A Feminist Assessment of the Humanitarian Aid System’S Support of Women- and Girl-Led Organizations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

i WE MUST DO BETTER A Feminist Assessment of the Humanitarian Aid System’s Support of Women- and Girl-Led Organizations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments and Citations 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 6 Research Aims and Core Questions 10 Methodology 11 Findings: What Women and Girls Told Us 13 Core Impacts of COVID-19 According to Women Leaders 24 Conclusions 25 Recommendations 27 References 30

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, we must thank the women and girl NoVo Foundation, and other partners that leaders that contributed their thoughts, have supported the sharing of this survey insights, experiences, and concerns to the around the world, including The Equality development of this project. It is because Institute, Oxfam International, the Sexual of their freedom that we do this work. We Violence Research Initiative, UNHCR, UN exist for them. We must do better for them. Women, Purposeful, USAID, and the Femi- nist Humanitarian Network. We would also We dedicate this report to their commit- like to thank Statistics Without Borders for ment and perseverance in the face of the their quantitative analysis of all of the data. crisis, and we hope that we have represen- It is because of our friends and allies (inclu- ted their perspectives, experiences, and ding, but not limited to, Catherine Poulton, priorities faithfully, and with the deepest Christine Heckman, and Josh Chaffin) in respect, love, and solidarity for our sister the rooms and halls of power that real con- activists. versations and transformative change are possible. VOICE would also like to thank our supportive partners, donors, and other allies. We are thrilled to showcase the incredi- UNICEF has been the largest donor and ble work of the VOICE research team, led partner for this edition of our We Must Do by Heather Cole, Sinéad Murray, Sharanya Better series, which is a shared deliverable Sekaram, and Amy Greenbank, as well as under our ambitious partnership: “She the broader VOICE team, including the Leads the Way: Revolutionizing the Aid VOICE Fellows, Head of Communications Sector’s Approach to GBV Prevention and and Marketing Chiderah Monde, and Exe- Response by Harnessing the Power of Wo- cutive Director Mendy Marsh. We would men and Girls.” Additional donors include also like to thank Jasmina El Bouamraoui Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, the of EL BOUM for the report design.

CITATIONS

Report citation VOICE (2021). We Must Do Better. In-text (VOICE, 2021)

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The results show how precarious the progress toward gender equity has been, in We Must Do Better represents the first at- every sphere of life. During the pandemic, tempt at a global feminist assessment of the women and girls are realizing, painfully, that experiences of women and girls—and the or- they had not so much gained their rights ganizations they lead—during the COVID-19 within patriarchal contexts, but rather had pandemic. It looks at their lives holistical- been given concessions that were granted ly to see how the pandemic has impacted only until a crisis struck, then quickly with- their organizations and communities and drawn. COVID-19 may not discriminate, but how humanitarian responders engage with families, communities, and governments them, if at all. We invited 200 feminist orga- certainly do. nizations and individual women and girls in 41 countries to share their experiences du- The humanitarian aid sector contributes too, ring the pandemic and speak of their needs. despite its commitments to crisis-affected populations—denying women and girls The work sought to understand how their their rights to participation, consultation, organizations are being affected and the and services and in some cases subjecting ways in which they are (or are not) being them to its own types of violence. Response supported. We asked about their frustrati- strategies have failed to engage women- ons and how to alleviate the burdens they and girl-led organizations to explore what carry. We looked at how gender inequalities a gender-transformative health response manifest in crisis; what impact lockdowns might look like. Many of the organizations and economic downturns have on women responding to this survey noted that they and girls; and how the pandemic has affec- have not been invited to participate in the ted the violence they face. planning for the COVID-19 response, in spite of humanitarian agencies’ mandates to do The VOICE survey asked them to look at their so. We are taking this opportunity to make it domestic lives as well as the supportive roles known that the humanitarian system needs they play in communities and to find con- to do better. The pandemic makes this more nections between the two domains. It recog- apparent than ever. nizes the dual aspects of women’s lives––that women in leadership are not living “outside” The loss of women’s incomes, resources, the dynamics they are trying to change and freedom of movement, friendships, and are often experiencing violence similar to the networks come in addition to the increased women they serve. household burdens, demands for support from children and other family members, We covered issues of access to resources for and care for those who are sick. The closure their organizations; health, wellness, and ot- of schools, the difficulties in obtaining food, her kinds of social care; their exposure to and increased sanitation needs are burdens violence; and their access to supportive net- disproportionately carried by women. works. The findings are organized around three major themes that emerged: social In May 2020, the United Nations Population expectations and norms, access to resources Fund (UNFPA) and other actors forecasted and assets; and giving and receiving care. major concerns about increased violencet

