IMPACT OF THE LOCKDOWN ON WOMEN

Not one would disagree that our society has conventionally relegated women to the margins of our social fabric, has ever let them down with abuses, physical and mental harassment and closed-door violence. Nationwide lockdowns imposed in the wake of Covid-19 has only contributed to increased cases of gender-based violence and sexual harassment, besides a heightened burden of household chores and responsibilities. This article makes an in-depth analysis of the harrowing experiences of women belonging to diverse backgrounds and strata, locked within the four walls of their household, undergoing painful tortures at the hands of male members of the family. It has either been neglected or hasn’t received due attention. UN chief Antonio Guterres called for measures to address a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence”, directed towards women and girls linked to lockdowns. Besides, Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka appealed to leaders to declare as essential services, those that address gender violence. The chief has further called for adequate social protection of women working in the frontline, who are underpaid.

 

The National Commission for Women has witnessed a two-fold increase in domestic violence and sexual assaults in the first week of lockdown since March 24. Of the 257 complaint calls received by NCW, one of them was by a father in Rajasthan who complained of his daughter being beaten by his husband and not being provided food. A more telling static, The National Family Health Survey data reveals 52% of women and 42% of men think there is at least one valid reason for wife-beating. Data has also shown a correlation between alcohol intake and violence. Owing to limited availability of alcohol and drugs in these times, perpetrators resort to taking undue advantage of women’s resulting helplessness owing to lack of redressal forces. Shifting priorities of police, judiciary and health services (usually the first responders in cases like these) have inevitably caused the situation to exacerbate, as women risk being thrown out on streets by their abusers. 

As the steps to contain the transmission of the virus might require more stretches of isolation and confinement for the public, the government at the Centre and state levels need to address the upsurge in domestic violence immediately. For a lot of women, home is not a haven as normally believed. Their lives depend on the emergency response systems remaining functional.

 

 

Women from Different Social Background

The crisis has taken a greater toll over women belonging to marginalized communities and those earning from the unorganized sector like maids, house servants and rag pickers. Unprecedented and sudden confinement within their homes has barred this lot from earning (who, in some cases, were the sole earners in a vast family) inviting the wrath of their frustrated husbands. Lack of resources brews agony within the destitute which then takes the form of abuses on women. If reports are anything to go by, girls in poor households have been abused mentally, physically and emotionally at the hands of parents as well. The problem worsens for single mothers earning hand to mouth through daily wages. The current atmosphere of fear, food insecurity and unemployment may create feelings of inadequacy in men, all of which tends to aggravate tensions at home, thereby leading to women becoming the sole victims of the male onslaught.

 

Nonetheless, slight headway has been made in this direction by concerned authorities. Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani instructed officials to ensure plenary linking of One Stop Centres (providing legal and psycho help to women victims) with local medical teams, NALSA (National Legal Services Authority of India), and NIMHANS (National Institute of Medical Health and Neurosciences).

 

In this whirlwind of circumstances, a particularly neglected aspect has been the prompt unavailability of sanitary napkins and other commodities essential to women. With shops having closed their shutters, the situation has become a matter of grave concern, more so for women in rural areas. Not to mention the travails of pregnant women having been forced to sustain without adequate and wholesome dietary products due to confinement. It would be erroneous to not take stock of women from migrants who have been hit harder amidst the sudden loss of habitat and employment. Specially-abled women have found themselves amid an unanticipated crisis. They are more vulnerable, because of their physical, sensory and cognitive limitations, and the virus is contagious. Women with visual disabilities rely on touch-functions for mobility and work, thus increasing their risk of infection. Precautions like hand washing and social distancing are particularly difficult for them to maintain, owing to their disability. Women with intellectual impairment cannot be expected to practice self-isolation.

Source: Unsplash By: Dan_Accelerator

Role of Women in Home in lockdown

 

With the home-dynamics changing vis-à-vis a lockdown, several things have changed. Work-burden has increased manifold. The man and children staying indoors bring incessant demands for cooked food round the clock, in addition to cleanliness and other chores. The situation is untenable without the usual household help- cook and domestic worker. Idleness stems from frustration and common-day disputes. Exploitation by other women in the house (mother-in-law, sister-in-law) is common in traditional patriarchal Indian households. 

 

Whether the Working-From-Home (WFH) man assists with household work depends entirely on individual temperament. For education and literacy have nothing to do with men sharing an equal burden back home. There is no denying the fact that the most “intellectual” and “progressive” of them have the most sexist attitude to working with their wives, mothers or sisters. 

