Covid-19: Impact on Women

What is the issue?

• Covid-19 pandemic is exposing and exploiting inequalities of all kinds, including gender inequality.
• In the long term, its impact on women’s health, rights and freedoms could harm us all.

How the pandemic affects women?

• Women are already suffering the deadly impact of lockdowns.
• These essential restrictions increase the risk of violence towards women trapped with abusive partners.
• Recent weeks have seen a global surge in domestic violence.
• The support services for women at risk also face cuts and closures.
• The threat to women’s rights and freedoms posed by COVID-19 goes far beyond physical violence.
• The deep economic downturn accompanying the pandemic is likely to have a female face.

What are the actions taken?

• These negative impacts on women led to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) to appeal for peace in homes around the world.
• Since then, over 143 governments have committed to supporting women and girls at risk of violence during the pandemic.
• Every country can take action by,
  1. Moving services online,
  2. Expanding domestic violence shelters, and
  3. Increasing the support to frontline organisations.
• The Spotlight Initiative is working with governments in more than 25 countries on these and similar measures.
• [Spotlight Initiative is a partnership between the UN and the European Union.]

What is the inequality that women face?

• Women comprise just one in every 10 political leaders worldwide.
• They are disproportionately represented in poorly paid jobs without benefits, as domestic workers, casual labourers, street vendors, etc.,
• The International Labour Organization estimates that nearly 200 million jobs will be lost in the next 3 months alone.
• As women are losing their paid employment, they face a huge increase in care work due to school closures, overwhelmed health systems, etc.,
• This will delay their return to the paid labour force.
• Many girls have had their education cut short.

What could be done?

• Women in pandemic-related decision-making will prevent worst-case scenarios like second spike in infections, labour shortages, etc.
• Basic social protections should be given to women in insecure jobs.
• Measures to stimulate the economy, like cash transfers, credits, loans and bailouts, must be targeted at women.
• Women’s unpaid domestic work at home must be included in economic metrics and decision-making.
• With women’s interests and rights front, getting through this pandemic will be faster.

Source: The Hindu