At the end of March, the country imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew. Enforcement of the order has been harsh with multiple deaths reported and we've seen a spike in cases of police brutality and abuse of power. IJM is working with government partners, who are working remotely and in shifts, to ensure that the new cases are investigated, and suspects taken to court.

Since 2018, IJM Gulu has been responding to cases of domestic violence, and during the government-imposed COVID-19 lockdown these cases have been increasing. The Uganda press reported that homicides stemming from domestic violence have increased from an average of 1-2 per week to around 5. On the first day of lockdown alone, there were 5 murders resulting from domestic violence.

For the past three years, the Uganda Child Helpline received an average of 248 calls per month. In March 2020, when lockdown began, they received 881 calls. On 10^th April, they received over 700 calls in one day. 17 involved serious physical/sexual abuse that were difficult to follow up because of the lockdown.

The team is providing masks to hospitals and food to five shelters that we partner with to care for children rescued from forced labor, in order to ensure that they will have sufficient food while on lockdown.

At the beginning of the outbreak in March, the Guatemalan Public Justice System saw a dramatic decrease nationwide in reported cases of violence against women and children. It was suspected that lockdown measures, alongside public transportation closures, meant that many victims weren’t able to make it to the police station to file reports. Since then, special guidelines have been issued for how to receive and process complaints, and there's been a 35% increase in complaints related to these crimes. Our team is supporting these efforts to reduce barriers to reporting with a hotline where complaints can be phoned in and a patrol unit will either be immediately dispatched or follow up within 72 hours.

The country is under a very strict lockdown during COVID-19 and the local government has rescheduled most hearings until the lockdown is finished, however they are allowing critical hearings to resume virtually. Our hardworking team have submitted some IJM cases for consideration to resume trial, and are getting ready to defend boys and girls who are survivors of sex trafficking upon the government’s response.

Despite the lockdown, the team has still been able to support rescue operations. Five boys were rescued from slavery at a paper-making factory in Telangana state. See the story.

IJM staff and survivors with the Rescued Bonded Labour Association have been reaching out to their communities providing hand washing trainings, teaching them about the virus, and working with the government to provide needed food support. In Madurai, migrant workers were left stranded due to the lockdown, unable to travel back to their native states. The police noticed their vulnerable state and asked IJM to help provide groceries and disinfectant while they provided temporary shelters.

Six courts in different parts of Mumbai have been operational during the lockdown and called on IJM to help provide face masks and hand sanitizer to continue operating. The team was honored to assist the courts in this way as they seek to continue ensuring justice during these times.