Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what engagement they have had with the UN and other international actors to ensure that tackling gender-based violence is recognised as a specific objective in the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan.

The UK is deeply concerned about the surge in gender-based violence (GBV) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have consistently encouraged the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to prioritise GBV within the Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) through bilateral channels and joint advocacy with other donors. We believe revising the GHRP to explicitly include a specific objective on GBV will prove lifesaving for women and girls.

Whilst we are pleased to see improvements in how GBV is being addressed overall in the GHRP, the UK is still championing a specific objective on GBV in future versions. All UN agencies and international actors must demonstrate that the shadow pandemic of GBV is taken seriously in the global response to COVID-19 and be held accountable for addressing GBV.