FROM THE FIELD: Answering the call for help in Thailand

FROM THE FIELD: Answering the call for help in Thailand | UN News

30 November 2020Women

Violence against women and girls at home affects millions globally. The problem is particularly pervasive as it occurs in a space women and girls should feel most secure.

UN data, one in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence mostly at the hands of an intimate partner. In 2019, 243 million women and girls, aged between 19 and 49, were affected by sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner.

Members of a Bangladeshi NGO supporting women and girls, participate in a rally on ending gender-based violence. — **UNICEF/Mawa** | Members of a NGO working for women and girls participate in a rally on ending gender-based violence.

The problem only worsened with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, with sharp rises in domestic violence globally. Countries that managed some degree of success against COVID-19, were not left untouched by the accompanying scourge of domestic violence.

Naiyapak Chaipan, works for the 1300 Hotline in Thailand, helping women looking to extricate themselves from abusive and violent relationships. Her work became more critical during the COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions, which left many women confined with their abusers at home.

The 1300 Hotline, managed by the Thai Ministry of Social Development, is supported through a United Nations-European Union partnership and implemented by a number of UN agencies, including UN-Women, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

As the UN marks 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, find out more about her important work, here.