Global Dispatches -- Conversations On Foreign Policy And World Affairs

When COVID-19 forced countries to impose widespread lockdowns last year, there was a concurrent surge in gender based violence and domestic abuse. The United Nations has called this a "shadow pandemic" in which lockdowns everywhere lead to a sharp increase in gender based violence. This includes Poland, where even before the pandemic levels of gender based violence were extremely high.  During the first month of the lockdown in March 2020, the country's largest women's rights center received a 50% increase in calls to its emergency domestic abuse hotline. This COVID-induced spike in gender-based violence in Poland comes as the country is deep into a democratic backslide. The government of Poland is controlled by the ruling Law and Justice Party which has eroded media freedom and eviscerated the independence of the judiciary, among other anti-democratic moves. The government is also reactionary in its worldview, including on issues related to gender. It has imposed a near-total ban on abortion and is seeking t