registering more and more reports of domestic violence. When police officers respond to reports of relatives unwilling to comply with quarantine or self-isolation conditions, such situations are often resolved quickly and in good faith.

However, the quarantine period, poses new challenges: being together in families all the time creates tension and undoubtedly affects the changed behaviour of both the perpetrator and the potential victim of the violence.

In order to respond and to prevent domestic violence, on 10 April 2020 the Minister of the Interior signed the interinstitutional Action Plan on the Prevention of Domestic Violence during the Quarantine regarding COVID-19, where various measures are foreseen for the period of quarantine.

In each case, upon notification of domestic violence, the incident of violence is responded immediately, and when the decision to initiate an incident investigation is taken, a specialised assistance centre, providing assistance to victims of domestic violence, is immediately notified by an e-mail.

In order to best protect the rights and legitimate interests of victims of violence, the police actively co-operate with the Lithuanian Women's Rights Association, which unites specialised assistance centres, and takes additional actions.

People who may be victims of domestic violence or who are concerned that their relatives may be affected by domestic violence will be informed of the contact details of the specialised assistance centres in their place of residence by calling the police information line on 8 700 60 000.

Police officers will also liaise with people living in remote rural areas who have previously been victims of domestic violence, provide them with information on protective measures, and provide advice on other issues within the area of competence of the police.

Information regarding recognition of domestic violence and preventive measures is published on the websites of various ministries, police institutions and on the accounts of the social network of police community officials. Information related to the issues of ensuring the rights of victims of domestic violence is also shared with the Lithuanian Women's Rights Enforcement Association, which publishes it on its website as needed.

In case of danger, people can call the police officers on the emergency number 112. If the perpetrator is nearby and it is not possible to call 112, there’s a possibility to send an SMS to 112.

The Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania funds the activities of emotional support services provided by phone. During a pandemic and quarantine, the Lithuanian Emotional Support Services – Youth Line, Hope Line, Women's Helpline, Children's Line and Dover Line – encourage adults and children to share their feelings and seek free help by phone and online provided by on-call volunteer consultants. Emotional helplines are on call during a pandemic and are waiting for adults and children. Telephone and online counselling volunteers are ready to help people to cope with the stress and challenges of the time, to look for alternatives, and, if necessary, to direct people to further help, thus ensuring their safety and consistency in surviving the crisis. At this critical time, the risk of suicide may increase, so both adults and children are invited to share their experiences with emotional support lines and receive the help they need. The contact list of helplines is published on the website of the ministry:

Other measures in response to quarantine

Since the beginning of quarantine, education is carried out remotely. However, there are still families who cannot afford to have computers, therefore the government has decided to buy computers and distribute it to municipalities according to the number of pupils living in the socially sensitive families, so that no child will be left behind and could receive a proper education.

The Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania approved the amendments of the Law on Employment, which opened the possibility for employers to receive 90 percent or 70 percent amount of state subsidies when it is necessary to declare downtime during emergencies and quarantine. The amendments also make it clear whether the self-employed will not face any difficulties.

When the government declares an emergency and quarantine, which prevents the employer from providing the contracted work to the employees, he has the right to declare downtime or partial downtime. During downtime, employees must not be required to perform work and have to be paid at least the minimum wage, but only if the employment contract stipulates a full working time rate.

Self-employed persons who do not have an employment relationship and do not receive income from employment can claim a flat-rate benefit of € 257 per month. This benefit will not be included in the insured income and will not affect any other benefits and may be received together with other social insurance benefits – sickness, maternity, childcare, unemployment benefits or pension.

Self-employed persons will also be able to avoid compulsory health insurance during an emergency and quarantine, which will be payable within two years from the end of the emergency and quarantine.

The State Tax Inspectorate, following the restrictions and bans regarding COVID-19, has published a list of taxpayers affected by COVID-19. Taxpayers who are on this list and who have taxes to pay between 16 March and the end of the quarantine and two months after that, will automatically, without any request, be exempt from paying the interest on arrears and their tax recovery will not be executed. After the end of the quarantine, these companies will have two months to pay taxes or to sign a contract of tax loan without interest.

The amendment of the Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance stipulates that after the suspension of social service institutions (day centres) due to a declared emergency or quarantine, persons taking care of persons of retirement age and persons with a disability, who usually receive day or short-term social care in such institutions, are paid 65.94% of sickness benefit equal to the amount of the beneficiary's compensatory earnings.

When, during an emergency or quarantine, it becomes necessary to look after a young child or a child with a disability at home due to the suspension of the educational process, the child's parents, adoptive parents, guardians or working grandparents may be granted an incapacity certificate and paid sickness benefit.

1. The impact and mitigation measures of domestic and gender-based violence

1.1 Operation and organisation of the help and assistance network

From the very beginning of the crisis, the Ministry of Equality between Women and Men took all the necessary steps to ensure that its network of help and assistance in the field of combating domestic violence and violence could ensure the continuity of its activities. The measures taken by the government as part of crisis management have obliged the support service staff to take certain protective precautions. For this reason, the majority of contacts and consultations take place via telephone calls, videoconferencing or in the framework of hotlines, the contact details of which are available on the Internet.

In the event of imminent domestic violence that is dangerous both for the caller and for relatives living with the perpetrator in a family setting (e.g. other family members or stepfamilies), it is always advisable to call the police at 113. The police mobile application includes an e-call button to reach the National Response Centre directly at 113 by mobile phone or SMS. For the safety of the callers, their position (after agreement) is localised in order to send help as quickly as possible. For more information, please visit https://police.public.lu/fr/application-mobile.html.

1.2 Weekly monitoring of the evolution of domestic violence in Luxembourg

At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the Ministry for Equality between Women and Men set up a weekly monitoring of the development of domestic violence in Luxembourg, in close co-operation with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Grand Ducal Police and the support and assistance services active in the field of combating domestic and conjugal violence. This monitoring is carried out every week on the basis of a weekly questionnaire which focuses on

- the number of police interventions in cases of domestic violence and the number of expulsions of perpetrators ordered by the Public Prosecutor's Office;

- the number of contacts with help and support services;

- the quality of the cases treated;

- the measures taken by the various organisations to counter domestic violence in this period of crisis.

The meeting is held weekly with the Minister for Equality between Women and Men.

1.3 Setting up and updating the violence.lu website

In the context of Luxembourg's ratification of the Istanbul Convention, the Ministry for Equality between Women and Men launched its violence.lu campaign in December 2018, providing information on the various forms of violence against girls and women, as well as on the various legal provisions relating to it in the Penal Code.

The site also provides information on the support network for both victims and perpetrators. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the site has been supplemented by an FAQ “Domestic violence and COVID-19” (in Luxembourgish, Portuguese, French and English) with essential information on domestic and conjugal violence (www.violence.lu).

1.4. Common telephone line

The social managers active in the field of support for major and minor victims of domestic violence and contracted with the Ministry of Equality between Women and Men (Femmes en détresse asbl, Fondation ProFamilia, Fondation Maison de la Porte ouverte, CNFL-Foyer Sud, Act together asbl) have set up a joint helpline on 00 352 2060 1060) as well as a joint email address ([email protected]). This helpline will function throughout the crisis and will subsequently be institutionalised as a single, permanent telephone line required under the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention.

1.5. Continued applicability of the amended law of 8 September 2003 on domestic violence

The crisis has no repealing effect either on the law in general or on the amended law of 8 September 2003 on domestic violence in particular, which provides inter alia for the expulsion of the perpetrator of domestic violence. Perpetrators are not immune from the application of the above mentioned law in this period of crisis. When the police intervene in a situation of domestic violence in a domestic home, they may find that there are sufficient indications, leading them to presume that the physical integrity of a person with whom the perpetrator is cohabiting in a family setting is in danger or is again in danger. On the basis of the information obtained on the spot, and on the order of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the perpetrator may be expelled from the common home for a period of two weeks, from the date of his or her expulsion.

If, after police intervention, an eviction order is issued, the victim is then referred to specialised assistance services, namely the SAVVD service for adult victims and the PSYEA and alternative services for minor victims. This assistance is automatically provided for by the amended Act of 8 September 2003 on domestic violence.

If, after police intervention, there has been no eviction, the police provide the parties present in the household with an information sheet inviting them to react to the situation of violence experienced in order to obtain help. The card indicates the services that provide care for adult and minor victims of domestic violence, both direct and indirect.

1.6. Support for perpetrators of domestic violence

It is essential that the perpetrators are not left behind in this crisis. In the context of an eviction, the perpetrator is obliged to report within the first seven days of the eviction to the service supporting perpetrators of violence, the Riicht Eraus, as stipulated in the aforementioned law. If the perpetrator does not contact the service, the Riicht Eraus immediately contacts all perpetrators of domestic violence and offers support.

The Riicht Eraus is also available for perpetrators regardless of deportation. The service invites all people who feel pressure, anger, conflict, violence, etc. growing within their relationship or family, or who are at the end of their capacity for communication to call them before they act out and become violent. This service is also for people who have already been violent in the past.

The information sheet given to the persons present in the household by the police who intervene in a situation of domestic violence also indicates the service taking care of the perpetrators of domestic violence.

2. Impact and mitigation measures on other relevant aspects, including: sexual health and reproductive rights

The Council of Europe rightly notes the intensified impact that the COVID-19 crisis may have on certain categories of women. In addition to the above-mentioned provisions in the field of combating domestic violence, the Luxembourg Government has made a number of arrangements in the context of the current crisis which are also intended to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the above-mentioned categories of persons :

- Extension in the context of reconciling family and professional life throughout the period of confinement leading to the quarantine of children through the closure of childcare facilities and schools of paid family leave (normally limited to a maximum of 18 days per parent depending on the age of the children, except in the event of serious illness or hospitalisation of the child) allowing one of the two parents to take charge of and care for their children, including for home schooling.

- Extension of expired childcare-service voucher contracts (financial support from the state depending on the parents income for childcare facilities such as crèches, day-care centres, maisons de rélais, etc.).

- Introduction of a “force majeure/coronavirus” partial unemployment scheme with an accelerated procedure for all companies that have had to completely or partially cease their activities due to the scale of the health crisis and the tangible repercussions on companies and their employees.

- Allocation of technical unemployment to employees whose companies have had to cease all activity.

- Setting up an emergency fund (immediate and non-refundable financial aid of 5,000 Euros) for small businesses (maximum nine employees) and the self-employed, as well as refundable aid for businesses and the self-employed.

- Extension of the duration of unemployment benefit entitlements, whether initial or extended, for the duration of the state of crisis (normal duration being 12 months and 24 months in the case of an extension), given that many jobseekers registered with the Employment Administration following the state of crisis have little chance of being able to enter the labour market.

- Increase in the rent subsidy for low-income households due to the decrease or loss of income due to the state of crisis.

- Suspension of evictions from residential leases.

- Maintenance of State aid and assistance, reception and supervision by, in particular, NGOs that have agreements and/or are financed with the state and state institutions and persons (women, men and children) in distress, regardless of their status, sex, gender identity, origin, nationality or socio-professional situation, including victims of violence and/or abuse (adults and minors), perpetrators of domestic violence, vulnerable persons, applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection.

- The current ban on entering Luxembourg territory because of the state of crisis does not apply by way of derogation to persons wishing to apply for international protection or subsidiary protection or for other humanitarian reasons).

