COVID 19 pandemic : Unseen Impacts on Women

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt lives around the world, most countries have enforced some form of lockdown or shelter-in-place to prevent the infection outbreak. Experts have predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic would impact every individual in some way or other. We’ve already witnessed its catastrophic impact on public health and the economy, especially on vulnerable communities. In this post, I have discussed the impacts of COVID-19 on women.

Like any other conflict or crisis, women and children are also disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of The prolonged shutdown and loss of income, women are experiencing food insecurity, poverty, eviction, increased burden of domestic and care work, disrupted maternity and newborn care, lack of access to contraception and menstrual hygiene products, high risks of infection during childbirth or neonatal care and domestic abuse and violence associated with confinement with abusive partners. 

Policymakers and experts around the world are urging governments to address the COVID-19 emergency measures through a gender-focused approach.

Read: Cyber Crime Against Women During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Pregnancy and Childbirth

The risk is multi-fold and complex for women who are pregnant and in need of routine health services. Visiting healthcare facilities for maternity, neonatal care, childbirth, or immunization of the newborn increases the risk of infections in women and newborn babies. Pregnant women also need access to reliable information and guidance.

Places with restricted movement or shelter-in-place orders, lack of adequate resources, poverty, food insecurity, and the extreme stress of living with the crisis, affect the health of the pregnant or nursing mothers, and the newborn in a disproportionate way, exposing them to malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and depression.

Read: Can Women Exercise Their Rights of Legal and Safe Abortions During the Pandemic?

For women living in remote places in low-income countries, it might be extremely challenging to find reliable transportation to reach hospitals for childbirth! Poor women in rural areas are at high risk of compromised maternity care and might have to give birth at home, in unhygienic settings, and under untrained supervision, posing a significant risk to both the mother and the newborn. 

Domestic and Sexual Violence

Evidence from past crises and natural disasters suggests that when families struggle with increased tensions, economic pressures, and confinement, it usually leads to increased violence against women and children. 

As quarantine and stay-at-home orders take effect around the world, there has been a sharp spike in domestic violence cases in all countries. Lack of access to safer places, inability to physically distance themselves from predators, or having to stay confined 24 hours with abusive partners are making women and girls more susceptible to physical, emotional, and sexual violence. 

Governments failed to foresee and prepare for this surge of domestic violence associated with movement restrictions orders. A New York Times article reported how countries like Italy, Spain, and the United States failed to address the need for more shelters for distressed women in the wake of the pandemic. Needless to mention, the resources for women are extremely scarce in low-income countries, especially among people living in rural areas or in acute poverty. 

The United Nations called for urgent action to combat the worldwide surge in domestic violence. “I urge all governments to put women’s safety first as they respond to the pandemic,” Secretary-General António Guterres wrote on Twitter-

Read: Why women can’t escape abusive relations

Lack of access to sexual and reproductive rights

During ongoing public health emergencies, human and financial resources are overwhelmed in managing the immediate crisis and burden on the health system because of the infection outbreak. 

Supply chains are being impacted by the shutdown, and closure of international and domestic borders in some countries, negatively affecting the import and in-country availability and distribution of regular and emergency contraceptives, STD prevention medicines including HIV drugs, maternal and neonatal medicines, other essential medicines and menstrual hygiene and sanitation items. The unavailability of these essential items impacts primarily women and girls, violating their rights to sexual and reproductive health, and can have life-threatening consequences and long-term public health hazards if not addressed immediately.

In the Frontline and Community Health Care Jobs

According to the United Nations Populations Fund, globally around 70 percent of health and social service workers are women. Women make up around 85%  of nurses and midwives in the 104 countries for which data are available. Working as midwives, nurses or community health workers place women on the front lines of the infection outbreak, making them particularly vulnerable to the pandemic. More and more countries are failing to provide protective equipment to frontline workers, forcing women to face disproportionate risks and threats of infection. 

The Burden of Elderly care, Child care, and Domestic work

Around the world, women bear the majority of the responsibilities of childcare, domestic work, and caring for older family members. Gender gaps in unpaid work amount to about one hour per day and the gaps in unpaid work are often larger in developing countries. With schools, childcare facilities, and many elder care facilities closing down, Much of this additional burden is falling on women. Read this article, The Burden of Unpaid Care on Women to know more about how unpaid care impacts women in many ways. 

Read: Why Many Women in India Stay Away From The Workforce?

Loss of income, Poverty, and Food Insecurity

Worldwide more women work in low-paying, informal sectors without any unemployment benefits, or health insurance coverage. Many migrant women work as domestic workers, sex workers, or other informal care workers who lost their income during the pandemic. Women in all societies hold less wealth or assets than men. Losing economic freedom impacts their decision-making power, making them more susceptible to food insecurity, poverty, starvation, and homelessness. School closures, food insecurity, and increased poverty may also increase the risks of harmful social practices against women and girls in poor communities,  including child marriage, early school leaving among girls, and property grabbing from widows.

 Read: COVID-19 and Period Poverty in Vihiga County

The economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic will further worsen the existing inequalities and discrimination against women and girls, especially those living in extreme poverty. The pandemic is likely to have severe consequences on the specific achievement of SDG 5, and both developed and developing countries will require more time to reach gender equality targets.

While ensuring economic stabilization and protecting vulnerable communities, countries should approach a gender-based approach in the design and implementation of emergency policy responses. Governments and international organizations should also adopt well-functioning gender impact assessments,  availability of quality sex-disaggregated data, and gender indicators.