COMMENT | A lot of people just can't stand to be locked up in their houses all day for days and days on end. People have a natural instinct to go out and meet other people. Without this, they get bored, restless and aggressive.

Not that people are not grumpy when they are not confined to their homes, but the situation is worse when you are stuck with an abuser in the house, and there is nowhere to run.

Barely two weeks after International Women's Day, women's groups and shelters all over the world are now bracing for how movement restrictions due to the outbreak of Covid-19 will impact women and children.

Parts of China are already registering a tripling of domestic violence and child abuse reports since strict isolation orders have been issued. From Canada to Germany to right here in Malaysia, women's groups have ramped up their services to ensure that even if they had to work from home, their helplines remained available and insisted that government child care lines continue to be accessible to all.

According to the World Health Organisation, one out of every three women in the world experience physical or sexual violence. And yet, domestic abuse remains the most...