Most EU women blame COVID pandemic for spike in gender violence -poll

People attend a demonstration to mark International Women's Day, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Nearly three out of four European Union women think the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred an increase in physical and psychological violence against them, according to a Eurobarometer poll published on Friday.

The poll, commissioned by the European Parliament ahead of Women's Day on March 8, shows 77% of women in the EU think the pandemic caused a rise in gender violence in their countries, with nine in 10 respondents in Greece and Portugal saying so.