Moreover, for a WFH woman, who is also a mother and a wife, the lockdown is especially unrelenting and an altogether different nightmare, with ruthless bosses expecting her to be available 24*7, and reprimanding her for not putting in “extra hours” considering she’s “at home”. Women as similar to their male counterparts are working full time with the same velocity however along with their household work and no help. Therefore, the biggest issue with women from this section is mental instability.

 

 A lady teacher who is neck-deep in work, not teaching from home but in “housework” complains “The husband and the kids want four meals a day including tea-time snacks!”, adding wistfully, “at this rate, I will need a vacation by the time lockdown ends. These few hours of “me” (which they usually get to spend away from work) have translated into back-breaking hours of never-ending housework”. 

Once the lockdown ends, employers need to be especially mindful of not laying off their women employees disproportionately. Overall, policies aimed at ensuring gender equality in labour force participation and wages will go a long way towards paving the way for gender equality inside homes.

 

Catering to the ill members of the family (isolated or self-quarantined people in this case) is an additional responsibility upon the woman’s shoulders and danger to the health (as they are exposed to unfit conditions). Isolation has meant greater interaction among family members, an exchange of opinion on various issues and disagreement over others causing altercations. “There was every reason to believe that the restrictions imposed to keep the virus from spreading would have such an effect”, said Marianne Hester, a Bristol University sociologist who studies abusive relationships. Domestic violence goes up whenever families spend more time together.

 

LGBTQ+ and Lockdown

 

Amidst the existential crisis raising serious concerns for everyone, women from the LGBTQ community have been particularly strained, with some facing disproportionate homelessness, and others isolated, bereft of support structures. Few of the case studies substantiate the same.

Case Study:

Akriti (name changed) is a 2nd Year University Student studying Music and Fine Arts and is hailing from a casteist orthodox family from Haryana(place anonymous). She lives with her two younger brothers, father and mother and she recognizes herself as a Lesbian with preferable pronouns, “He, Him and His”. Akriti is partnered with another Lesbian in his class and they’re very serious about the relationship. Akriti's parents are however unaware of his sexual orientation, which has become a bane on Akriti during the Coronavirus lockdown. He is criticised because of not 'being girly' enough. It is difficult to maintain her relationship with her girlfriend. These issues have created a mental pressure on him and since his parents aren’t ready to address his mental health, he is falling into anxiety and depression. He’s often found irritated, frustrated, unmotivated and depressed. His attitude towards trying to help himself is making him harm himself. Akriti is falling prey to the web of Mental Issues.

 

The constructed social opprobrium of being associated with LGBTQ community (as much of the nation tends to fathom) causes indelible mental and emotional injury which has gained impetus today more than ever before due to social isolation. New insights from the social enterprise Queer Voices Heard, and a report focusing on LGBTQ+ youth by The Trevor Project, finds that the Coronavirus will have a significant social impact on this already vulnerable community. Vasanth, an LGBTQ+ member, said: "inko toh itti si qaid se ghutan hone lgi h, hum toh kabse qaid h" (the people feel 'suffocated' by the lockdown, LGBTQ+ have been in lockdown, in a metaphorical sense). Many have to return to their LGBTphobic families because of social isolation and unemployment. They may face a lack of emotional support from their families and have no option but to stay at home in the times of the pandemic. This is particularly true of younger LGBT people. According to LGBT foundation (UK) "LGBT people, in particular older LGBT people, are more likely to be socially isolated. Coupled with the fact LGBT people are less likely to have children or wider family social networks this means that if someone falls ill they may have less of a support network upon which to rely." The Lockdown also means that many are trapped inside with abusive partners or family members. LGBT Foundation has seen a 30% increase in domestic abuse/violence calls to their helpline. The global pandemic exacerbates the risk of anxiety and suicide. The Trevor Project (an LGBT+ suicide hotline charity) suggests positive social connections are vital for suicide prevention. This community has to face homophobia beyond the four walls of the house, for example, in public or health care centres.

 

At a time in which it is vital to society for a person with symptoms of COVID-19 to seek medical testing and treatment, a member of a gender minority may attempt to self-quarantine rather than risk being mistreated by medical staff. The medical discrimination may deprioritize which can be fatal for them. According to various medical health sources, it is believed that LGBTQ+ Community and Transgender people have a weak immune system which makes them more vulnerable not only to COVID-19 but also HIV+ and AIDS. This has been substantiated by National Centre for Transgender Equality (NCTE), a US-based non-profit. Access to health care becomes difficult because of the lack of mobility and/or poverty.

