Abstract
Adolescent girls and young women constitute a vulnerable population worldwide and an easy target to secondary impacts of a pandemic due to societal norms, existing age, and gender- based inequalities, leading to a condition known as “second pandemic”. Due to local and national lockdowns to prevent coronavirus spread, educational institutions, workplaces, health services have been shut down making adolescent girls and women prone to sexual, physical exploitation, gender-based violence, educational, financial loss, lack of sexual and reproductive health services. The present review briefs some of these secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent girls and women, which if taken care of can prevent many long-term consequences. Methodology: The literature was searched from governmental, non-governmental sites and agencies, like WHO, UN, UNICEF, Guttmacher Institute, International Labor Organization, and English peer-reviewed journals, using the USA National Library of Medicine (Pubmed) database, the regional portal of Virtual Health Library, and Scientific Electronic Library Online. The data from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic till March 2021 on the impact of COVID-19 on women and children was searched and studied. The descriptors used were school drop-out children, adolescent girls, women suffering at home/work, unmet need for contraception, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortion, child marriages, and female genital mutilation. Results and Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a “hidden pandemic” against women and children. There is a skyrocketing rise in violence against women/girls, teenage pregnancies, school drop-outs, child marriages, abuse, female genital mutilation. Hence, women and adolescent girls should be protected from the shadowing effects of the pandemic.
Keywords: Adolescent, domestic violence, pandemic, sexual rights, teenage pregnancy, female genital mutilation.
Graphical Abstract
[1]
Mackenzie JS, Smith DW. COVID-19: a novel zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus from China: what we know and what we don’t. Microbiol Aust 2020; MA20013: MA20013.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MA20013] [PMID: 32226946]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MA20013] [PMID: 32226946]
[2]
Pitlik SD. Covid-19 compared to other pandemic diseases. Rambam Maimonides Med J 2020; 11(3): e0027.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.5041/RMMJ.10418] [PMID: 32792043]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.5041/RMMJ.10418] [PMID: 32792043]
[3]
Covid-19 - gbv risks to adolescent girls and interventions to protect and empower them Available from: https://www.unicef.org
[4]
Sawyer SM, Azzopardi PS, Wickremarathne D, Patton GC. The age of adolescence. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2018; 2(3): 223-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30022-1] [PMID: 30169257]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30022-1] [PMID: 30169257]
[5]
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2019. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/topic/adolescents/demographics/
[6]
United Nations world youth report 2012 – report summary. 2012. Available from: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/wyr11/ summaryreport.pdf
[7]
Alon T, Doepke M, Olmstead-Rumsey J, Tertilt M. The impact of covid-19 on gender equality. 2020. Available from: http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~mdo738/research/COVID19_Gender_March_2020.pdf
[8]
OCED Policy Responses to Coronavirus (Covid-19): Women at the core of the fight against COVID-19 crisis. 2020. Available from: https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/women-at-the-core-of-the-fight-against-covid-19-crisis-553a8269/
[9]
Capuano A, Rossi F, Paolisso G. Covid-19 kills more men than women: An overview of possible reasons. Front Cardiovasc Med 2020; 7: 131.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2020.00131] [PMID: 32766284]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2020.00131] [PMID: 32766284]
[10]
Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, et al. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: A descriptive study. Lancet 2020; 395(10223): 507-13.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30211-7] [PMID: 32007143]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30211-7] [PMID: 32007143]
[11]
Liu S, Zhang M, Yang L, et al. Prevalence and patterns of tobacco smoking among Chinese adult men and women: Findings of the 2010 national smoking survey. J Epidemiol Community Health 2017; 71(2): 154-61.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-207805] [PMID: 27660401]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-207805] [PMID: 27660401]
[12]
Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, UN Women, Oxfam, Statistics Sierra Leone. Multisector impact assessment of gender dimensions of the ebola virus disease 2014. Available from: http://awdflibrary.org:8080/xmlui/handle/ 123456789/232
[13]
The Coalition for Adolescent Girls, Missing the Emergency: Shifting the Paradigm for Relief to Adolescent Girls. 2012. Available from: http://www.coalitionforadolescentgirls.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/2012-05-23-Missing-the-Emergency-FINAL1.pdf
[14]
Smith J. Overcoming the ‘tyranny of the urgent’: Integrating gender into disease outbreak preparedness and response. Gend Dev 2019; 27(2): 355-69.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2019.1615288]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2019.1615288]
[15]
UN women, covid-19 and ending violence against women and girls. 2020. Available from: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/policy_brief_on_covid_impact_on_women_9_apr_2020_updated.pdf
[16]
UNICEF, Plan International, UN Women, March 2020. A new era for girls: Taking stock of 25 years of progress. 2020. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/resources/a-new-era-for-girls-taking- stock-of-25-years-of-progress/
[17]
Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women. 2020. Available from: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/policy_brief_on_covid_impact_on_women_9_apr_2020_updated.pdf
[18]
Global Partnership for education, gpe’s response to covid-19: rapidly mobilizing to face an unprecedented challenge. 2020. Available from: https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/gpes-response- covid-19-rapidly-mobilizing-face-unprecedented-challenge
[19]
UNICEF Education COVID-19 Response Issue Brief: COVID-19 and Girls’ Education in East Asia and Pacific. 2020. Available from: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/asia/document/unicef-eapro-issue-brief-covid-19-and-girls%E2%80%99-education-east-asia-and
[20]
School closures and teenage pregnancy. Bull World Health Organ 2021; 99(1): 6-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.21.020121] [PMID: 33658730]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.21.020121] [PMID: 33658730]
[21]
COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response. 2020. Available from: https://en.unesco.org/news/covid-19-educational-disruption-and-response
[22]
Implications of the covid-19 crisis on girls and young women. 2020. Available from: https://plan-uk.org/file/plan-uk-coronavirus-policy-briefingpdf/download?token=THR6Efm9
[23]
Borkowski A, Ortiz-Correa JS, Bundy DAP, Burbano C, Hayashi C, Lloyd-Evans E. COVID-19: Missing more than a classroom. The impact of school closures on children’s nutrition. Innocenti Working Paper 2021. Available from: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/1176-covid-19-missing-more-than-a-classroom-the-impact-of-school-closures-on-childrens-nutrition.html
[24]
Pivoting the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage to Respond to the Pandemic. Adapting to covid-19 2020. Available from: https://www.unfpa.org
[25]
UNICEF Technical Note. Five actions for gender equality in the covid-19 response 2020. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/documents/five-actions-gender-equality-coronavirus-disease- covid-19-response-technical-note
[26]
WHO. Gender equity in the health workforce: Analysis of 104 countries 2019. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/311314/WHO-HIS-HWF-Gender-WP1-2019.1-eng.pdf?ua=1
[27]
ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. Updated estimates and analysis. 2020. Available from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_740877.pdf
[28]
Policy Brief. The COVID-19 response: Getting gender equality right for a better future for women at work. 2020. Available from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/- dgreports/- gender/documents/publication/wcms_744374.pdf
[29]
The state of the gender pay gap. 2020. Available from: https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap
[30]
UN Women. COVID-19 and ending violence against women and girls. Available from: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/issue-brief-Covid-19-and-ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5006
[31]
Petermann A, Potts A, O’Donnell M, Thompson K, Shah N, Oertelt-Prigione S. Pandemics and violence against women and children. 2020. Available from: https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/pandemics-and-violence-against-women-and-girls.pdf
[32]
Adolescent girls and covid-19: GBV risks and response. Available from: https://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/usa/reports/health/adolescent-girls-and-gbv-covid-fact-sheet.pdf
[33]
UN Women. Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: Report of the Secretary-General. In: 2020; p. 4.