Once the crisis is under control and has diminished, it is clear that the Luxembourg Government must provide itself with the necessary means to analyse the scale of the crisis from a gender perspective with a clear differentiation between women and men, and taking into account the specific situations and needs of particularly vulnerable categories of people. The above-mentioned measures must be analysed in terms of their efficiency and impact on the above-mentioned categories of people during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

Ministry for Education & Employment

• Launch of a freephone helpline ‘Nisimghek’ (+356 259 810 00) for all students in primary and secondary state education aimed at offering support in relation to social difficulties and curriculum. This is manned by the education psycho-social team according to the college, which is made up of counsellors, psychologists, career advisors and social workers.
• Extension of Scheme 9, which offers educational support to families in financial difficulties, following the closure of schools where lunches are still being delivered to students of families who benefit from the scheme. This will continue even during the Easter recess.
• For families who do not have access to internet facilities and technological equipment, packs of notes from school are being provided to students so that they can continue following the curriculum.
• As of next week, modems will be provided to families who do not have internet at home.
• National Agency for the provision of social and welfare services
• A decrease in office visits has been reported but clients are still making contact via telephone. Risk assessments have also decreased since people are not going out due to social distancing measures in place.
• Risk assessments are still being carried out over the phone and with the collaboration of the police in the police stations. Consent forms and risk assessments are exchanged via e-mail. In cases that warrant the presence of the risk assessors, risk assessors will go to the police stations wearing the appropriate protective gear.
• Services and support continue to be offered over the phone.
• Face-to-face supervised access visits have been stopped and are instead taking place online.
• In cases where face-to-face between client and social worker, contact is deemed necessary, the use of rooms with two-way mirrors are being utilised.
• Suspension of group sessions. Clients have been informed that they can still contact the service for individual support.
• The emergency shelter has not received new admissions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. An information session with all the residents about the procedures that will be followed in the shelter. The residents have been advised not to go out of the shelter, unless it is for a short walk in the vicinity. Routine hygiene practices have been adopted in the shelter, such as wiping of surfaces, door handles, switches, kitchen, bathrooms, and living areas, with the appropriate sanitising liquid. One of the bedrooms have been vacated and will be used for isolation purposes, should anyone be symptomatic of COVID-19 at the residence. Protective gear, such as protective gowns, head caps, protective glasses, gloves and masks have been provided to the shelter to be used should anyone be symptomatic in the shelter, and the protective gear will be used by those cleaning the areas with which the symptomatic person has had contact. The other residents and their children will be informed to stay in their living quarters until it is safe for them to go to other areas of the house. The health authorities will be contacted immediately to seek their guidance and support.
• A roster system has been adopted for the social workers and social support workers to ensure that 25% of the service is in the office, while the other professionals work from home.
• Supervision sessions for staff are being held over web-based programme for audio-visual communication.

Ministry for Social Accommodation

• In response to COVID-19 restrictions currently in place, the Ministry for Social Accommodation has extended the Private Rent Housing Benefit Scheme to victims of domestic violence which enables them to leave their homes as opposed to remaining confined with their perpetrators.
• To apply for this scheme, an application must be submitted to the Housing Authority together with either of the following: a police report, a report provided by social workers, evidence that they have been in prior care of private or public entities working in the field of domestic violence or any other proof that they have been living with abuse.

Ministry for Justice, Equality and Governance

The Ministry for Justice, Equality and Governance has through the following three entities taken the following measures:-

Law Courts

• With effect from 16 March, the Superintendent of Public Health ordered the closure of the Courts of Justice along with the respective registries - including the superior, inferior and appellate courts; any tribunal established by law operating from the building of the Courts of Justice; and any boards, commissions, committees or other entities, also operating from the same building of the courts, and before which any proceedings are heard. Despite this closure, the courts have nevertheless been given the power to order the hearing of urgent cases or of cases where the court deems that the public interest should prevail in having the case heard, including cases of domestic violence.
• This being said, only the accused, prosecuting officer, defence counsel and the deputy registrar can be present within the court room. In cases where the court orders the production of a witness and suspicion exists that the witness might be infected or was in mandatory quarantine, the testimony of such witness is currently being conducted via videoconferencing facilities.
• As a consequential measure, all legal and judicial times, including prescription in civil and in criminal matters and any peremptory time limits have been suspended until seven days after the Order for closure of the courts is lifted.
• Legal and judicial time-frames have been suspended.
• A number of legal notices have been issued in this regard

Legal Aid Agency

• The Criminal Court Registrar has provided the police headquarters with a list of available legal lawyers who are offering legal assistance according to a daily roster system.

Commission on Gender-based Violence and Domestic Violence

• The Commissioner has increased her visibility in the media, making various television appearances to raise awareness and offer information to the public.
• The Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms has launched an awareness-raising campaign.
• Ongoing online campaign on social media platforms which include emergency contact numbers e.g. police, national support line 179.

Relaunching of a radio campaign on several radio stations.

• Campaign with pharmacies across Malta and Gozo which involves providing them with business cards with contact numbers of national services and NGOs who offer support and services to victims of domestic violence.

NGOs

• Services are being offered online and via telephone.
• Use of secure and encrypted platforms for online sessions.
• Use of video tutorials and group chats for the continuation of projects for survivors and maintain contact.
• Staff are maintaining regular contact and checks in with its clients to combat the possible negative effects of isolation such as loneliness and depression.

Update May 2020

The spread of the new type of COVID-19 virus become a serious threat to public health and economic environment worldwide, Moldova being also affected as almost every state and this situation resulted in a huge change in society.

On 7 March 2020, Moldova reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 within its borders. The Government of Moldova declared a 60-day State of Emergency effective as of 16 March 2020. Starting on this date, all educational institutions, public venues, and stores except for grocery and pharmacies closed.

The restricted measures imposed by the state are aimed at stopping the rapid spread of the disease, but at the same time are presumed to have a huge negative impact in all the sectors and on the population.

Nevertheless, COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect women. As the fight against COVID-19 continues, an increasing number of women around the world are on the front line. To date, according to official data, it could be noticed how the outbreak affected women and men differently, the share of women declared infected representing 59% versus 41% infected men, out of the total 1289 infected persons (the data relates to 10 April 2020).

In times of crisis such as COVID-19 outbreak, women and girls are also proved to be at higher risk of intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence due to increased tensions in the household.

Being guided by international resources drafted as an answer to the increased request of the community based shelters across the countries for accurate information and guidance on how to plan, prepare and respond to this emerging public health threat, the Moldovan anti-violence community developed practical recommendations on how to deal with domestic violence cases during the pandemic.

These recommendations are intended for professionals with expertise in the field of preventing and combating domestic violence, as well as victims and potential victims of violence, including domestic violence, in order to ensure effective interventions in cases of violence in the context of COVID-19.

The main recommendations are the following:

1) In cases of domestic violence and violence against women, during the period of emergency, the best interest of the victim, provided in the fundamental international and national acts in the field of human rights, will be the basic principle in ensuring the intervention of the competent bodies.

2) The trust line for women and girls 0 800 8008 will work 24/24, 7 days a week, and is free and confidential.

3) Police staff, social workers and medical professionals who travel to the scene to intervene and provide assistance in cases of domestic violence and against women and to provide assistance to the victims, will be provided with and must wear individual protection (face mask, gloves, hand sanitizer, eye protection, waterproof robes/overalls).

4) In cases where persons reporting cases of domestic violence or family abusers are under mandatory self-isolation or come from the infected/declared close places, the Police employees will provide alternative measures to isolate the victim from the aggressor, without exposing the population to the risk of being infected (taking the victim to hotels/primary/secondary healthcare units, etc.).

5) The multidisciplinary teams that functioned at local level and the organisation representing the victim of violence will take all measures to ensure their emergency placement by identifying a temporary home.

6) In case of necessity, the victims will be placed on a term of 30 days by the support organisations in emergency apartments provided by the National Coalition “Life without violence in the family”.

7) Each woman and girl will have access to accessible and easily assimilated information on the forms of domestic violence and the actions they can take to prevent/stop the violence.

8) Online psychosocial and legal support should be available and accessible to women and girls who may be affected by COVID-19 and are, at the same time, victims of domestic violence, including hospitalisation in medical and healthcare institutions.

9) Informing children about the COVID-19 virus on the Child's Telephone 116111 during the counselling and information of children.

Furthermore, as a quick response to the COVID-19 outbreak, starting the first week of the emergency situation, the association of psychologists launched a new platform on Facebook – PSYCOVID Moldova - to facilitate the access to the psychological support services, offered voluntarily by professionals in the field of psychology. Moreover, it also posted the Guideline on “How to live with the feeling of worry and anxiety in a global time of uncertainty”, available publicly (PSYCOVID - Moldova - Grup de prim ajutor psihologic voluntar).

INITIATIVES PUT IN PLACE BY REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA N TO COUNTER THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY

The major priority during the COVID 19 pandemic was primarily, as a country strategy, to take measures to stop the spread of this infection and to prepare the health system for a prompt, efficient and appropriate response. At the same time, another dimension of concern was the economic / financial support of the population during the pandemic period following the declaration of the emergency situation.

It is necessary to point out that not only for the field of gender equality, this situation/this pandemic has brought certain challenges and difficulties to achieve, all areas of economic and social activity have been affected and certain actions have been taken by each sector to remedy the situation.

Decisions taken with an impact on gender equality include the following:

• Salary increases for medical and social staff
• During the state of emergency, the persons registered with unemployment status, including those returned from abroad, receive monthly, from the date of application, increased unemployment benefits (covering also the selfemployed people).
• Increasing the amount of social assistance during the state of emergency for vulnerable people and families with children
• Conducting the distance learning process
• Teleworking and declaring days off for all units in the budget sector and selfgoverning public institutions/authorities. The Government drafted the amendment for Labour Code to institutionalize the telework and sent it for the approving to Parliament.
• The subsidy mechanism established in order to support the entrepreneurial activity
• Increased the volume of resources for financing the minimum package of social services, in particular the personal assistant for adults and children (with a long-term impact).
• Strengthening the capacities of professionals in the social field, services and the food industry, public transport, police etc. in response to the COVID19 pandemic.

On May 15, the Extraordinary National Commission for Public Health met to approve new measures on the control of COVID-19 infection, in the context of the exit from the state of emergency on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

Members of the Commission declared a state of public health emergency at national level by 30 June, which calls for measures to respond to COVID-19 infection.

The INSTRUCTION on the establishment of the quarantine regime in localities was elaborated. This Instruction establishes the manner, criteria, procedure for establishing quarantine regime in the administrative-territorial units of level I, Bălţi municipality, Chisinau mun., ATU Gagauzia, as well as the measures to be adopted and executed by the respective local public administration authorities.

PRACTICAL GUIDE - Key measures to prevent COVID-19 infection in the workplace was elaborated. This guide is addressed to employers and employees of the national economy, who provide production, marketing and goods services for the population.

Starting May 16, scheduled medical services provided in hospital and primary care institutions, which were limited during the state of emergency, to prevent the spread of the new Coronavirus infection, were gradually relaunched.

Likewise, several exceptions were introduced related to the observance of the self-isolation regime for a period of 14 days in the determined places, of persons crossing the state border on the way to enter the Republic of Moldova, if they do not show clinical signs of respiratory infection or fever.

Starting with June 1, 2020, will be resumed the activity of the markets in Chisinau and Bălți and the activity of libraries and museums, without organizing mass cultural events. From June 15, the sports and fitness halls resume their activity, without locker room, bathroom, swimming pool, as well as the public alimentation units, with the strict observance of the public health measures.

Women are those who are the most exposed to COVID-19 due to the tasks they perform because of existing gender roles within families and society. Women perform most of the health care and nursing, are implicated in the unpaid care in their families and bear most of the responsibility of child-rearing, when schools are suspended. Also, considering the current situation, women migrants are also affected not only by health-related risks, but also socio-economic risks of being stigmatized and left without payed work. Besides this, elderly women are in the risk group, which is also may be aggravated since there are a lot of elderly women living alone because of migration abroad of their family members.

