'Another pandemic': In Latin America, domestic abuse rises amid lockdown

An aerial view shows the almost deserted streets of an avenue amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bogota, Colombia April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

BUENOS AIRES/SANTIAGO/MEXICO CITY/LA PAZ (Reuters) - Lockdowns around Latin America are helping slow the spread of COVID-19, but are having a darker and less-intended consequence: a spike in calls to helplines suggests a rise in domestic abuse, in a region where almost 20 million women and girls suffer sexual and physical violence each year.

In cities from Buenos Aires to Mexico City, Santiago, São Paulo and La Paz, families and individuals have been confined in their homes in an unprecedented way, often only allowed out for emergencies or to shop for essentials.