domestic violence hotline quadrupled from March to April 2020. Of the calls reporting domestic violence, three of every ten were made by third persons (e.g., parents, children, siblings, neighbours, friends). Nine of every ten people who called the hotline were doing so for the first time.115 In other countries, such as Spain, the use of alternative and more private forms of contact (e.g., email or WhatsApp) by survivors of domestic violence has increased exponentially.116 In the OSCE region, the rate of increase in reports of domestic violence has ranged from around 25 per cent to 30 per cent (Cyprus, France, Moldova, the United Kingdom)117 to 62 per cent (Kyrgyzstan),118 74 per cent (the Russian Federation),119 to as high as 400 per cent (Canada),120 depending on specifics of the country and available reporting mechanisms. The large majority of survivors of domestic violence are women and girls, as seen in national crime statistics from before the pandemic. While the figures are alarming, they are also likely an underestimate of the true scale of the problem. The fact that, in a number of countries, direct contact of domestic violence helplines by survivors decreased, compared to the patterns of calls from before the pandemic, suggests a high degree of control over survivors, an increase in first-time incidents and the fact that information about still-available services had not been effectively communicated to domestic violence survivors. • Lockdowns have confined survivors with perpetrators, but other consequences of social distancing, such as limitations on face-to-face services, isolation from family and friends and the stresses associated with overcrowded living, job loss and illness, have exacerbated the situation. The emergency measures have directly impinged on women’s rights to be free from violence (and thus the rights to physical and psychological integrity, to respect for private and family life and to be free from discrimination). In the most serious cases, lockdown measures have increased the risk for violations of women’s right to life. For instance, in Turkey, 21 women were murdered during a three-week period of lockdown in March of 2020.121 In April, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales reported that the number of women killed by men was the highest it had been in 11 years, with 16 domestic homicides in the first three weeks of lockdown.122 115 European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination, “Significant Increase of Domestic Violence against Women During the Lockdown Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic”, 14 May 2020, <https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/5135-greece-significant-increase-of-domestic-violence-during-the-lockdown-105-kb>. 116 Higgins, N., “Coronavirus: When Home Gets Violent Under Lockdown in Europe, BBC News website, 13 April 2020, <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52216966>. 117 Ibid; WAVE, “WAVE Newsletter March-April 2020”, <https://www.wave-network.org/wp-content/uploads/ WAVE_Newsletter_Mar-Apr_2020.pdf>; Grierson, J., UK Domestic Abuse Hotlines Report Surge in Calls During Lockdown”, The Guardian website, 9 April 2020, <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/09/ uk-domestic-abuse-helplines-report-surge-in-calls-during-lockdown>. 118 Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting, “Власти Кыргызстана отмечают рост домашнего насилия во время карантина [Kyrgyz Authorities Note Increased Domestic Violence During Quarantine]”, 30 April 2020, <https://cabar.asia/ru/vlasti-kyrgyzstana-otmechayut-rost-domashnego-nasiliya-vo-vremya-karantina/>. 119 See: Center for Assistance to Women Victims of Domestic Violence “ANNA”, <http://www.anna-center.ru/index. php/ru/25-2017-07-18-13-53-01/170-kolichestvo-obrashchenij-na-vserossijskij-telefon-doveriya-dlyazhenshchin-uvelichilos-na-74> (in Russian). 120 Armstrong, S., “Staying at Home Is Dangerous for Many Women, The Star website, 22 April 2020, <https://www. thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/04/22/staying-at-home-is-dangerous-for-many-women.html>. 121 Soylu, R., “Coronavirus: Fourteen Women Murdered in Turkish Homes Since Lockdown, Middle East Eye website, 2 April 2020, <https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/coronavirus-women-murder-turkey-increase-domestic>. 122 Women’s Resource Centre, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on the UK’s Women’s Sector, Survey Responses and Findings”, June 2020, <https://www.wrc.org.uk/Handlers/Download. 36