María-Noel Vaeza is UN-Women Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean.

Addressing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Violence Against Women and Girls

A participant at the official commemoration of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”. New York, 25 November 2019. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Violence against women and girls was a pandemic long before the outbreak of COVID-19. The underlying causes are not the virus itself or the resulting economic crisis, but rather an imbalance of power and control.