In this regard, UN Women Moldova started to urgently support the national response to the COVID, by implementing a range of initiatives, such as:

Procurement of protecting materials:

Essential goods and protective equipment delivered to 15 shelters and 250 women subjects of violence and their kids, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among staff and beneficiaries, including food baskets. This activity was implemented in partnership with UNFPA.

3,279 social assistants and social workers received personal protection equipment to respond to the needs of most vulnerable, with the financial support of Sweden.

550 members of Multidisciplinary teams in 70 villages from two districts of the country (Cahul and Ungheni) received protection items; 800 vulnerable families where domestic violence against women and/or children have been previously recorded, received food supplies and hygienic items and educational kits for kids in need (around 600 children). This was a joint initiative of UN Women and UNICEF, funded by the European Union, in the framework of the Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni Districts Programme.

Multidisciplinary teams from the north part of the country in the upcoming period will be equipped to ensure a better response to cases of gender-based violence within COVID-19, within the MPTF initiative.

Rapid need assessments at community level launched:

launched rapid assessment to identify the immediate and long term the needs of women and men from local communities and from underrepresented groups as a response to the effects of the new type of coronavirus COVID-19.

launched the rapid assessment on Gender Based Violence to collect data and information on the victims’ needs during and after the state of emergency expiry and evaluate the systemic response to the cases of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 crisis. The assessment will be available by July 2020 and is undertaking in partnership with MHLSP and La Strada NGO.

On-line psychological, legal, and multidisciplinary counselling services (for May-July period) launched for women victims and survivors of gender-based violence, including women migrants and women living with HIV/AIDS across the country, women with disabilities including in Transnistria region.

As an outcome of the informative session on exchanging good practices among organizations active in the field of domestic violence and in preventing and combating gender based violence from Romania (ALEG and PAS Alternativ NGOs) and the Republic of Moldova (National Coalition „Life without Violence”) in the context of COVID-19, a Brief/Guide on the good practices, challenges and opportunities was developed and will be widely shared serve as a reference document for CSOs, and women networks in scaling up support to the Covid-affected women in Moldova and Romania.

Men Engage – a new social media challenge encourages equal participation of men in domestic and childcare activities was launched by UNFPA Moldova and UN Women Moldova. The period of social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 determined many couples in Moldova and around the world to change their habits at home. The social media platforms revealed many examples of men, who got involved, along with their partners, in-home, and child care activities. They participated in cooking activities, changing diapers, or washing dishes.

Members of the Commission declared a state of public health emergency at national level by 30 June, which calls for measures to respond to COVID-19 infection.

The INSTRUCTION on the establishment of the quarantine regime in localities was elaborated. This Instruction establishes the manner, criteria, procedure for establishing quarantine regime in the administrative-territorial units of level I, Bălţi municipality, Chisinau mun., ATU Gagauzia, as well as the measures to be adopted and executed by the respective local public administration authorities.

PRACTICAL GUIDE - Key measures to prevent COVID-19 infection in the workplace was elaborated. This guide is addressed to employers and employees of the national economy, who provide production, marketing and goods services for the population.

Starting May 16, scheduled medical services provided in hospital and primary care institutions, which were limited during the state of emergency, to prevent the spread of the new Coronavirus infection, were gradually relaunched.

Likewise, several exceptions were introduced related to the observance of the self-isolation regime for a period of 14 days in the determined places, of persons crossing the state border on the way to enter the Republic of Moldova, if they do not show clinical signs of respiratory infection or fever.

Starting with June 1, 2020, will be resumed the activity of the markets in Chisinau and Bălți and the activity of libraries and museums, without organizing mass cultural events. From June 15, the sports and fitness halls resume their activity, without locker room, bathroom, swimming pool, as well as the public alimentation units, with the strict observance of the public health measures.

Women are those who are the most exposed to COVID-19 due to the tasks they perform because of existing gender roles within families and society. Women perform most of the health care and nursing, are implicated in the unpaid care in their families and bear most of the responsibility of child-rearing, when schools are suspended. Also, considering the current situation, women migrants are also affected not only by health-related risks, but also socio-economic risks of being stigmatized and left without payed work. Besides this, elderly women are in the risk group, which is also may be aggravated since there are a lot of elderly women living alone because of migration abroad of their family members.

In this regard, UN Women Moldova started to urgently support the national response to the COVID, by implementing a range of initiatives, such as:

Procurement of protecting materials:

Essential goods and protective equipment delivered to 15 shelters and 250 women subjects of violence and their kids, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among staff and beneficiaries, including food baskets. This activity was implemented in partnership with UNFPA.

3,279 social assistants and social workers received personal protection equipment to respond to the needs of most vulnerable, with the financial support of Sweden.

550 members of Multidisciplinary teams in 70 villages from two districts of the country (Cahul and Ungheni) received protection items; 800 vulnerable families where domestic violence against women and/or children have been previously recorded, received food supplies and hygienic items and educational kits for kids in need (around 600 children). This was a joint initiative of UN Women and UNICEF, funded by the European Union, in the framework of the Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni Districts Programme.

Multidisciplinary teams from the north part of the country in the upcoming period will be equipped to ensure a better response to cases of gender-based violence within COVID-19, within the MPTF initiative.

Rapid need assessments at community level launched:

launched rapid assessment to identify the immediate and long term the needs of women and men from local communities and from underrepresented groups as a response to the effects of the new type of coronavirus COVID-19.

launched the rapid assessment on Gender Based Violence to collect data and information on the victims’ needs during and after the state of emergency expiry and evaluate the systemic response to the cases of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 crisis. The assessment will be available by July 2020 and is undertaking in partnership with MHLSP and La Strada NGO.

On-line psychological, legal, and multidisciplinary counselling services (for May-July period) launched for women victims and survivors of gender-based violence, including women migrants and women living with HIV/AIDS across the country, women with disabilities including in Transnistria region.

As an outcome of the informative session on exchanging good practices among organizations active in the field of domestic violence and in preventing and combating gender based violence from Romania (ALEG and PAS Alternativ NGOs) and the Republic of Moldova (National Coalition „Life without Violence”) in the context of COVID-19, a Brief/Guide on the good practices, challenges and opportunities was developed and will be widely shared serve as a reference document for CSOs, and women networks in scaling up support to the Covid-affected women in Moldova and Romania.

Men Engage – a new social media challenge encourages equal participation of men in domestic and childcare activities was launched by UNFPA Moldova and UN Women Moldova. The period of social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 determined many couples in Moldova and around the world to change their habits at home. The social media platforms revealed many examples of men, who got involved, along with their partners, in-home, and child care activities. They participated in cooking activities, changing diapers, or washing dishes.

There has been no upsurge in violence against women in Monaco to date.

The vigilance of the Government of Monaco and civil society remains constant, however:

The Department of Social Action and Assistance (DASO), which is always accessible to the public, continues to provide victims whose situation justifies it with the necessary financial aid, psychological assistance and emergency accommodation.

The Department has established links with the Association of Victims of Criminal Offences (AVIP) and the Public Safety Department (police), which are involved in caring for victims of violence.

The Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women's Rights has also worked to organise a joint reflection aimed at proposing additional measures to those already in place.

An update was given on the exceptional operation set up within each entity to comply with the containment order (presence of staff present or contactable, places available to receive victims). The objective remains to be reactive and co-ordinated during this particular period to ensure the best possible care for victims of violence whose situation is known.

It may be noted that support, in particular psychological support, is provided to all residents of the Principality, who may contact the COVID 19 follow-up unit by telephone, whose service is accessible 7/7 days from 9 am to 6 pm.

An information campaign dedicated to domestic violence during periods of confinement has been broadcast on various communication media (for example on the "covid19.mc" website, on the local television channel, etc.) and on social networks to raise awareness among the general public of the increased risk of domestic violence during periods of confinement.

The aim is to remind neighbours of the importance of reporting any suspicion of violence to the police and to inform victims of the assistance and emergency measures available in the event of domestic, gender-based, sexual and intra-family violence.

A summary sheet containing information and contact numbers in case of problems is thus widely communicated.

Taking into account the difficulty for a victim to telephone and consult the appropriate websites during a period of confinement, it is now possible to contact the police by sending an e-mail to the address "[email protected]" (in addition to the telephone number "17").

It is worth pointing out that the number of police officers and the small size of the territory enable the law enforcement agencies to intervene in a very short space of time.

The international freephone number 0800 91 90 10 remains available 7 days a week to all victims of violence who are on Monegasque territory, to provide them with free information on the care they require.

Lastly, a system has been set up to facilitate reporting to pharmacies. The principality's pharmacies have published the relevant information on their premises and their staff have been informed to provide assistance to a person who claims to be a victim.

With regard to the protection of women in the light of the economic crisis linked to COVID 19, the government has taken exceptional and temporary general measures. Those measures were aimed at encouraging teleworking, prohibiting dismissals during the period of confinement, guaranteeing employees and self-employed workers a minimum income and granting parents compensated sick leave for childcare.

Gender aspects of measures taken during the COVID virus pandemic 19 (updated July 2020)

All countries in Europe and the world have faced various challenges in protecting their citizens from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was concluded that during emergencies and pandemics, violence against women and domestic violence increases due to isolation, stress, increased nervousness, etc. All data showed that the number of reported cases of domestic violence was on the rise during the COVID 19 pandemic, both in Montenegro and around the world.

The outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic increases the already high level of gender-based violence, especially due to greater economic stress in households in times of crisis combined with social isolation. World data indicates that 1 in 3 women in the world have experienced gender-based violence.

In Montenegro, the national SOS line for the period March - April 2020 registered 20% more reports compared to the same period last year.

Montenegro has recognised the importance of multidisciplinary, multisectoral and coordinated actions to be pursued by all institutions dealing with protection against violence against women and domestic violence, while respecting the rule of law, democracy and basic human rights.

The Government of Montenegro, in co-operation with relevant institutions, has taken a number of measures when it comes to combating the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The National Coordination Body for Communicable Diseases offered three packages of economic assistance for those activities that were affected by the crisis, then favourable credit lines of the Investment Development Fund (IDF), subsidies for salaries and tax relief, as well as certain financial assistance in the form of food and personal hygiene packages.

Gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls remains one of the key issues when it comes to achieving gender equality and women’s rights. This emergency has shown us that special attention must be paid to combating violence against women as well as discrimination, hence this is our priority and objective that we will pursue in the future aimed at enabling women to achieve their full potential.

In the light of the above, the priority of the Government of Montenegro in times of crisis is to provide a complementary approach and offer an effective institutional response aimed at maintaining functionality of institutions and the health system in assisting women victims of violence, ensuring they have the right to leave their homes and seek assistance if necessary, although their movement is limited.

On 28 March 2020, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, through all media in Montenegro, has joined the EU Institute for Gender Equality in Vilnius and the Council of Europe Expert Team - GREVIO in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in drawing the attention of the public and all relevant institutions that in the time of a relentless fight against the COVID19 pandemic, we must not lose sight of the fact that the current situation may further affect women and children victims of violence and insisted on taking the necessary measures to prevent the escalation of domestic violence.

As part of the national campaign “Stay Home” launched to prevent the spread of the infection, the Government of Montenegro in co-operation with NGOs engaged in gender-based violence has simultaneously launched the campaign “Safe at Home” as a first step in combating gender-based violence and in support of victims of violence.

In the meantime, the GREVIO Committee (Council of Europe Expert Group for Monitoring the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention) requested the signatory countries to produce a Report on measures taken in reference to the gender-based violence in the context of the COVID 19. The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights provided the inputs for the Report for addressing the gender - based violence in the context of COVID 19.

