Coronavirus has devastated efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) and catalyzed an explosion in global GBV cases.

Data from 10 countries shows calls to domestic violence or GBV helplines increased by 25 to 111 per cent in the first months of the pandemic as women, including trans women, girls and LGBTQIA+ people, were isolated with their abusers and cut off from social networks and essential and life-saving services.

This paper explores the impact of coronavirus on victims and survivors of GBV, considers the implications of a continued failure to respond, and calls for a stronger link to be made between efforts to recover from COVID-19 and efforts to end the less recognized but equally devastating GBV pandemic.