 

Nearly one in ten LGBTQ people are unemployed and are more likely to live in poverty than straight and cisgender people. Their primary source of livelihood is through begging and sex work, both of which are avenues of work that entail public presence and physical contact. With physical distancing mandated, trans people moved away from their only source of income. Their condition is as vulnerable as daily wage earners. Often driven away from homes early in life, the practice of community living in poor hygiene conditions and nutritional sources, exposes many to greater health risks, at such times. They are excluded from welfare measures such as notifications and packaging, even during the lockdown.

 

The stay-in-home orders have taken a toll on their income. Most of them work as sex workers or beggars. This sudden decision of lockdown has forced this poverty-stricken extended Community into begging and on streets. A group of society that has been forgotten silently during the worldwide lockdown is that of the Sex Workers. Once a booming business, the life of the sex workers have been turned upside down with their sudden collapse of the business. No one visits them anymore and hence they’re left with no money and no savings. Maintaining social distancing in cramped spaces like the Red Light Streets is near to impossible, they’re mostly sharing a small quarter with dozen more sex workers, some even with their children. They are turned down and trafficked by their family members and have no other place to go other than choose to stay here without proper discharge or hygiene. Though the govt mentioned providing money to the poor these millions of sex workers are still in veil whether they’re considered legally poor enough to receive any help. India housing one of the largest legal Brothel in the world has extended money aid of 22.5 billion dollars for the poor however it is still not clear whether it includes sex workers or not. As of now, NGO workers are sending ration to these families who lost their business overnight yet the product is not much to sustain all of them. Maintaining social distancing is also becoming harder for the sex workers since most of the families live in small square coups with 10 to 12 member in each. Also, the sex workers, similar to LGBTQ+ Community fear medical assistance since they often carry other health issue and no hospital agrees to check them up, therefore legalizing discriminatory medical assistance. If not taken possible care of these busy back streets of the country, the brothels are to become the new breeding grounds for the virus.

One of the case studies describes the gruesome conditions they have to face.

Labia (business name) told the interviewer “I am a sex worker, I migrated from Bangladesh to Kolkata where I was sold in Sonargachi before I was again sold to Dilli. Life during the lockdown, it is impossible to maintain social distancing as we live in small claustrophobic rooms with 12 other people. The environment is unhygienic here with so many people using one toilet & we don't have enough money to sanitize it properly. On top of that, it's becoming impossible to feed my child, I have a son; forget about myself.

Also, the government isn't providing us with any sort of financial assistance as they don't consider us to lie in the BPL zone. Moreover, to maintain social distancing no one is paying visits to us, our Business has nearly collapsed. The condition is very critical, we are starving and it is frustrating that the government isn't taking any step for us. We haven't been able to avail the ration system as we don't have ration cards with us. It feels like we're not the citizens of this country, though I am an Indian citizen now, or we don't have the right to live. We've tried approaching NGO's to help us, they are trying their best but are falling short of funds. During this crisis, we've nowhere to go & we don't know what to do or whom should we ask for help. All I see in the world around me crashing down”, 

 

In these times of emergency, all the decisions made by the governments of various countries should be inclusive of gender minorities and their rights and address special needs required by LGBTQ communities. Governments must ensure the hospitals and medical testing centres create a safe and inclusive environment for the LGBTQ community. Zero cases of maltreatment by the medical staffs and fellow patients should be ensured. UN Guidelines suggests measures to address the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. Particular vulnerabilities of the LGBTI people, including older persons and the homeless, should be fully covered. Shelters, support services and other measures for gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic should include the LGBTI population. 

