As the behaviour of households plays a determining part in the economy, the households have received vast attention. The rapid transition of households from simple traditional patterns to modernization has produced lethal effects including Gender-based Violence (GBV). COVID-19 and gender-based violence have some similarities. Both are global, with no boundaries and no regard for income, race, or religion; both destroy and cause great physical and mental pain on their victims. And we need behavioural adjustments to combat both of these pandemics. Nevertheless, there is one significant difference between these two. That is, COVID is receiving widespread attention and action, while GBV is currently receiving less attention. It is not receiving the global action, particularly behavioural changes, that is probably inevitable.

Domestic violence is an unseen pandemic that has been identified long before COVID-19 and affects not only the victims but also their families and communities. When   COVID-19 captured the world, 243 million women had been sexually or physically harassed by a partner in the previous year. Other numbers are similarly shocking: 15 million teen girls aged between 15 to 19 have been subjected to forced sex around the world, and 137 females are murdered each day by a family member. According to the Sri Lankan Demographic and Health Survey 2016, 17 percentage of ever-married women aged 15-49 have suffered from domestic violence from their spouse in Sri Lanka too.

Intimate partner violence appears to be an economic concern than a sociological concern. Because it produces a significant economic burden to the governments in terms of expenditures on healthcare, reduces productivity, decreases the income of women, declines the women’s labour force participation, disrupts the development of human capital and increases the law enforcement costs. Simultaneously, this disaster affects directly businesses, reducing employee safety, engagement, and efficiency. It has a negative impact on the financial performance of a company, reputation, and overall viability.

According to the employment status of women, females who are employed have witnessed violence more than the females who are unemployed. This is mainly due to some partners considering the high employment level of the women as a threat to their power maintained within the household. However, this condition discourages the women to engage in economic activities, which in turn fabricate undesired outcomes in regard to the labour market in Sri Lanka. Therefore, preventing GBV will lead to the economic development of a country by strengthening the female labour force participation.

In the present situation, getting help for gender-based violence may be more challenging. Employees fear repercussions, including getting fired, during a time when many businesses are shrinking. To make matters worse, many victims of abuse may find it impossible to get outside help, particularly during lockdowns, and may have a mistrust of reporting mechanisms.

However, the employers must ensure that employees are conscious of the increased risk of violence during the pandemic; implement procedures to safeguard employees from customer or client aggressiveness; create secure methods for victims and witnesses to report concerns; ensure that women and minority groups are not unfairly disadvantaged when cutting the workforce, and provide a safe environment for workers who are victims of intimate partner violence to seek support.

Additionally, the governments also can help needy households to rebuild their resilience by offering incentives, housing, money, or food vouchers during the rehabilitation process. Then they may start preparing households for long-term financial stability since we know that economic hardship, unemployment, and living in economically depressed areas can all influence the frequency and degree of spousal violence. These measures can also help women gain more control over their financial resources.

For the economic development of a country, poverty alleviation is more crucial. GBV and poverty are interconnected. Hence, it is clear that preventing GBV is the key to economic recovery. Moreover, the GBV also creates a threat to companies, their workforce, society, and the economy. For the sake of our sisters, mothers, friends, co-workers, current and future leaders, and ourselves, we must combat the tragedy of GBV. Then it will surely pave the way to the economic recovery of any country.