Prevention and Response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in COVID-19 Quarantine Centres

Author: International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, governments around the world quickly implemented measures to contain the spread and protect their citizens. Many governments set up quarantine centres; some countries built emergency camps on islands, while others used existing infrastructure, such as military bases, hotels and schools. Isolating people is crucial to containing the virus, but this can also expose quarantined people to other risks such as sexual and gender-based violence. This document provides recommendations based on international standards, good practice and lessons learned from ICRC operations, such as the Ebola response.

View the document in English here.

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This website is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of READY and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Led by Save the Children, the READY initiative is implemented in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, UK-Med, and the Humanitarian Leadership Academy. READY is augmenting global capacity for non-governmental organizations to respond to large-scale infectious disease outbreaks.