 

There are numerous initiatives taken. Just Like us (a charity which works for the children who are not yet 'out' to their friends and family). Just Like Us ambassadors have set up a WhatsApp group aimed at sharing (both LGBTQ related and more general) quarantine tips, including recipes, craft ideas and self-care advice. Sambhona trust which is indulged in fundraising to provide 250 trans people with a fixed monthly income of £22 for a period of three months – which could go some way in West Bengal. This is a very crucial step to economically boost up them and also to sustain their lives during such lockdown. Dating and hook up apps like Grindr are being used for friendship and mutual support. Given the rapid escalation of the impact of COVID19 on Prides, the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) and InterPride held their first COVID19 / Pride International Coordination Group. It plans to meet regularly in the coming weeks. OutRight has launched a COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency Fund. The fund will be distributed to the grassroots LGBTIQ organizations that are addressing a range of community needs including the provision of emergency food and/or shelter, access to safe and competent healthcare, safety and security, financial stability and other unforeseen negative impacts brought about by the pandemic. Mist (a collective of LGBTQ+ organisation) is helping 100 members of the trans community in Hyderabad with food essentials that cost Rs 1,000 each. The beneficiaries are identified and their details mentioned on the crowdfunding platform. All purchase bills are uploaded on the website to guarantee transparency. Milaap, another crowdfunding program, was launched for rural transgenders. It has waived the fee for several campaigns to raise funds for COVID-19-related causes, round the world. 

 

 Women in Lockdown across the globe

The negative effect of the lockdown on women has been seen across the globe. In Malaysia, the govt launched and was quickly forced to retract a controversial campaign advising women not to nag their husbands and refrain from being “sarcastic” when asking for help with household chores. Similarly, in Australia, Google reported a 75% increase in online searches for help with domestic violence in the past five years. The killing of women rose sharply in Turkey since the issuing of a stay-at-home order on March 11, Lebanon and Malaysia saw doubling of calls to helplines, while they tripled in mainland China. The USA and key European countries also saw a dramatic surge in cases of violence against women.

Social Media and Women viz Lockdown

The issue of women is not limited to their intimate sphere but also to the only social life they have during this lockdown, i.e. Social Media. A research project led by a Western Carolina University psychology professor indicates that jokes about women are not just harmless fun and games; instead, exposure to sexist humour can lead to toleration of hostile feelings and discrimination against women. Sexist humour is not simply benign amusement. It can affect people's perceptions of their immediate social surroundings and allow them to feel comfortable with behavioural expressions of sexism without the fear of disapproval of their peers,” said Thomas E. Ford, a new faculty member in the psychology department at WCU. “Specifically, we propose that sexist humour acts as a ‘releaser’ of prejudice.”

The gap that is left from the lack of social interaction with social communities is significant, and social media offers a way to fill this void. The global pandemic has left most people feeling anxious and looking for support amid the ongoing uncertainty — and as such, people need to feel connected more than ever before.

Most of us today find ourselves on WhatsApp groups with our colleagues, which more often than not turn out to be informal forums where “jokes” and supposedly interesting videos are shared. Chances are, we will come across a host of sexist and misogynistic messages masquerading as jokes. These messages will be appended with a variety of laughing emoticons. On reading some of the messages one will realise there is nothing funny there. And somehow, marriage and relationships seem to inject a dose of sexism into their vocabulary. The references of now their home being a "jail", and partner being a "jailor/Hitler" suddenly find spaces in their conversations. This is the ridiculous equivalent of feminist women being compared to the Nazi, genocidal dictator at the workplace.

The chain of humour extends further to the sympathy for a "bro" who does not want to go home to a partner who is calling him to check his whereabouts. The emotion of care here is replaced by the word "nagging".

 Additional references of weekend activities of shopping, or receiving a list of things to procure from the market, being told to participate in family activities, are all considered a sign of enslaved life – a connotation that men generally find very humorous to talk about. While several men find these conversations fun, it is difficult for women to find space in these rooms with them.

The psychological implications of experiencing online abuse remain under-researched, and as a result, understated. There is a misconception that because the abuse is online it can simply be ignored or shrugged off. The assumption that online abuse is not “real” also fails to consider the myriad of harms caused by online violence and abuse that ultimately contributes to women being silenced and denied their right to freely express themselves online. Online abuse can manifest in different ways including threats of violence, privacy violations or sexist and misogynistic comments. Hence, the negative effect of online abuse should be resolved.

 

 

Social media companies and governments should have coordinated efforts for tackling online violence and abuse on social media platforms and protecting women’s rights online require resources, transparency. It’s time to move beyond mere lip-service and continued acknowledgement of the problem to concrete actions and solutions. Social media companies have a responsibility to respect human rights and this includes the right to freedom of expression. It means ensuring that the women who use their 

The policies of social media platforms explicitly state that they do not tolerate targeted abuse based on a person’s gender or other forms of identity. However poll findings indicate they may not be adequately enforcing these standards, and this should be a priority.