UNDP in Montenegro has facilitated and undertaken numerous activities to support government institutions in their response to the expected increase in gender-based violence in Montenegro in the context of COVD 19.

At the first meeting of the Technical Group for the implementation of the project “Ending Violence against Women in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Law Enforcement, Changing Attitudes” Phase II, held on 6 April 2020, via the ZOOM application (online), both due to the COVID 19 and introduced security measures by the National Coordinating Body (prohibition of assembly, social distance, reduced mobility, etc.), implemented by UNDP in Montenegro, discussed current developments in the newly emerged situation, and the necessary measures to provide an adequate institutional response to gender-based violence in the context of a pandemic. The following conclusions were reached at the meeting:

• Urgent establishment of a team for drafting an annex to the Protocol. The team should consist of representatives of the following institutions: Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Police Administration, Ministry of Health, State Prosecution Service, NGO - SOS Niksic and the NGO - Safe Women’s House. The draft annex is to be submitted to the National Coordinating Body and the Operational Headquarters for possible revision, amendment and adoption.

• Development of an analysis of the current situation regarding the application of the Protocol and the barrier in the context of COVID 19. Development of a questionnaire for the Misdemeanour Court to map the problems that the court is facing when processing cases of violence at the time of the pandemics.

• Call for project proposals to be in line with the findings of the analysis and complementary calls for grant programs for the services of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. Provide support to organisations that have not formalized the licensing.

• Develop a telephone application to facilitate the reporting of violence.

• Request that the State Prosecution Service, Police, Centres for Social Work and courts respond urgently to reported and prosecuted cases of violence.

• Map the needs of non-governmental organisations in terms of providing support to victims of violence and the implementation of socio-economic measures.

Key stakeholders (ministries, Police Administration, Supreme Prosecution Service, Ombudsman, health institutions, and NGOs dealing with gender issues) gathered in smaller working groups and worked intensively to deliver several useful results regarding the conclusions reached at the meeting.

In order for the state to improve its assistance to the victims of domestic violence, with the support of UNDP in Montenegro and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, it has developed a Crisis Action Plan for specialised service providers for victims of violence in accordance with the Istanbul Convention.

This Crisis Action Plan is a joint action plan of the state and non-governmental organisations that provide specialized support services for victims of violence against women and domestic violence.

It defines in more detail the functioning of the Shelter and confidential persons as well as providing support to victims of violence during pandemic measures, in conditions of implementing measures of self-isolation and restricted movement, and in accordance with the Recommendations of the National Coordination Body.

In order to better protect both the physical and mental health of victims, non-governmental organisations with experience in providing psycho-social support, legal support, counselling and therapy have been involved in the process.

In addition, Recommendations for the implementation of the Protocol on the Treatment, Prevention and Protection against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence have been provided.

Recommendations for the implementation of the Protocol provide guidance and resolve dilemmas regarding the implementation of the Protocol and the actions of representatives of institutions and the non-governmental sector during the effectiveness of measures against the spread of the pandemic.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has instructed all Social Work Centres to be accessible to victims of domestic violence at all times and to promote the operation of the shelter and the national SOS hotline. Moreover, all Centres for Social Work should continue fostering good co-operation with all institutions, and especially with the Police Administration and act with due care.

In co-operation with the Government, the UNDP developed a digital solution for emergency responses in cases of violence, i.e. mobile application “Be Safe”, which was available for Android and IOS system. The application allows victims of violence to send a request via SMS to the national SOS lines, or other confidential organisations/persons on the basis of a personal request.

In addition to reaching help at just one click, the application “Be Safe” sends an automatic message to the national SOS telephone line containing the phone number from which the call was made and the exact location of the victim, thus achieving multidisciplinary co-operation between the state and NGOs. 

In co-operation with key institutions, UNDP conducted an awareness-raising campaign to address the increase in gender-based violence in emergencies and this was a good occasion for the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights to remind the public of the legal protection and services available to them. The application “Be Safe” was also promoted as part of the campaign as an additional instrument to support victims of gender-based violence.

Furthermore, by acting in this way, the Government of Montenegro and relevant institutions responded to the challenges posed by the Council of Europe (Commission for Gender Equality, European Parliament and UN bodies - UN WOMEN), which sent their recommendations on the actions of member states during the pandemic. COVID-19.

In April 2020, a two-day online training was conducted for civil servants - contact persons for gender equality from the national and local level, on the topic: Gender Equality.

II. The Coordinating Committee for the Coordination, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of Policies and Measures to Prevent and Combat All Forms of Violence Covered by the Istanbul Convention has adopted an Action Plan to Monitor the Implementation of the Recommendations of the GREVIO Committee and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). In this way, the Coordination Committee will monitor the way in which institutions dealing with protection against violence implement the recommendations of the GREVIO Committee. A representative of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights is a member of this Committee.

III. Due to the COVID-19, the Government of Montenegro, with the help of the UN system in Montenegro, conducted a rapid assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic situation in the country (April 2020). Although sexual exploitation and abuse of children are not assessed as such, the wider phenomenon of violence against children and gender-based violence is made up of the following findings: because of restrictive measures taken in Montenegro to combat the spread of COVID-19, there is a high risk over women and children in the country to increase en masse. The national SOS line reported a 27% increase in calls in March after the country announced locking measures. In 2019, there were 2,661 calls, while in 2020, from 1 January to 21 June 2020, there were 1,446 calls. During the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. from 15 March to 3 June 2020, there were 786 calls.

In the first week of April, the Women’s Safe House received an increasing number of calls for support and requests for accommodation in its shelter. In addition, the Women’s Safe House reported an increase in former clients ’requests for food or some financial support due to the loss of work experienced by that former client or the women who contact them by phone. Centres for social work and non-governmental organisations that provide services to victims of domestic violence have reported several calls/requests for help during the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures introduced to combat the spread of the virus limit the possibilities for reporting and protection, and victims believe they should stay in their homes even when at risk of violence. Since children do not access the services to the same extent, reporting violence is more challenging. Stress, disruption of social and safety networks, reduced access to services and family separation have increased the risk of violence for women and girls. NGO’s working with child victims or witnesses of violence report an increase in such incidents as well as changes in their nature, as psychological violence including quarrels/partners, but also parents and children, especially adolescents, has become visible. The COVID-19 crisis has already shown a significant increase in the call of victims of domestic violence to the national internet line, it is important to find out whether GBV has also increased among women with disabilities in Montenegro.

II Key activities of the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights - Department for Gender Equality in the first six months of 2020

Montenegro has for the first time developed the Gender Equality Index, which was presented on 29 January 2020 in Podgorica. The introduction of the Gender Equality Index in Montenegro is an initiative that aims to address the existing challenges in assessing the level of achievement set by the Action Plan for Achieving Gender Equality for the period 2017-2021, or the National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2030. The Gender Equality Index was calculated in 2019 and amounted to 55 (out of 67,4 at the level of the European Union).

Montenegro’s Gender Equality Index according to the EU accepted methodology was developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and implemented within the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funded by the European Union through the IPA 2014 project “Support to Anti-Discrimination and Gender Equality Policies” implemented in partnership by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the UNDP Office in Montenegro. The Statistical Office of Montenegro - MONSTAT, following 31 indicators, calculated the gender equality index for 6 domains: work, money, knowledge, time, power and health.

In August 2018, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy launched a new regional program in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia titled the “Democratic Initiative in the Western Balkans”. As part of this program, with the support of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights - Department for Gender Equality, the office of this foundation in Montenegro launched the initiative “Discriminated women - return from the margins”, the first/trial phase of which began in late 2019. The program organizes activities for women from this target group, councillors from the municipal assemblies selected by this project, as well as journalists and editors of Montenegrin media. Thus, on 2 March 2020, a workshop was held in Podgorica for media representatives in order to become familiar with the concepts of gender equality, prevention of discrimination, and work on identifying problems which women from marginalized groups face and the role of the media in overcoming these problems. The workshop was attended by 13 representatives of various local media.

The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights - Department for Gender Equality, based on data submitted by relevant institutions identified as stakeholders and partners in the implementation of given measures, in March 2020, prepared a Report on the implementation of the Action Plan for Gender Equality 2017-2020 for 2019. At the session of the Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of the Action Plan for Achieving Gender Equality held electronically on 16 March 2020, the consent of all representatives of institutions to members of the Commission on the text of the Report was obtained. The aforementioned Report was adopted at the session of the Government of Montenegro held on 19 March 2020.

The technical group for the implementation of the project “Ending Violence against Women in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Law Enforcement, Changing Attitudes”, Phase II, implemented by the UNDP Office in Montenegro, which includes the Head of the Gender Equality Department, held its first meeting on 6 April 2020, through the ZOOM application (online), due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as due to the established security measures by the National Coordination Body, which discussed current events in the new situation, and the necessary measures to provide adequate institutional response to gender-based violence in the context of a pandemic. It was agreed to make an annex to the Protocol on the conduct of relevant institutions in cases of violence in the context of COVID-19. The Technical Group sent a request to the State Prosecution Service, Police Administration, Centres for social work and the courts for an urgent reaction to the reported and processed cases of violence.

On 27 February 2020, the Commission for Allocation of Funds for Financing Projects/Programs of Non-Governmental Organisations in the Field of Gender Equality of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights announced a Public call for Financial Support to Projects/Programs in 2020 titled “For a stronger society from the angle of gender equality.” Due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline for submitting applications for this said Public Competition has been extended to 27 April 2020. The project evaluation process by independent evaluators is pending. In accordance with the Decree on the election of representatives of Non-Governmental Organisations to working bodies of state administration authorities and conducting public discussions in the development of laws and strategies, in connection with the obligation from the Law on Non-Governmental Organisations, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights on 3 April 2020, issued a public call to interested non-governmental organisations dealing with the protection of women’s human rights and gender equality for consultations in order to develop a Sectoral Analysis to identify proposals for priority areas of public interest and the necessary funds to finance projects and programs of non-governmental organisations in the field of gender equality for 2021. The suggestions submitted by the civil sector were taken into account when drafting the Sector Analysis Proposal for the area of gender equality, which was then submitted to the relevant ministry.

A two-day online training was conducted for civil servants - contact persons for gender equality from the national and local level on the topic Gender Equality in April 2020.

In May, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, began the process of conducting an external evaluation of the third strategic document of the Strategic Action Plan for Gender Equality (hereinafter referred to as: the PAPRR). The evaluation of PAPRR will provide independent and systematic assessments of the success of the implemented activities envisaged by this document, taking into account the fact of the need to apply a new methodological approach to the development of strategic documents. In order to obtain quality inputs and identify shortcomings and challenges during the implementation of the third PAPRR 2017-2021, 6 focus groups were organized during June 2020, with 41 participants, which discussed the effectiveness, relevance, sustainability and other aspects of the current Action Plan for Achieving Gender Equality 2017-2021. The focus group was led by an independent evaluator hired by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro.

In June 2020, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the Institute for Education organized a workshop for teachers and other employees in the education sector on the topic: Respect for gender equality as an instrument of greater security in education, for 20 participants.

During this period, the Department for Gender Equality participated in the development of the Action Plan for the implementation of UPR recommendations and at the same time prepared a report on the implementation of these recommendations in the part related to Women in order to develop a Medium-term Report on the implementation of UPR recommendations.

In July 2020, Parliament of Montenegro adopted the new Law on same-sex life partnership. This is the most important law for the LGBTQ community and their rights.

• May 2020
• April 2020

   

Impact & mitigating measures on gender-based and domestic violence (GBV/DV) (including available data/indicators on GBV/DV incidents during this period) and any other measures taken to prevent violence against women, protect its victims, prosecute perpetrators as part of a comprehensive approach as required by the Istanbul Convention (where applicable).

