Call for Book Chapter Proposals: "The Shadow Pandemic: A Tale of Not So Sweet Homes"

Vernon Press invites book chapter proposals for an edited collection on “The Shadow Pandemic: A Tale of Not So Sweet Homes” edited by Bula Bhadra to reflect on domestic violence which was already one of the greatest human rights violations. Wide under-reporting of domestic and other forms of violence has previously made response and data gathering a challenge; but the circumstances during Covid -19 pandemic  reporting became even harder, including limitations on women’s and girls’ access to phones and helplines and disrupted public services like police, justice and social services. These disruptions may also be compromising the care and support that survivors need, like clinical management of rape, and mental health and psycho-social support. They also fuel impunity for the perpetrators.

Gender-based violence, already a global crisis before the pandemic, has intensified during the outbreak of COVID-19. Lockdowns and other mobility restrictions have left many women trapped with their abusers, isolated from social contact and support networks. Increased economic precarity has further limited many women’s ability to leave abusive situations. COVID-driven economic and social instability has heightened the increase of child marriage, female genital mutilation and human trafficking in many parts of the world. At the same time, the pandemic has exposed women to backlash, leading to threats, abuse and harassment both online and offline. Thus, COVID-19 has provided a booster to authoritarian, highly patriarchal regimes which nurtured authoritarian masculinities as part of their basic viewpoint. Ironically, the main Slogan in this Pandemic of Corona Virus was, Stay Home Stay Safe. “With 90 countries in lockdown, four billion people are now sheltering at home from the global contagion of COVID-19 said, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women. It’s a protective measure, but it brings another deadly danger. We see a shadow pandemic, growing of violence against women”. Interestingly but not surprisingly as more countries report infection and lockdown, more domestic violence helplines and shelters across the world have reported rising calls for help. 

This proposed edited volume invites chapters with the purpose of reflecting on the following question: Did lockdown provide the perfect opportunity to the abuser to practice “intimate terrorism”—dictate and control all actions and movements of women, with violence if needed? The authors are encouraged to focus on different variety of mental and physical violence those were inflicted on women and girls from different backgrounds of class, race, ethnicity, location, disability, language, culture etc. i.e. from an intersectional perspective.

The papers should be formatted in the Chicago Style (17th edition) and not be less than 7000 or more than 10,000 words including references, notes etc.

Kindly send your abstract of approximately 300 words to Bula Bhadra (bhadrabula1990@gmail.com) by September 15, 2023 along with 4-5 keywords, and your full paper by December 15, 2023. Please be advised that your full paper will be subject to a set of review and deliberation.