Social media platforms should also enable and empower users to use individual security and privacy measures such as blocking, muting and content filtering to curate a safer and less toxic online experience. The media must also ensure that moderators are qualified in identifying gender and other identity-related threats and should regularly report on the scale and types of online abuse users experience, as well as the actions they have taken in this regard.

Governments must also protect women from human rights abuses. Amnesty is calling on governments to ensure adequate laws, policies, practices and training are in place to prevent and end online violence and abuse against women. 

The views of women themselves show that governments in all countries polled have a lot more work to do. Governments must urgently address this increasingly worrying issue by challenging harmful and negative gender stereotypes, investing in training on gender and other identity-based online abuse, and ensuring robust and transparent ways of reporting the problem are in place. 

 Source: Unsplash By: Ujjwalchouhan16

WAY FORWARD:

Problems like these cannot be postponed until normalcy returns, therefore we need to devise some ways to make the situation better for women in these tensed times. Hence, the first step is for administration and law enforcement agencies to recognise the gravity of the problem. 

At this time, more than at any other time, women need solid assurance that they will be heard, and that help would be sent if they fear for their or their children’s lives. Reaching out to women in distress needs to be classified as an “essential service.”

The police will have to be told in the strictest terms that they have to believe women, regardless of their class, caste or religion. Given the recent instances of violence by the police, this might seem like a big ask, but the powers-that-be need to insist on the right policy response.

We need to be mindful of how we kill the pandemic, without making women’s equality and mental health collateral damage. As a first step towards that, we need to recognise and highlight the disproportionate gender impacts of the lockdown. While the state machinery can take steps concerning domestic violence, the intra-household sharing of domestic chores is within the private domain. However, women that are valued for their economic contributions outside the home are also more likely to be respected inside the home.

Here are a few of the steps that can be taken by the government during this pandemic:

1. Governments must utilise a human rights and intersectional based approach to ensure that everyone, including the most marginalised, has access to necessary information, support systems and resources during the current crisis.

2. The state governments need to declare helplines as “essential services” that should remain open during lockdowns.

Disseminate information about gender-based violence and publicise resources and services available.

3. Increase resourcing for NGOs that respond to domestic violence and aid — including shelter, counselling, and legal aid — to survivors, and promote those that remain open.

4. Encourage the equitable sharing of domestic tasks at home.

5. Provide for the continued provision of healthcare services based on medical research and tests — unrelated to the virus — for women and girls.

6. Ensure women’s timely access to necessary and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services during the crisis, such as maternal health services, safe abortion etc.

7. Provision of cash transfers to families can provide the required impetus in mitigating the prevalence of domestic violence. Relying solely on ASHA workers would be inadequate given the already existing burden of community welfare on them. The government should disseminate information through sign language, for example, for specially-abled individuals.

8. NCW could increase its advertisement expenditure on TV, relaying messages and helpline numbers considering that TV viewing has increased in the ensuing lockdown. Helpline no 181 should be advocated via simple SMS or TV ads (most women own a basic mobile phone). NCW has launched a WhatsApp number – 7217735372, in addition to the online links and emails already operational. 

Helplines, psychosocial support and online counselling should be boosted, using technology-based solutions such as SMS, online tools and networks to expand social support, and to reach women with no access to phones or Internet, said UN Women. Police and justice services must mobilise to ensure that incidents of violence against women and girls are given high priority with no impunity for perpetrators,” Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of the UN Women, appealed to various countries in a press statement. 

CONCLUSION 

As quarantines take effect around the world, kind of “intimate terrorism” — a term many experts prefer for domestic violence — is flourishing. One cannot deny the fact, though, that not all men share the same attitude and might turn up assisting their wives in housework. However, that completely depends on personal disposition. Some would also opine that the opportune time for women to enjoy their autonomy and follow their passions has ushered in, ignoring, however, that lives and experiences of women differ in various ways. To be able to enjoy the fruits of her labour, she has to fight yet more milestones at times. Nonetheless, it is time that we take plenary measures to embattle ourselves in the face of this unanticipated tragedy that seems to have upended humankind all over!

Writers: Tanya Sood and Diya Kirtania

Editor: Harshita Srivastav

Other Contributors:

Kashika Yadav 

Niddhi

Pooja 

Eshtita Nirwan 

Devapriya Kamala 

Sheetal 

Shikha Gautam

Sreelaxmi 

Shubhangi Gupta