Impact & mitigating measures on other relevant aspects, including notably: sexual health and reproductive rights: women as workers (including on women working on the “frontline” and on the impact on women’s employment/job losses); women’s role in unpaid care and domestic work; vulnerable groups of women (older women, migrant women, women with disabilities for example).

In these times of crisis where people are in isolation in their homes and experience psychological stress, it is of utmost importance that there is sufficient attention for the prevention of domestic violence.

In the Netherlands, victims of domestic violence can, at any time, contact a specialised domestic violence hotline (‘Veilig Thuis’) for professional and anonymous advice on domestic violence and any unsafe situations at home. In cases of emergency, they can call the emergency hotline (‘112’) for immediate assistance from the police.

There have been no signals (yet) about a shortage of shelter for women (and their children) who need a safe haven. The government is closely monitoring the situation at national level, together with all organisations involved. Municipalities monitor the situation at local level and are ready to expand the capacity if needed.

The Public Prosecution Service (‘Openbaar Ministerie’) is prioritising cases involving (sexual) violence and vulnerable victims. The police are closely monitoring cases involving domestic violence and has sufficient capacity for an effective response should the number of such cases increase.

The government published advice for municipalities to follow the guidelines for people who need shelter less strictly under the current circumstances.

The government is launching a campaign aimed at increasing public awareness of domestic violence during the corona crisis, particularly for victims and bystanders, which will be publicised on TV, radio, social media and through other relevant campaign materials.

The government is working on additional guidelines for more coherence between existing guidelines for all professionals that come in direct contact with vulnerable families, with the aim to increase their awareness of possible signs of domestic violence and how to report any signs or incidents. The government will publish these guidelines soon.

Impact and mitigating measures on gender-based violence and domestic violence (GBV/DV)

• The Norwegian Government has taken a number of measures to prevent transmission of the coronavirus and protect the population. On 12 March, far reaching measures were announced, including the closing of schools and children’s day care centres. In addition, a number of public services have been closed, among them the administrative services provided by the police. Services for victims in general are mostly open, but often based on online and telephone consultations to reduce risk of contamination.
• The number of persons contacting the police, the shelters and the round-the-clock helpline for victims have decreased during the crisis. There is a concern that this is a consequence of the measures taken to combat the virus.

Shelters (crisis centres)

The municipalities are obliged to provide accessible shelters for residents who are exposed to domestic violence, cf. the Crisis Centre Act § 1.

To be able to keep the shelters open during the crisis, the Norwegian Government has decided that employees at shelters are defined as personnel in critical social functions. This means that employees of shelters are allowed to send their children to kindergarten and school, even if kindergartens and schools are closed (for the majority of the children).

The 45 shelters in Norway report on a weekly basis on the use of the shelters during the crisis, compared to the use of the shelters in a normal situation. Reports from week 14, with numbers from 44 out of 45 shelters, show that for 55 percent (24 centres) numbers are lower than usually, 34 percent (15 centres) say that the numbers are as usual, and 12 percent (5 centres) say they have more users than normally. No centres report that they are full.

Telephone helpline

• In October 2019 the Norwegian government set up at state-wide round-the-clock (24/7) telephone helpline free of charge to provide advice to victims of sexual and domestic violence. The helpline is run by the shelter movement and the shelter in Oslo.
• The helpline reported fewer calls in March 2020 than in previous months, even with an extensive information campaign in March. So far in April, the number of calls is however increasing.

Police

When the government introduced measures to prevent transmission of the coronavirus and protect the population, the Police Directorate immediately established an apparatus for identifying and handling the consequences of the pandemic and the measures introduced. Measures taken by the Police Directorate are:

• The Natinal Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) has been commissioned to prepare weekly intelligence reports describing the most likely developments. Already in the first report NCIS wrote as follows: “The incidence of physical and mental violence in close relationships is likely to increase, especially if the situation becomes prolonged. In vulnerable families, problems are likely to intensify.”
• Weekly statistics n reported crime, including domestic violence, are issued.
• The police website has been updated, especially with information on how the public can contact the police. Media is also used for disseminating information. The police districts have actively used the “Police online patrol” to provide up-to-date information.
• The Police Directorate has given clear guidelines to the police districts to pay special attention to cases of domestic violence, both new cases and cases already under investigation.
• The police districts are requested to work closely with local authorities on measures, especially with the child welfare services.
• There has been a strengthened dialgue between the Police Directorate and different departments in the police districts, such as the centres for crime victims, the “Barnahus”, the police online patrols and the SARA co-ordinators, to exchange experiences and knowledge on measures implemented locally.
• The police can be reached by the emergency number (112), the nationwide telephone number (02800) or the police district telephone number. The Police Directorate is gradually considering reopening the public receptions. This will increase availability and opportunity for personal attendance.

Health Services

• The necessary services including sexual assault centres and emergency health services are still available and accessible 24/7.
• GPs and other health personnel, as well as primary and specialised services for mental health problems, disorders and substance abuse are still available, mostly based on online and telephone consultations to reduce risks of contamination.
• Maternal health services are still available and the Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends municipalities to display the local telephone line operated by nurse/midwife on their home page.
• Public health information about intimate partner violence is presented through several official sites, among these helsenorge.no, https://helsenorge.no/koronavirus/hjelp-ved-vold-i-naere-relasjoner.

Help lines and chat services are operating to meet the needs from the exposed.

The Norwegian National Plan for health preparedness in crisis includes a number of competency environments with responsibility to provide advice both to the authorities and to front line staff working with victims of violence in an inter-sectorial context, namely the Norwegian Centre on Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS, https://www.nkvts.no/) and five Regional Resource Centres on violence, traumatic stress and suicide prevention (RVTS, https://rvtsost.no/). In addition, the Norwegian Directorate of Health has an extensive collaboration with other research and resource centres including the National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (NSSF, https://www.med.uio.no/klinmed/english/research/centres/nssf/) among others.

Information

• Several information campaigns have been launched to inform the public about where they can access help in a situation of violence. This information has been translated into English and is available on the Government’s Corona information page and is disseminated on social media. The messages are directed to victims of violence, those who are worried they may commit violence and those who suspect that someone around them is vulnerable.

https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/law-and-order/lov-og-rett--satsing/vold-i-nare-relasjoner/seek-help-if-you-experience-violence/id2696812/

• The Internet site dinutvei.no (your way out) is a national guide for assistance, information and knowledge available on rape and violence, both violence within the family and violence between previous or current spouses or partners. The webpage has information in 13 languages, including Sami, and is operated by the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS) on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The webpage had around 10,000 users over a three week period. This has been relatively stable during the Corona situation. https://dinutvei.no/

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy as the national co-ordinating mechanism for gender equality issues, stressing the importance to maintain continuity in the co-ordination of all the services that provide support to women victims of violence in the emergency situation in this period, prepared a national digital campaign. The campaign will focus on:

• a short video with key messages (what to do, where to report, what services are available, etc.) and take audio statements from responsible persons working on this issue in the centres for social work, police and civil society (SOS line). The video will be shared on social networks, on the websites of institutions and the civil sector, etc.
• preparing a leaflet that will also include key messages and information for the victims: where to report the violence, seek psychosocial support, etc. The leaflet will be available on social networks, and also will be available and distributed in pharmacies and larger markets, so that the information will be disseminated and will reach every citizen.

In accordance with the measures and activities for prevention of the spread of COVID-19 (Corona virus) adopted by the Government of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is taking concrete measures and activities in order for victims of domestic violence to receive appropriate assistance and protection.

In order to co-ordinate the actions of the institutions at the local level, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy would like to inform you, that the victims of domestic violence to receive help, support and protection from domestic violence should first contact the National Free SOS line for victims of domestic violence, which provides 24-hour free, timely and confidential information on victim protection and telephone counseling for victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence.

In cases where there is knowledge of endangering the life and health of the citizens as a result of domestic violence, victims should report to the nearest police station or the responsible Centre for Social Work, regardless of curfew. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy also informed all municipalities on the territory of the Republic of Northern Macedonia about the manner and need for urgency in acting and the availability of services for victims of domestic violence. Currently, the state services available to victims of violence against women and domestic violence amount to 18 specialised services for victims of violence against women and domestic violence opened by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

A campaign is underway to prevent and protect against domestic violence in a state of emergency COVID-19, which will contain the basic information for reporting domestic violence, i.e. where the victim should turn for help, support, counselling and protection.

In terms of statistics, in the first quarter of 2020, the number of newly-registered victims of domestic violence was 329, compared to one quarter of 2019, where the number of newly-identified victims was 400.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy monitors the situation of victims of violence and domestic violence and will continue to take concrete measures to protect victims and the competent institutions working on the issue of violence against women and domestic violence.

The deprivation of certain rights resulting from the current state of pandemic and from the regulations limiting free movement may prove particularly difficult for persons experiencing violence within the family. A change in the manner and forms of ensuring assistance to individuals and families experiencing violence results from the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and the obligation to ensure the health security of victims of violence as well as of representatives of services and institutions dedicated to combating violence within the family.

Polish legal regulations providing for a system of assisting victims of violence within the family have been implemented for years. These solutions are fully in operation in the time of pandemic. At the level of each municipality, the assistance is ensured through interdisciplinary activities of various local institutions. The network of facilities providing shelter to the victims of violence within the family continues to operate, for example: specialist support centres for the victims of violence within the family, crisis intervention centres, homes for mothers with underage children and pregnant women.

Regardless, additional measures are currently implemented, such as:

• Since the alienation related to the current state of pandemic and the regulations limiting free movement may prove particularly difficult for persons experiencing violence within the family, on 3 April 2020, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy issued an appeal to the municipal (gmina) and district (powiat) authorities, recalling the obligation to react to all acts of violence within the family. It was underlined that it is clear that ensuring efficient functioning of local institutions and organisations may be particularly difficult at this time, however, victims of violence within the family should be certain that they can count on the support of local institutions. While urging for the continuity of the activities ensuring the protection of victims against violence, it was pointed out that the spread of the COVID-19 virus forces a change in the manner and forms of assistance. The necessity to engage in contacts with the families which have recently been covered by the assistance measures was stressed. This is in order to determine if the current general situation has not negatively affected the safety of the people who were victims of the violence in the past. In addition, it was stressed that the families in relation to which the “Blue Card” procedure has been initiated - in particular as result of the violence against children - must be protected and monitored on an ongoing basis and by all means.
• The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has issued the Instruction on the method of organising units providing shelter, such as: specialist support centres for the victims of violence within the family, crisis intervention centres, homes for mothers with underage children and pregnant women, crisis intervention centres, support centres providing 24-hour care, in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The instruction contains recommendations regarding the organisation of work of the institutions, as well as the organisation of the communal life of people who stay in these institutions, to ensure their safety.
• The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has developed an instruction regarding the operation of the institutions providing assistance to the victims of violence within the family, which was submitted to local governments. The instruction:

1. recommends continuing the assistance to the victims of violence within the family as part of the work carried out by interdisciplinary teams and working groups, which operate in each municipality. The instruction recommends carrying out meetings of interdisciplinary teams and working groups by electronic means of communication, as far as possible;
2. recommends to appoint one representative of the working group as a contact point for the victim of violence within the family (social workers are preferred) and one representative of the working group as a contact point for the perpetrator (a Police officer is preferred), and to carry out ongoing monitoring of the family situation by telephone calls or the available electronic means of communication, as far as possible;
3. recommends obliging the victim of violence within the family and undergoing the “Blue Card” procedure to report on his/her current situation by telephone in order to intervene if necessary;
4. recommends carrying out an analysis and inform the victims of violence within the family – using the various means of communication about the municipal or district institutions and facilities which provide specialist assistance (i.e. psychological, legal), in particular, specialist assistance by telephone or by electronic means of communication;
5. considering requirements related to the sanitary safety of the families covered by the assistance, as well as of the representatives of the services, the instruction indicates that all contacts should be carried out using intermediate methods of communication. However, if necessary, direct meetings between members of the working group with the victim of violence within the family or the perpetrator, as well as visits are permitted (ensuring compliance with all the sanitary safety requirements in force related to the protection against SARSCoV-2).

