The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism: Pandemics affect men and women differently

|by

||||

When people try to be cheerful about social distancing and working from home, noting that William Shakespeare and Isaac Newton did some of their best work while England was ravaged by the plague, there is an obvious response: Neither of them had child-care responsibilities. This article in the Atlantic describes the impact of the pandemic on gender equality, focusing on economic considerations. Read more

Read more

COVID-19: A Gender Lens. Protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights, and promoting gender equality

|by

||||

“Disease outbreaks affect women and men differently,” says the new UNFPA guidance document, which covers how gender is playing a role in the unfolding pandemic. “Pandemics make existing gender inequalities for women and girls worse, and can impact how they receive treatment and care.” Download

Read more

Gender implications of COVID-19 outbreaks in development and humanitarian settings

|by

, |, , |||,

Informed by lessons learned from past public health emergencies, this analysis shows that COVID-19 outbreaks in development or humanitarian contexts could disproportionately affect women and girls in a number of ways, including adverse effects on their education, food security and nutrition, health, livelihoods, and protection. Even after the outbreak has been contained, women and girls may continue to suffer from ill-effects for years to come. Download

Read more

COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak

|by and

||||,

Writing this comment on behalf of the Gender and COVID-19 Working Group, the authors argue that policies and public health efforts have not addressed the gendered impacts of disease outbreaks, and that the response to Covid-19 appears no different. They are not aware of any gender analysis of the outbreak by global health institutions or governments in affected countries or in preparedness phases. Recognising the extent to which disease outbreaks affect women and men differently…

Read more

Gender and the Coronavirus Outbreak

|by

||||

This article argues that while most of the questions currently asked with relation to Covid-19 are of a scientific and technical nature, crucial to containing the outbreak; such as, how infectious is it? How long does it incubate in the body before you get sick? And can it be spread by people who have no symptoms?, there are other, unanswered questions that also need to be addressed but are rarely even asked. The author’s own…

Read more

A gendered human rights analysis of Ebola and Zika: locating gender in global health emergencies

|by and

||||,

Globally gender remains a key factor in differing health outcomes for men and women. This article analyses the particular relevance of gender for debates about global health and the role for international human rights law in supporting improved health outcomes during public health emergencies. Looking specifically at the recent Ebola and Zika outbreaks, what we find particularly troubling in both cases is the paucity of engagement with human rights language and the diverse backgrounds of…

Read more