Editing Curfew (section)

{{Short description|Order imposing certain regulations during specified hours, often stay-at-home orders}}
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{{cleanup|reason=Too much content in the {{Section link||By country|nopage=yes}} section focusing narrowly on the COVID-19 pandemic curfews.|date=November 2021}}
[[File:Curfew Patrol (49985847162).jpg|thumb|Armed police enforce a curfew in [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]], during the 2020 [[George Floyd protests]].|300x300px]]
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A '''curfew''' is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=2023 |title=Curfew Definition & Meaning |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/curfew |access-date=2023-05-03 |work=[[Dictionary.com]]}}</ref> Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours.<ref>{{cite web |date=2012 |title=Definition of curfew |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/curfew  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707012344/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/curfew |archive-date=7 July 2012 |work=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Dictionaries]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hudson |first=David L. Jr. |date=2020-06-03 |orig-date=originally published 2009 |title=Curfews |url=https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1206/curfews#:~:text=Curfews%20are%20government%20policies%20that,lifted%2C%20usually%20in%20the%20morning. |website=The First Amendment Encyclopedia}}</ref> Such an order is most often issued by public authorities, but may also be given by the owner of a house to those living in the household. For instance, children are often given curfews by their parents, and an [[au pair]] is traditionally given a curfew by which time they must return to their host family's home. Some jurisdictions have juvenile curfews which affect all persons under a certain age not accompanied by an adult or engaged in certain approved activities.

Curfews have been used as a control measure in [[martial law]], as well as for public safety in the event of a disaster, [[epidemic]], or crisis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/curfew-laws.html|title=Curfew Laws|website=FindLaw}}</ref> Various countries have implemented such measures throughout history, including during [[World War II]] and the [[Gulf War]]. The enforcement of curfews has been found to disproportionately affect [[social marginalisation|marginalised]] groups, including those who are [[homelessness|homeless]] or have limited access to transportation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brass |first1=Paul R. |title=Collective Violence, Human Rights, and the Politics of Curfew |journal=Journal of Human Rights |volume=5 |issue=3 |year=2006 |pages=323–340 |doi=10.1080/14754830600812324|s2cid=35491331 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1=Lerner | first1=Kira | date=2020-06-10 | title=The Toll That Curfews Have Taken on Homeless Americans | url=https://theappeal.org/police-brutality-protest-curfews-homeless/ | access-date=2023-04-18 | work=The Appeal }}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], curfews were implemented in several countries, including France, Italy, Poland and Australia, as a measure to limit the spread of the virus.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/23/curfews-and-restrictions-imposed-across-europe-as-covid-19-cases-soar |title=Curfews and restrictions imposed across Europe as COVID-19 cases soar |last=Daventry |first=Michael |date=24 October 2020 |website=Euronews |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wood |first=Patrick |date=2020-08-06 |title=Why did Melbourne impose a curfew? It's not entirely clear |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-07/will-melbournes-stage-4-curfews-be-effective-against-coronavirus/12520994 |access-date=2023-06-07}}</ref> However, recent studies have reported negligible or no effect,<ref>{{cite journal |last=de Haas |first=Samuel |author2=Götz, Georg |author3=Heim, Sven |title=Measuring the effect of COVID-19-related night curfews in a bundled intervention within Germany |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=12 |issue=1 |article-number=19732 |year=2022 |page=19732 |publisher=Springer Nature |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-24086-9 |pmid=36396710 |pmc=9669542 |bibcode=2022NatSR..1219732D }}</ref> and even a potential increase in virus transmission.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sprengholz |first1=Philipp |last2=Siegers |first2=Regina |last3=Goldhahn |first3=Laura |last4=Eitze |first4=Sarah |last5=Betsch |first5=Cornelia |title=Good night: Experimental evidence that nighttime curfews may fuel disease dynamics by increasing contact density |journal=Social Science & Medicine |volume=288 |year=2021 |page=114324 |doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114324|pmid=34419633 |pmc=8426215 }}</ref> The use and enforcement of curfews during the pandemic has been associated with human rights violations and [[mental health]] deterioration, further complicating their use as a control measure.<ref>{{cite news|title=Philippines: Curfew Violators Abused|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/26/philippines-curfew-violators-abused|work=Human Rights Watch|date=26 March 2020|access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Almomani | first1=Ensaf Y. | last2=Qablan | first2=Ahmad M. | last3=Almomany | first3=Abbas M. | last4=Atrooz | first4=Fatin Y. | title=The coping strategies followed by university students to mitigate the COVID-19 quarantine psychological impact | journal=Curr Psychol | volume=40 | issue=11 | pages=5772–5781 | year=2021 | doi=10.1007/s12144-021-01833-1 | pmid=33994758 | pmc=8106545 | issn=1046-1310}}</ref> Curfews may also impact [[road traffic safety|road safety]], as studies indicate a potential decrease in crashes during curfew hours but an increase in crashes before curfew due to rushing.<ref>{{cite report |title=The Unintended Consequences of Curfews on Road Safety |author1=Bedoya Arguelles, Guadalupe |author2=Dolinger, Amy |author3=Dolkart, Caitlin Fitzgerald |author4=Legovini, Arianna |author5=Milusheva, Sveta |author6=Marty, Robert Andrew |author7=Taniform, Peter Ngwa |date=5 April 2023 |type=Policy Research Working Paper |access-date=18 April 2023 |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/179051633322290714/pdf/The-Unintended-Consequences-of-Curfews-on-Road-Safety.pdf}}</ref>