Volunteers and civil society are also active in most Member States. The French Government launched an online service to find volunteers to help older and isolated people,165 for example, while in the Netherlands civil society is using the hashtag ‘coronahulp’166 to coordinate support. In many Member States supermarkets have designated opening hours for older people. Age Platform Europe points out that measures should not assume that older persons are vulnerable, frail, passive and inactive, but should reflect on how they can support older people’s participation in paid and unpaid work, caregiving, voluntary activities and civic activism, for example.167 2.2.4 Roma and Travellers Roma communities in several EU countries are especially vulnerable. Often living in substandard and overcrowded housing conditions, they are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19, according to the European Public Health Association.168 Civil society organisations in some Member States, for example in Slovakia169, highlighted the lack of coordinated action to protect the health of Roma at the start of the pandemic. Some countries also restrict access to and from Roma neighbourhoods as a measure to prevent the spread of infection. In Bulgaria170, for example, the media reported that some municipalities organised temporary checkpoints and checked identification papers.171 Some positive initiatives were noticed, however. In Slovakia, information in the Roma language was made available to 272 communities by the government172 and NGOs,173 including through a dedicated website.174 In Ireland, the Department of Housing asked local authorities to make arrangements to make Traveller sites safer to allow self-isolation.175 In Greece, the government allocated on 27 March 2,255,000 EUR to 98 municipalities for the provision of medical supplies and equipment in Roma communities.176 2.2.5 Women and children at risk of domestic violence As more people stay at home, the risk of intimate partner violence is likely to increase, according to the WHO.177 This is exacerbated by additional stresses on families prompted by school closures and potential job losses. Evidence is already starting to reflect this increased risk. Reports in Austria and Cyprus178 indicate that more women are calling support hotlines since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Several Member States announced specific measures to tackle the increased risk of gender-based violence. In Portugal, the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality created an email service to reply to questions and requests for support related to domestic violence179. In Austria, the government introduced a 24h help-hotline for victims of gender-based violence and has enabled the police to immediately hand out application forms for preliminary injunctions.180 In Italy, media reported that women who are victims of genderbased and domestic violence would be allowed to leave their homes and go to the nearest women-support service, without being reported and sanctioned by police authorities for violating confinement measures.181 32