Physicians for Human Rights, PC Culture Housing Society, House #44, Road #11, Block-Kha, Adabor, Mohammadpur, 1207, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Physicians for Human Rights, 434 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 503, Boston, MB, 02118, USA.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Jun 4;22(1):743. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08122-y.
The COVID-19 pandemic has acutely affected Rohingya refugees living in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Reported increases in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) were attributed in part to pandemic-related public health measures. In addition, the Government of Bangladesh's restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have impacted the provision of comprehensive care for survivors of sexual violence. This study sought to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected SGBV and the provision of services for Rohingya survivors in Bangladesh.
Interviews were conducted with 13 professionals who provided or managed health care or related services for Rohingya refugees after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations observed an increase in the incidences of SGBV. However, health care workers noted that the overall number of survivors formally reporting or accessing services decreased. The pandemic produced multiple challenges that affected health workers' ability to provide essential care and services to Rohingya survivors, including access to the camps, initial designation of SGBV-related services as non-essential, communications and telehealth, difficulty maintaining confidentiality, and donor pressure. Some emerging best practices were also reported, including engaging Rohingya volunteers to continue services and adapting programming modalities and content to the COVID-19 context.
Comprehensive SGBV services being deemed non-essential by the Government of Bangladesh was a key barrier to providing services to Rohingya survivors. Government restrictions adversely affected the ability of service providers to ensure that comprehensive SGBV care and services were available and accessible. The Government of Bangladesh has not been alone in struggling to balance the needs of displaced populations with the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its response can provide lessons to others overseeing the provision of services during epidemics and pandemics in other humanitarian settings. The designation of comprehensive services for survivors of SGBV as essential is vital and should be done early in establishing disease prevention and mitigation strategies.
COVID-19 大流行严重影响了生活在孟加拉国 Cox's Bazar 难民营的罗兴亚难民。部分归因于与大流行相关的公共卫生措施，报告的性暴力和基于性别的暴力（SGBV）事件有所增加。此外，孟加拉国政府为防止 COVID-19 传播而实施的限制措施，影响了对性暴力幸存者的全面护理服务。本研究旨在了解 COVID-19 大流行如何影响 SGBV 以及为孟加拉国罗兴亚幸存者提供服务。
对 2020 年 3 月 COVID-19 大流行开始后为罗兴亚难民提供或管理医疗保健或相关服务的 13 名专业人员进行了访谈。
COVID-19 大流行开始时，各组织观察到 SGBV 事件发生率有所增加。然而，卫生保健工作者注意到，正式报告或寻求服务的幸存者总数有所减少。大流行带来了多种挑战，影响了卫生工作者向罗兴亚幸存者提供基本护理和服务的能力，包括进入营地、最初将与 SGBV 相关的服务指定为非必要服务、通信和远程医疗、难以保持保密性以及捐助者的压力。还报告了一些新出现的最佳做法，包括让罗兴亚志愿者继续提供服务以及调整方案模式和内容以适应 COVID-19 背景。
孟加拉国政府将全面的 SGBV 服务视为非必要服务，这是向罗兴亚幸存者提供服务的主要障碍。政府的限制严重影响了服务提供者确保全面的 SGBV 护理和服务的提供和可及性。孟加拉国政府并非独自努力在平衡流离失所者的需求与防止 COVID-19 传播的必要预防措施之间取得平衡，其应对措施可为其他在其他人道主义环境中监督大流行病和传染病期间提供服务提供经验教训。将幸存者的全面 SGBV 服务指定为必要服务至关重要，应在制定疾病预防和缓解策略的早期阶段进行。
