Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, communities across the world have faced acute hardships. With restrictions and long and repeated lockdowns, we have seen increased rates of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). We saw some countries divert resources from sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to combat the virus and witnessed some governments’ strategic use of the pandemic to curtail access to SRH services. And we know that women and adolescent girls in all their diversity have been disproportionately affected by the strains on health systems and social systems brought on by this pandemic.