• The instruction pays particular attention to the necessity of ensuring full protection and an absolute necessity to carry out ongoing monitoring of the situation of the families covered by the “Blue Card” procedure with regards to children experiencing violence within the family.
• As formerly, it is possible to obtain the assistance by calling to the numerous local and national helplines for the victims of violence. One of the helplines includes the toll-free, 24-hour, national helpline for persons seeking support, available at 800 120 002. The helpline is managed by one of the non-governmental organisations and financed from the State budget. The helpline is available 24 hours/day, seven days/week. Consultations in English and Russian are also provided at select hours. The legal advice centre (through phone) is available on select days. All calls are free of charge.
• Voivodeship offices were obliged to establish databases related to ongoing assistance to persons experiencing violence within the family, at the local level:
• a database concerning the current operation of the institutions providing shelter to the victims of violence within the family in the given voivodeship, in particular information if the facilities are ready to provide support in the form of shelter and if these facilities have developed internal procedures to ensure safety related to the spread of the COVID19 virus, including procedures for admittance of new persons to the institutions;
• a database concerning the specialist counselling offered (in particular psychological or legal) to the victims of violence, in particular by remote means of communication, i.e. through telephone or email.

Both databases are available at the websites of voivodeship offices.

• The solutions indicated above do affect the obligation to report all incidents involving an escalation of violence to the Police, which is obliged to intervene and react to all cases of violence within the family.
• Through the voivodeship offices, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has provided all interdisciplinary teams in each municipality with information about a free internet application Twój Parasol (“Your Umbrella”) for the victims of violence within the family. Among other functionalities, the application allows for a discreet contact with a pre-configured e-mail address, as well as for quick dialling of an emergency phone number in urgent cases. Furthermore, it contains information helpful to the victims, i.e. legal advice. The application may prove particularly useful at present, in particular in the context of the difficulties in communication with the services and the necessity to maintain discretion in cases involving violence.

Domestic Violence - Safety in Isolation

• The Portuguese Government adopted measures to ensure the safety and support of victims of domestic violence against the increased risk of violence during the confinement that is necessary to contain the Coronavirus.

Broad dissemination of information about support services and helplines, safety advices and alerts:

• Campaign #SegurançaEmIsolamento, on social media, television, radio and press – to remind victims that they can always ask for help, to let them know about support services and to alert the community to be vigilant, to help and to report. These materials are also available in different languages, as well as in sign language.
• Telephone contacts of existing services in each district and municipality.
• Safety advice for victims of domestic violence during confinement.
• Advice for neighbours to be vigilant and to help.
• Display and distribute the above information in areas that remain open to the public, in partnership with distribution companies, public transport, gas stations, pharmacies, municipalities, etc.

Strengthening and diversification of channels for victims to seek help:

• Reinforcement of information and support channels for victims by the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG):
• National helpline – 800 202 148 - toll-free line, available 24/7.
• Availability of a new e-mail address [email protected] accessible to victims and professionals.
• Launch of the new SMS 3060 line by the Vodafone Foundation, free and confidential, so that victims can send written requests for help.

Functioning and strengthening victim support structures and services:

• All services in charge of supporting, sheltering and transporting victims, provided by the National Support Network for Victims of Domestic Violence, are considered essential services and remain active.
• Support and reinforced co-ordination of the National Support Network for Victims of Domestic Violence by the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) that also issues recommendations/clarifications in this context of emergency.
• Opening of two new emergency shelter facilities with 100 vacancies.
• Definition of a specific procedure between the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) and the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) to respond to suspected cases of COVID-19 within the National Support Network for Victims of Domestic Violence.
• All services within the National Support Network for Victims of Domestic Violence adopted contingency plans (including isolation rooms) and action plans with urgent measures such as:

1. Creation/reinforcement of remote communication/support tools such as video call, SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp and email.
2. Strengthening of the helpline services.
3. Increased monitoring of all cases.
4. Appointment of a team for urgent requests and situations.
5. In person assistance in urgent situations, with alternating teams.
6. Close cooperation with other services and municipalities to respond to urgent requests for shelter.

• Partnerships with several entities and companies to guarantee that all services of the National Support Network for Victims of Domestic Violence continue to access essential goods and resources during this emergency period, such as food, medicines, personal care products, cleaning products and IT equipment.
• In the context of the PT2020 funds, and as an exceptional measure, reimbursement decisions will be automatic following 30 working days after the claim is made by the beneficiaries.

Relevant document

Since the state of emergency was declared in Romania, the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (ANES) initiated some supplementary mitigating measures addressing the domestic and gender violence, as well as preventing all forms of gender discrimination, such as:

• Recommendations sent to all social services providers as to remain available to all potential beneficiaries and to ensure the admission to the residential specialised services according to the new protection measures (some elaborated their own procedure adapted to the emergency situation as for COVID-19, taking into account: increased level of hygiene, social distancing and if the case, the isolation of the new beneficiaries). The social services providers dealing with a high number of isolated persons, established centres for victims of domestic violence (DV) separated from those at national level.
• Promoting use of alternative means of communication (telephone, WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, the institution's website) to ensure the continuation of the activities of the non-residential services.
• Adapted, contextualised information is provided via the national hotline (0 800 500 333) for victims of domestic violence (free of charge and available nonstop) touching upon: the guidelines on teleworking, work from home issues, staying home with children under 12 years of age, general information for women’s living abroad in countries affected by COVID-19, etc.;
• A specific mobile application is soon to be launched providing information on the concrete support provided by the state or NGOs, recommendations, access to the applicable legislation, different contact details.
• Systematic and regular communications are published on the ANES social media webpages (also press releases through national news agencies Agerpres and Mediafax) calling for calm in managing possible stressful situations in the family (reiterating consequences), providing information on the existing measures, rights and support available and promoting the use of the hotline.
• An Individual Safety Plan for victims of domestic violence was elaborated, containing specific recommendations for the potential victims.
• Online campaigns are organised, with the participation of public figures, promoting the intervention of the authorities in cases of DV.
• Future distribution of flyers/leaflets in the online orders delivered by various companies (providing general information and recommendations for victims of domestic violence, providing the emergency number).
• Continue dialogue with trade unions and employers organisations in order to ensure a proper dissemination of information regarding the DV protection measures provided by law (provisional protection order/OPP or protection order/OP), accessing social services, applying the Individual Security Plan for DV victims.
• Modalities are explored regarding the possibility to establish a specific code to be used by DV victims when calling the 112 emergency number, meant not to alert the aggressor regarding the request for immediate police intervention.
• As regards the measures on sexual health and reproductive rights, the recent adoption of the Law No. 45/2020 (for amending and supplementing Law No. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child) establishes systematic development, at least semi-annually, of life education programmes, including child sex education programmes, respectively of health education programmes, including for the development of psycho-emotional capacities, of social and interpersonal skills.
• Regarding women working on the “frontline” during the COVID-19 crisis and on the impact on women’s employment/job losses, the following measures have been established:
• for the medical staff (out of which circa 75% are women) – flexible working hours, financial bonuses are granted and accommodation is provided in a hotel regime.
• a protocol of collaboration with the National Agency for Employment (ANOFM) is being developed in order to support the activity of the 42 county vocational counselling offices set up to provide vocational guidance and to support the socio-professional reintegration of DV victims, in the context of the labour market dynamics generated by COVID-19 (post pandemic).
• a working group was established in order to evaluate the possibility of extending some ongoing programmes/projects also for women at risk due to COVID-19 (the extension of vocational counselling and vocational training, currently available for DV victims, to all risk situations).
• Free days may be granted to one of the parents for the supervision of children, in case of suspension of classes or temporary closure of the educational establishments, due to adverse weather conditions or other extreme situations decreed by the competent authorities. The amount of the allowance for each day off is 75% of the basic salary, but no more than the daily equivalent of 75% of the gross average wage used to substantiate the state social insurance budget (Law No. 95/2020).

As a general rule, the regulations adopted during the state of emergency (by military ordinances) establish for the local public authorities the obligation to identify and keep records of vulnerable persons and groups and to ensure their care, including food delivery.

Also, the Government supports the payment of the technical unemployment benefit for the persons that cannot work during the state of emergency established due to COVID-19 sanitary situation.

Following the press releases of the World Health Organization, in particular that of 30 January 2020, in which the epidemic linked to COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international scope, that of 11 March in which the pandemic was declared, and the WHO recommendations to the international community on the need to adopt adequate measures, and following the evolution of the epidemiological situation and the particular severity of the contagion and deaths in the Republic of San Marino (the highest per capita percentage in the world), the government adopted a series of urgent measures to contain and manage the spread of the virus.

Some of these measures have forced the San Marino population to stay at home, except in cases of absolute necessity or emergency; this, due to prolonged and forced compulsory cohabitation, may have aggravated the problem of domestic violence.

During this period, in the Republic of San Marino, the law enforcement, health and psycho-social assistance services competent for reporting cases and collecting data has continued to operate regularly; to date, no cases have been reported in the reference period. The “Listening Centre”, located in a shopping centre, is also open.

Since 10 April, the assistance services of the Institute for Social Security have made available to any victim of violence, in addition to the existing emergency services, a new toll-free number, active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays. This number is answered by trained staff of the Women's Health Organisation Unit, with the support of members of the security forces. In addition to this number, an email address for sending messages is available. The psychologist at the Listening Centre responds to messages.

This additional service has been widely communicated and disseminated among the population through the media.

In addition, the Helpdesk is developing a mobile phone application, which will be free to download to mobile phones, whether with Android or Apple systems, with the following features:

• users can register their mobile phone number to the application and then enter their name, surname and GPS position. This data will be saved on a database accessible to the Gendarmerie;
• an emergency call button allows the call to be made automatically to the emergency number and an audio recording is also made;
• the caller can speak as normal with the police officer or, if the caller is not in a position to speak, the live audio recording can be played. In this way, the officer can listen and locate the victim, immediately, without the need for interaction;
• as soon as the call begins, the cell phone number, first name, last name and GPS location of the caller will appear on the police screen;
• at the end of the call, or at the end of the audio recording by the user, the call is saved on the mobile phone in a section of the application protected by a chosen password, as well as on a cloud database accessible to law enforcement;
• a section of the application is dedicated to the consultation of texts and images from the Social Security Institute on the subject of domestic violence (informative section).

The law enforcement agencies will therefore have a web database at their disposal where they will be able to view, in real time, on a map, the reports coming from the applications, and they will also be able to search (with name, surname or mobile phone number) the audio recordings uploaded by the users.

In addition to these specific measures, the Mental Health Services, in order to provide further assistance to those who need it, have reinforced psychological support by telephone in relation to the COVID-19 emergency. The service is now available every day, including public holidays.

Gender analysis

As the national co-ordinating mechanism for gender equality issues headed by the Deputy Prime Minster, the Co-ordination body for gender equality is preparing a policy paper Gender Analysis of the situation and a set of Short and Medium Term Measures to remedy the adverse effects of COVID-19 on Women and Men and Gender Equality in Serbia. The brief is being prepared in co-operation with relevant authorities and civil society experts, with the support of UN Women Office in Serbia. The policy paper is focusing especially on necessary measures regarding violence against women and gender based-violence, economic empowerment of women and redistribution of unpaid work, the position of especially vulnerable groups of women and gender responsive planning and budgeting in the emergency situation.

