Shut inside their one-room house in rural El Salvador, he began drinking heavily. Soon, she says, he was regularly violating the coronavirus curfew and seeing other women openly. He would return home at odd hours, wake her and demand meals. Drunk, he would taunt Zoila, 24 years old and pregnant, calling her worthless and threatening violence.

Then one morning, she says, he grabbed her by the throat, slammed her against the wall and attempted to rape her. When she resisted, she said, the punching began, stopping only when fluid began trailing down her leg. Zoila screamed, fearing a miscarriage.

“I remember that day, and I just want to cry,” said Zoila, who gave birth to a daughter in June. To protect their identities, The Washington Post is using only the first names of Zoila and Sandly, another woman who says she has been abused during the pandemic.

“I was pregnant,” Zoila said. “During what was supposed to be a time of joy for me, I felt only pain.”

…continued .
[Source: Washington Post]