[34]
Allen-Ebrahimian B. China’s domestic violence epidemic Axios 2020. Available from: https://www.axios.com/china-domestic-violence-coronavirus-quarantine-7b00c3ba-35bc-4d16-afdd-b76ecfb28882.html
[35]
The Guardian. Ebola vaccine offered in exchange for sex. 2019. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/12/ebola-vaccine-offered-in-exchange-for-sex-say-womenin-congo-drc
[36]
Why children are at risk of sexual exploitation during covid-19. 2020. Available from: https://www.ecpat.org/news/covid-19-sexual-abuse/
[37]
Aly J, Haeger KO, Christy AY, Johnson AM. Contraception access during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contracept Reprod Med 2020; 5: 17.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40834-020-00114-9] [PMID: 33042573]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40834-020-00114-9] [PMID: 33042573]
[38]
Marie Stopes International. 9.5 million women could lose access to our services. 2020. Available from: https://www.mariestopes.org/news/2020/4/95-million-women-could-lose-access- to-our-services/
[39]
Ganatra B, Gerdts C, Rossier C, et al. Global, regional, and subregional classification of abortions by safety, 2010-14: estimates from a Bayesian hierarchical model. Lancet 2017; 390(10110): 2372-81.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31794-4] [PMID: 28964589]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31794-4] [PMID: 28964589]
[40]
Riley T, Sully E, Ahmed Z, Biddlecom A. Estimates of the potential impact of the covid-19 pandemic on sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries. Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health 2020; 46: 73-6.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1363/46e9020] [PMID: 32343244]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1363/46e9020] [PMID: 32343244]
[41]
Homer CSE, Leisher SH, Aggarwal N, et al. Counting stillbirths and COVID 19-there has never been a more urgent time. Lancet Glob Health 2021; 9(1): e10-1.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30456-3] [PMID: 33212029]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30456-3] [PMID: 33212029]
[42]
A Neglected Tragedy: The global burden of stillbirths; United Nations Children’s Fund: New York. 2020. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/resources/a-neglected-tragedy-stillbirth-estimates-report/
[43]
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. A joint report by EPF & IPPF EN. 2020. Available from: https://www.ippfen.org/sites/ippfen/files/2020-04/Sexual%20and%20Reproductive%20Health%20during%20the%20COVID-19%20pandemic.pdf
[44]
Darroch J, Woog V, Bankole A, Ashford LS. Adding it up: Costs and benefits of meeting the contraceptive needs of adolescents. New York: Guttmacher Institute 2016. Available from: https://www.guttmacher.org/report/adding-it-meeting-contraceptive-needs-of-adolescents
[45]
UNFPA. Girlhood, not motherhood: Preventing adolescent pregnancy. 2015. Available from: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Girlhood_not_motherhood_final_web.pdf
[46]
World Health Organization. Adolescent pregnancy factsheet. 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-pregnancy
[47]
World Economic Forum. Coronavirus could put 4 million girls at risk of child marriage. 2020. Available from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-early-child-marriage- covid19-pandemic/
[48]
UNFPA Interim Technical Note. Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on family planning and ending gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, and child marriage. 2020. Available from: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/COVID-19_impact_brief_for_UNFPA_24_April_2020_1.pdf
[49]
What is the impact of child marriage: Violence against girls? Available from: https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/themes/violence-against-girls/
[50]
Public health round-up. Bulletin of the World Health Organization; World Health Organization. In: 2020; 98: pp. (3)155-6.
[51]
Covid-19 hindering progress against female genital mutilation. Lancet Public Health 2021; 6(3): e136.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00030-X] [PMID: 33640072]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00030-X] [PMID: 33640072]
[52]
Guterres A. UNSG. COVID-19 | Every woman every child. 2020. Available from: https://www.everywomaneverychild.org/what-you-need-to-know-about-covid-19/
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
08 September, 2024
RARE CASES IN GYNECOLOGY-OBSTETRICS
With the development of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques (such as ART techniques) and the immersion of new pathologies (such as COVID19), we are witnessing an increase in the incidence of pathologies that were previously described as rare or exceptional. the practitioner sometimes confronts difficult situations in these cases in diagnostic ...read more
Article Metrics
24
1