Comprehensive information spread

In order to inform as many victims of domestic violence as possible and those ones that may become victims, a comprehensive information page on domestic violence including a list of victim protection facilities and emergency contacts is available online on the Ministry of Interior’s website.

The Journalists against Violence group has been supported to share information through the social networks, on the support and assistance available to women victims of violence by the state and NGOs, and on the ways to report it. In this way, the incentive to report violence is shared not only with victims, but also with the wider society (neighbours, friends, etc.) as in emergency situations, when we are all in a situation of isolation or self-isolation, it is often difficult for the victims themselves to do so.

Sensitisation of the wide public

With the aim of drawing attention to the increased risk of violence against women and domestic violence due to the imposed emergency isolations and self-isolation measures, and to provide encouragement and support to victims, the Deputy Prime Minister had issued a couple of press releases stressing the importance to maintain continuity in the co-ordination of all the services that provide support to women victims of violence in the emergency situation at all levels. Urgent meetings at the local level between representatives of the city, police, prosecutors, centres for social work and shelters have been convened in order to adopt internal procedures that will be implemented in cases of violence against women during the state of emergency.

A national campaign concerning prevention of violence against women and girls and gender-based violence in the emergency situation, is currently being finalised.

A digital campaign on social networks focusing particularly on men and boys has been supported. The goal of this campaign is to send positive messages and examples of equal division of labour at home, and while caring for children and elderly, and thus to contribute to the reduction of stress, tension and violence and to influence change in the traditional division of unpaid work at home based on patriarchal gender roles.

Financial support to NGOs, safe houses and most vulnerable women

Through Improved Safety of Women in Serbia project, funded by the Norwegian Embassy and implemented in co-operation with UN Women, support has been provided through direct institutional grants to 20 local women non-governmental organisations that are providing psychosocial and legal assistance and support services through the local SOS hotline for women victims of violence and gender-based violence. This is a short-term measure during the emergency situation aiming to make these services available to all possible victims as the increase of violence against women and gender-based violence is expected, even though current data are still not showing an increase. In the current crisis situation extended online counselling have been provided via telephone, e-mail and Skype, as well.

With the support of the private sector, all the safe houses in Serbia were donated televisions and accompanying equipment, toys for children who are victims of violence and cared for in shelters, and all the necessary hygiene and medical products. This support is helping safe-house users and their children in easing the situation of isolation and enabling children to follow the school curriculum and online lectures done through television, without disruption due to the temporary closure of all primary and secondary schools and universities.

Assistance (protective and hygiene products), have been provided to 11 safe houses for women victims of violence, with the financial support of UN Women and in co-operation with the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of Serbia.

Available funds from the IPA 2016 project "Gender Equality Facility", implemented in co-operation with UN Women, have been reallocated to mobile, volunteer teams and teams for the emergency situation in order to provide aid. (food, sanitary supplies, medicines, etc.) to the most vulnerable women at the local level. These outreach activities are targeting the most difficult to reach in the emergency situation due to restriction of movement, particularly women victims of violence, elderly women, rural women, women with disabilities, Roma women, etc. Aid will be distributed through the Red Cross which has an elaborate and extensive network of organisations in cities and municipalities.

Closer targeted co-operation and special procedures

There is an ongoing initiative that is bringing together a group of experts from all sectors relevant to integrated responses to violence (police, prosecutors, health, social welfare), which will provide expert advice and answers to all the questions and challenges as a result of the state of emergency, through the adoption of appropriate special procedures.

Impact assessment activities

Gender assessment of the impact of the emergency situation regarding the socio-economic position of women, women entrepreneurs, women in the labour market and the care economy, and women in agriculture will be conducted within Gender Equality Facility Project, funded by the European Union and implemented with the co-operation with UN Women.

The Co-ordination and Methodological Centre for the Prevention of Violence against Women in the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Sector monitors the capacity of shelters for women experiencing violence and their children through data collection from support services providers for women experiencing violence and their children. On a weekly basis, it provides data on spare capacity in shelters, as well as on-demand for this crisis intervention service. This information serves not only the ministry but also the relevant professions, to provide up-to-date and accurate information.

The support system and counselling services in the area of prevention of domestic violence are operating according to instructions to prevent infection. Counselling is available via telephone, emails, web and video calls, thus minimising personal contact. Victims of domestic violence are further admitted to shelters that have quarantine capacities, as they will not be admitted to an emergency housing facility unless they have a negative COVID-19 test. They remain in this quarantine site for 14 days. However, not all shelters can provide quarantine capacities. In these cases, the self-governing regions need to step in.

Government Regulation No. 220/2020 of 14 April 2020 on the plan for the solution of reducing the risk of the occurrence and spread of COVID-19 among homeless people, and the admission of natural persons to selected public or non-public social services facilities conditioned by dependence, and centres for children and families, obliged the chairmen of self-governing regions to provide quarantine facilities in establishments within their territorial jurisdiction for victims of violence incl. domestic violence. Furthermore, according to the Regulation, regional hygienists are obliged to continuously ensure the epidemiological examination of clinical samples at quarantine sites for the COVID-19 disease; the Administration of State Material Reserves of the Slovak Republic is obliged to deliver personal protective equipment for designated employees working in quarantine sites. These measures are intended to increase the availability of crisis intervention services for victims of domestic violence and to help overcome the limited availability, in particular, of accommodation services subject to quarantine restrictions.

The President of the Slovak Republic has carried out several consultations with women shelters and crisis centres to raise awareness of the situation of victims of domestic violence. During an inter-ministerial roundtable, a pilot programme on setting up intervention centres around the Slovak Republic has been discussed. The aim of those centres shall be particularly in cases when police use a home expulsion order against the abuser for ten days and informs the intervention centre in the region. During this period, the centre needs to provide legal and technical assistance to women when using protective measures.

Data on the number of calls to the National Line for Women 0800 212 212, shows that after an initial decline in the number of women seeking help as a result of domestic violence during March, the number of callers since April has significantly exceeded the number of callers compared to the same period last year. This indicates a negative impact of quarantine measures on domestic violence incidents. The National Helpline for Women is available free of charge at all times, providing advice to women, as well as people who want to help them via phone or email.

An information leaflet about domestic violence has been sent to main supermarkets around the country to make victims aware of assistance possibilities. The president of the country has stressed the situation of victims of domestic violence several times and facilitated a multi-institutional discussion to improve the immediate help available during the quarantine.

NGOs continue to raise awareness of the problem of victims of domestic violence during the crisis and provide necessary information via media and the internet.

Gender equality in economic measures

Concerning the gender equality agenda, we can mention measures that do not specifically target women but have a disproportionate impact on them. Throughout the crisis, parents who have lost their entitlement to parental leave allowance should continue to receive the contribution in the amount they have received so far. The vast majority of those who receive parental benefit are women.

Another measure is to maintain employment in kindergartens, where women again predominate. Approximately 21 million euros from the OP Human Resources will go towards maintaining capacities. Thanks to these resources, childcare will be provided as soon as the measures are relaxed and the nurseries are reopened; they will not have to lay off facilities in the current situation. The state will contribute 80% of average earnings to employees’ wages for April, May and June. This measure will ensure that mothers have a place for a child when they return to the labour market.

Impact and mitigating measures on gender-based violence/domestic violence

Social security programmes in the area of prevention of domestic violence, despite measures to prevent infection from COVID-19, are operating as usual. Safe houses and mother's homes are open and accept new victims, but follow the instructions to prevent infection. Counselling is still available but without any personal contact. Programmes are encouraged to maximise and upgrade counselling in different ways. Counselling is currently running via telephone, emails, web and video calls. NGOs continue to raise awareness of the problem of domestic violence (on TV, radio, social media, etc.) and provide women with contact information of NGOs offering victims of domestic violence support and providing necessary information.

In order to inform as many ("potentially") affected victims of domestic violence as possible relevant contact numbers where victims can seek help are shared on TV during press conferences where authorities are sharing information about the spread of the corona virus and adopted measures for its containment. Also, there are negotiations with pharmacies to start sharing relevant information and contact numbers of NGOs that offer help and support to victims.

The Police is raising awareness and spreading information on social media that despite epidemic and exit restrictions, violence will not be tolerated. Victims will be protected and action against perpetrators will be taken.

https://www.facebook.com/policijaSI/videos/3518602944880495/.

Police in co-operation with NGO and the Association of Social Work Centres is preparing an awareness-raising campaign on domestic violence in order to spread information that despite exit restrictions the support services are still available to victims. There is also an appeal to the wider public to report violence if they witness it, now more than ever, as NGO and Social Work Centres has limited access to families.

Police statistics show that there is only slight increase of cases of domestic violence reported in comparison to the same period in 2019. However, probably there are much more incidents but victims now report less due to constant control by the perpetrator.

Courts operate in a limited capacity dealing only with urgent matters, which includes also domestic violence cases.

- 24/7 telephone helpline was set up to provide advice and help to victims and other callers free of charge;

- check-in phone calls to perpetrators who are included in the programme “Training in Social Skills for Perpetrators of Violence” were established;

- “Training in Social Skills for Perpetrators of Violence” is being implemented via phone, skype, email

- safe houses were provided with personal protective equipment;

- pharmacies are sharing contact information of relevant NGOs working in the area of domestic violence and VAW;

- reallocation of existing users of safe houses from one to another in order to prepare space for new victims whose health status is not determined yet and to avoid spread of the virus among healthy users.

Impact and mitigating measures on other relevant aspects sexual health and reproductive rights Regular gynaecological examinations were cancelled, however, emergency treatment is available. Commenced procedure of artificial insemination and abortions are performed normally. Regular examinations of pregnant women are performed normally. Fathers are not allowed to be present at birth and are not allowed to visit.

- reduction in the number of check-ups for pregnant women during the pregnancy;

- transfer for pregnant women to the hospital is offered by national guard, if needed;

- helpline offering counselling and advice for pregnant women and other women with gynaecological problems/questions;

- guidelines for maternity hospitals on how to treat pregnant women who are infected with corona virus has been prepared;

- births at home and presence at birth have been temporary prohibited.

Women as workers (including on women working on the “frontline” and on the impact on women’s employment/job losses)

An employee who does not work for a business reason and force majeure receives 80% of his/her salary (from 137/7 ZDR-1), but not less than the minimum wage. This means that the wage compensation of the worker who receives the minimum wage will be 100%.

The employer is obliged to pay every employee who works and for whom she or he will benefit from the exemption from payment of social security contributions, a crisis allowance for work in the period from 13 March to 31 May 2020, in the amount of 200 EUR for each month of work (tax exempt and contributions) if the employee's last wage did not exceed three times the minimum wage.

One of the parents in the case of a justified absence from work due to childcare (up to grade 5) is entitled to compensation equal to 80% of salary.

Large families with three children will receive, in addition to the allowance they already receive, a one-time allowance of 100 EUR and families with four or more children 200 EUR.

Vulnerable groups of women (older women, migrant women, women with disabilities, for example)

of financial social assistance and a care allowance are entitled to a one-time allowance of 150 EUR.

Students are entitled to one-time allowance of 150 EUR.

Payment of a one-off solidarity allowance for pensioners with a view to ensuring higher social security for the most vulnerable pensioners. The allowance will be paid in three different amounts: 300 EUR pensions up to 500 EUR; 230 EUR for pensions from 501 EUR to 600 EUR; and 130 EUR for pensions from 601 EUR to 700 EUR.

Other

Pregnant women can enter the stores only in the morning (during a two-hour period) and in the last hour before the store closes (together with elderly and persons with disabilities)

The capacity of several helplines has been strengthened and their availability prolonged (relationship counselling, therapeutic counselling, counselling for youth, counselling for female prisoners and employees etc.)

