West Africa: Ebola Epidemic Leads to More Violence Against Women

Violence against women has increased in West Africa during the Ebola epidemic. Guinea reports that the number of rapes in that country has doubled since the start of the outbreak. The country has also seen 4.5% increase in all forms of gender-based violence. As reported in Reuters, the Minister of Gender and Development in Liberia stated that, "men were not respecting the recovery protocol that Ebola survivors should observe and were infecting their spouses and female partners through unprotected sex." In general, women have been infected by the virus at a rate 12% higher than men.

Compiled from: Caspani, MariaViolence Against Women Rises in Ebola-hit Nations – MinistersReuters UK (March 18, 2015).