Domestic abuse increasing in Jordan with refugees most at risk: ‘Pandemic has turned lives upside down’

The magnified pressures and stresses of daily life because of Covid-19 are leading to higher levels of gender-based violence, Maya Oppenheim reports

The Arab country, which is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel and Palestine, is home to more than 700,000 refugees – the majority of whom have escaped Syria (Getty)

Incidents of domestic abuse have increased in Jordan during the coronavirus pandemic with women living in refugee camps at gravest risk, a report has found.

Plan International, who carried out the research with the United Nations Population Fund, said they are particularly concerned about teenage girls who they say face a greater threat of being abused due to the Covid-19 crisis turning their lives “upside down”.

The global children’s charity found 69 per cent of those polled said gender-based violence has risen since the public health crisis began. Psychological and physical abuse by a romantic partner or relative were the most frequently reported.