The COVID-19 crisis is having a serious impact on the health and safety of women. According to data from the United Nations (UN), women represent around 70% of people who work in customer service in health and social systems.

As Gabriela Moriana points out, even before COVID-19, they performed three times more unpaid domestic and care work than men. Women employed in the formal sector are torn between their employment, childcare, homeschooling, elder care and domestic work. But in a worse situation are women working in the informal economy who may find themselves unemployed and with no economic income. Female-headed households are particularly vulnerable.

Moriana states that violence against women, in addition to being a scourge in all societies, can increase when there is tension in the homes due to problems related to security, health and the economy, added to the specific conditions of confinement. In the article published in The Conversation, the researcher adds that according to UN Women, reports of violence have tripled in some countries where confinement measures have been taken, and she outlines five actions that governments and public administrations must take without delay.

Broadly speaking, these actions include ensuring that the needs of female health personnel are taken into account; paying attention to what happens in the homes and promoting the equitable distribution of the burden of care and domestic tasks; or guarantying that telephone hotlines and resources for women who experience gender-based violence are essential services and that they are always available to them.

The researcher concludes that building on the needs of women provides the opportunity to “rebuild us better”.

Read the original article published in The Conversation.