Impact & mitigating measures on GBV/DV

The Spanish Ministry of Equality has promoted a Contingency Plan against gender-based violence during the COVID-19 crisis, which includes declaring essential service all comprehensive assistance services for victims of such violence. Please find below the key information and documents regarding the above mentioned plan:

- Press release in English on the Contingency Plan against gender-based violence during the COVID-19 crisis (see attached document 1).

- Executive Summary in English of the Contingency Plan to combat gender-based violence during the COVID-19 crisis (see attached document 2).

- Royal Decree-law 12/2020, of 31 March, on Urgent Measures regarding the Protection and Assistance to Victims of Gender-based Violence (in Spanish)

- Guide for action for women who are experiencing gender-based violence in a situation of home stay derived from the state of alarm by COVID 19 (see attached document 3, in Spanish).

- Campaign “We are with you. We stop gender violence together” and campaign materials available for dissemination through social media, phone, support services, neighbourhood communities, public spaces, stores, etc:

The Ministry of Health contributes to disseminating the Contingency Plan of the Government Delegation for Gender Violence and its guide to the different Health Departments of the Autonomous Communities(regional governments) and other stakeholders. Likewise, this Ministry also disseminates initiatives in which the health services of an Autonomous Community participates, which can be useful for other Autonomous Communities. Example: "Mask-19" from the Canary Islands.

They are in permanent contact with the Committees on Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategies and with the GBV Commission to collect their incidents and see how we can contribute from the Ministry in terms of updating the available evidence and with the disseminating documents in order to maintain homogeneous guidelines for action.

Impact & mitigating measures on other relevant aspects

In relation to reproductive health, the Ministry of Health informs of the following:

Technical document for professionals "Management of pregnant women and new-borns with COVID-19" (updated on available evidence 19 March 2020). Prepared with the technical support of experts from scientific societies. Available on the website of the Ministry of Health with the rest of documents for citizens and professionals. 

Information document for pregnant women who do not have coronavirus infection. Currently in draft-review phase. It will soon be disseminated through the Ministry's website.

Concerning women as workers, women’s role in unpaid care and domestic work and vulnerable groups of women, recent declarations of the Ministry of Equality, Irene Montero, encourage the gender perspective for the design and implementation of the measures to counteract the impact of the crisis of COVID-19. She has pointed out how women constitute a key pillar of the frontline for the COVIC-19 crisis as they are predominant in hospitals, elderly homes staff, domestic workers, supermarket cashiers and stockers, in the educational system or social services. For her, the current sanitary crisis has clearly showed the need for care policies that the feminist movement has been requesting for a long time. The work women do in the care sector should be recognised and valued as it is crucial for the sustainability of life.

Within the broad range of measures concerning the COVID-19 crisis that have been taken by the Spanish Government, we can highlight some of them that are specially connected with women. They are the following:

Royal Decree-Law 8/2020, of 17 March, on extraordinary urgent measures to face the economic and social impact of COVID-19.

• It aims to support the continuity of productive activity and the maintenance of employment, establishing flexibility measures for the temporary adjustment of business activity and to avoid layoffs. It introduces liquidity and cost-reduction measures for companies, especially small and medium-sized companies and the self-employed. Likewise, it addresses the protection of workers, families and vulnerable groups.
• Extraordinary Social Fund for basic social services (care for the most vulnerable persons, such as services for dependents in households or attention for homeless people) and essential financial aid to deal with situations arising from COVID-19 (article 1, 2 and 3).
• Establishment of remote work on a preferential basis (article 5).
• Right to the adaptation of working hours and reduction of the working day (with the proportional reduction of their salary) due to the care needs of family members (spouse or partner and blood relatives up to the second degree) when exceptional circumstances arise in relation to the actions necessary to prevent the community transmission of COVID-19, such as those derived from the changes in educational centres and nursing homes by decision of the health authority (article 6). “The right provided in this article is an individual right of each one of the parents or caregivers, which must be based on an equal sharing of caring responsibilities and avoiding the perpetuation of stereotyped roles, and must be justified, reasonable and proportionate (…)”.
• An extraordinary temporary benefit for self-employed workers whose activities have been suspended, in the terms established in this Royal Decree-Law, due to the declaration of the state of alarm of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19. (article 17).

The measures adopted regarding temporary suspension of contracts and temporary reduction of working hours, (ERTE, Spanish acronym) contribute to lessen the negative impact on employment and the economic activity, since it gives priority to maintenance of employment over the termination of contracts (Chapter II).The ERTE caused by the coronavirus crisis will be considered force majeure. Coverage for workers affected by an ERTE, enables them to have access to the contributory unemployment benefit, even if they lack the contribution period necessary to have access to it. In addition, this period does not count for the purposes of consuming the legally established maximum periods of perception.

Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of 31 March, which adopts urgent complementary measures in the social and economic field to deal with COVID-19.

Extraordinary subsidy for lack of activity for persons registered in the Special System of Household Employees of the General Social Security Regime, who have been forced to totally or partially stop rendering their services on a temporary basis due to the COVID-19 health crisis, or whose contract has terminated for this same reason. The amount of the subsidy will be seventy percent to the applicable regulatory base (articles 30 and 31).

Relevant document 1

Relevant document 2

Relevant document 3

Spanish Institute of Women: The gender approach, key in COVID-19 response (English version)

In terms of Sweden, there are no official orders of a lockdown or curfew. However, the general recommendations are to limit social contacts and to stay at home in case of symptoms of a cold and, whenever possible, to work from home. Students in high schools and universities study from home, and formal education is cancelled. It is not allowed to arrange or participate in meetings with more than 50 persons.

Statistics concerning the occurrence of men’s violence against women during the COVID-19 outbreak is so far inconclusive. Some of the civil society organisations that run women’s shelters report that their shelters are full, others that they have places available.

The national telephone helpline for women at risk of being exposed to violence is normally open every day around the clock. It has remained so during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In order to prevent men’s violence against women, a pilot project consisting of a national telephone helpline for men that risk exposing family members for violence was launched before the COVID-19 outbreak. This pilot project telephone line has extended its opening hours during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In order to be able to follow the development and be prepared to take measures, the Minister for Gender Equality, Åsa Lindhagen, has continuously had meetings with organisations and authorities that work with domestic violence and men’s violence against women.

On 1 April, the Government decided to grant € 9 million to civil society organisations that work with domestic violence in various forms. The extra funding is directed towards civil society organisations and will be used to combat violence directed towards women, children and LGBTI persons by violent partners or parents.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the civil society organisations may have a need to expand and develop their operations or find alternate ways of getting in touch with victims of violence. For instance, the organisations may find it necessary to enlarge their presence on the internet, in order to reach out to victims of violence.

The Government has given the Swedish Gender Equality Agency a mission to identify and develop efficient methods to reach out to victims of violence with information concerning gender-based violence and honour-related violence and oppression. The mission has been drafted against the backdrop of the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods elaborated are required to be adapted to the operations by the municipalities. It will be the task of the Swedish Gender Equality Agency to disseminate the methods to the municipalities. The mission should be carried out quickly and be reported to the Government at the latest in 2021.

According to a government decision gender impact assessment is mandatory in all government work. It has been a challenge for responsible line-ministries to conduct gender impact assessment in all policy responses to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Lack of time and, in some cases, limited access to sex disaggregated data have been the main issues. However, an early evaluation shows that a majority of actions taken by the government in response to the crisis include a gender impact assessment.

As in all countries, also in Switzerland the situation of domestic violence is tense due to the Covid-19-pandemic and containment. Actually, no fundamental deterioration has yet been observed.

Last Friday, a Taskforce has been established with the responsible authorities under the leadership of the Federal Office for Gender Equality FOGE. This Taskforce makes it possible to assess the situation regularly in close co-operation with other relevant conferences and to examine appropriate measures if there is an increase in domestic violence. Such possible measures are currently examined with the responsible services and experts.

The Federal Office of Public Health FOPH has launched a new “Platform for mental health around the new coronavirus”, that contains also information on conflicts within family and relationship with helpline-numbers for victims and perpetrators (in German: https://dureschnufe.ch/probleme-zuhause/, in French and Italian soon online).

On our Website, you will find latest information here

Please find a document (in French and German) specifying practical recommendations that have been made to the Swiss cantonal governments, by interdepartmental and intercantonal committees, to maintain services and protection to victims during this complicated period.

French document

German document

Within the scope of the coronavirus outbreak, services for victims of violence are ongoing without interruption and major problems thanks to the measures taken since the first case was detected in Turkey on 10 March.

In applications reaching institutional service units, necessary measures have been taken to ensure that the guidance and consultancy services are not interrupted.

Service recipients are informed about the institutions that can be applied when exposed to violence or at risk through telephone and a short message service.

Considering the increase in calls to ALO 183 Social Support Helpline as of March, a prioritisation process has been started. Victims of violence calling the helpline can access the relevant support staff without waiting for any queue by pressing "0".

The Women's Support System (KADES) application (developed in co-operation with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Family and Social Services, for the purpose of providing effective and rapid intervention by benefiting from the opportunities offered by communication technology for women who are victims of violence or at risk of violence), continues to be implemented. In case of an emergency, the nearest law enforcement unit is transferred to the victim's position based on the notification to the call centre. Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centres (VPMC) are also involved, when necessary.

Services by the Ministry of Family Labour and Social Services, local administrations, General Directorate of Migration Management and non-governmental organisations, with a total capacity of 3,482 in 145 women's shelters in all provinces, are being carried out without interruption.

A total of 40 facilities; 9 public institutions, 10 guest houses, 15 hotels and 6 dormitories, are used for housing purposes for victims of violence during the COVID-19 crisis in 36 provinces. 11 of these facilities have not yet been redirected and are kept ready for precautionary purposes.

The women receiving services from shelters and their children, and those who work in our establishments (service users/service providers) are delivered to health institutions if they have complaints such as fever, cough, respiratory distress, rapid breathing and chest pain. If necessary, individuals are tested for COVID-19.

A victim, who has just been admitted to the women's shelter, is isolated for 14 days in a single room reserved for her and kept under observation until it is confirmed that she has no symptoms.

In order not to spread the epidemic; transfer operations of victims have been suspended, except in cases where there is a risk of life and cases requiring compulsory treatment.

The children who are staying with their mothers in the institutions continue their education through EBA TV (information network for education).

Women who are staying in the institutions are producing masks for their own use as a leisure time activity.

Information documents, brochures and posters prepared by the Ministry of Health on ways to protect against coronavirus and what to do are being distributed to all institutions.

Service providers and personnel were informed about taking protective measures, ways of infection and what to do to protect themselves.

All institutions have been disinfected. Appropriation follow-up is carried out regarding periodic disinfection.

In order to monitor the efforts carried out due to the coronavirus outbreak and to evaluate the planned programmes, an online information and consultation meeting was held with the VPMC and women's shelter managers in all provinces.

The measures taken by the women's shelters to combat the epidemic are monitored daily by the General Directorate on the Status of Women.

Implementation of rapid diagnostic kits is planned for personnel and for the victims before the admission process.

Other than the measures taken in the field of violence against women it is important to highlight that 61% of the beneficiaries in social aid are women. While fighting the pandemic; the payment amounts have been increased within the framework of Conditional Health Assistance, Conditional Pregnancy Aid, Conditional Maternity Assistance and the Aid Programme for Women Whose Spouse Have Died which are implemented within the scope of combating women's poverty.

Patients with COVID-19 will be treated free of charge in Turkey. According to a Presidency decision, all citizens will be treated free of charge, regardless of whether they have any social security or not, as part of the fight against COVID-19.