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 3 against women and girls (VAWG). Yet there through traditional gender expectations was no specific objective included for VAWG at every level: local, national, regional, and in the overall Global Humanitarian Response global. Plan.1 VOICE and many other feminist organizati- Both foreign and domestic responses to the ons and activists in the humanitarian sector pandemic have relied heavily, and without have been reporting the same needs, the negotiation, on the unpaid labor of women same violence, and the same marginaliza- and girls. The assumption that women are tion of women and girls for decades. We a resource to be deployed within a crisis, know that they experience specific, predic- rather than members of communities in table consequences and rights violations need, is connected to widespread gender whenever a disaster strikes, and yet their norms. Their needs and experiences are not needs go mostly unrecognized, unfunded, aligned with the assumptions underpinning and ignored. the response. Unlike men, around who the response has been designed, women are The main recommendations are for du- experiencing increased exposure to violence, ty-bearers to adhere to their own global increased responsibility for others, and lack commitments to localization of humani- of or reduced access to sex-specific health tarian response, including systematically services they require. creating ways for women and girls to design and lead responses in addition to in- Women working to support women and girls corporating their views and contributions find themselves having to “do more with into all phases of the Humanitarian Pro- less,” effectively working harder than ever, gramme Cycle (HPC). Further, we recom- for free, without the resources to change mend a gender power analysis be applied the modes of delivery in the context of social to all health interventions, that interventions distancing. Women leaders are legitimately take into account women’s greater exposu- concerned that now, having done their CO- re, and that funding be protected for sexual VID-19 response work with minimal support, and reproductive health (SRH) and VAWG they will be expected to continue to work services. Duty-bearers should provide mul- on these terms in the future. At the same ti-year flexible funding to local women- and time, demand for their unpaid caregiving is girl-led organizations through partnerships also increasing within the private domains driven by and grounded in local expertise of family and community. In both domains, and knowledge. They should reach out to their own needs are made invisible and dis- networks of women-led civil society organi- regarded, even as the risks to their health zations (CSOs) and non-governmental or- and safety have increased. ganizations (NGOs) to ask what roles they would like to play as partners and address A similar report could have been written any barriers to their participation. Women- in response to other recent epidemics and and girl-led organizations also need connec- pandemics, including SARS, Ebola, and Zika. tions to donors and support in connecting COVID-19 has unveiled again that women to each other regionally to strengthen their and girls are both more exposed to infection resistance, solidarity, networks, and advo- than men and boys and also providing more cacy. The humanitarian system, including of the care. However, these realities have still UN actors and international non-govern- not been built into humanitarian response. mental organizations (INGOs), must always advocate for and ensure there is a specific Despite all the learning from multiple crises, objective around VAWG/gender-based vio- the process of shaping responses has not lence (GBV), through Global Humanitarian changed for women and girls. They find Response Plans (GHRPs). All life-saving is- themselves again situated within the pan- sues, including addressing VAWG, should demic and the response in ways determined be prioritized.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 4 ABOUT VOICE

VOICE is a cutting-edge feminist organiza- they are the best judges of what is needed, tion working to end VAWG in conflict, crisis, though they are routinely ignored by those and disaster settings around the world. We who hold the power in aid organizations. are a team of skilled humanitarians with extensive experience working on VAWG in We are working to help meet the needs emergency contexts, and we have seen that of women- and girl-led organizations in a the humanitarian aid sector itself has con- growing number of countries, including Af- sistently failed to meet the needs of women ghanistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, the De- and girls in these settings. We believe that mocratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Ke- the industry must change to deliver on its nya, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, the United promise to protect them; we also know that States, Venezuela, and Yemen.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 5 RIGHT NOW, IT IS Women-Led Network ALL ABOUT SURVIVAL. Kenya

INTRODUCTION

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have Information collected through the initial been immense, with long-term repercussi- research survey will be used for advocacy ons and social consequences. The crisis has with donors and other decision-makers in triggered the largest global recession since the humanitarian community to highlight the Great Depression.2 Nearly all countries the impacts of COVID-19 on VAWG and to have instituted lockdowns or curfews at bring much-needed attention to these is- various stages; global supply chains have sues. been disrupted; commercial travel has declined; and the closure of educational Previous research and experiences with institutions continues. The shape of work epidemic and pandemic outbreaks have and social lives globally have been altered shown that women and men are different- in ways that could not have been foreseen, ly socially situated in health crises and so and these extreme changes have had spe- have different vulnerabilities. cific and critical implications for women and girls. A key finding in relation to the SARS outbreak revealed that men were more likely In August 2020, as part of VOICE’s work in to seek treatment than women, while wo- centering and amplifying the voices of women had to be persuaded and enabled to men and girls, we initiated the We Must gain access to treatment. This was ampli- Do Better research series,3 with the aim of fied in the case of women living in pover- creating space for women and girls to share ty who were more likely to prioritize their their own experiences and perspectives on limited resources for their family.4 Women’s the COVID-19 pandemic. sense of entitlement to care, and to their

The project was precipitated by THE NEED TO THE NEED TO the following socially situate medical and clinical re- apply a feminist lens to the data and in- core concerns: sponses to health crises, in recognition formation about COVID-19, particularly of the ways in which all epidemics and in the context of gender inequality and pandemics affect women and men dif- VAWG. ferently. THE NEED TO THE NEED TO earn from the experiences of women- recognize the gendered nature, and im- and girl-led groups in the context of the pacts, of health and care. pandemic.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 6 care being a priority, was much less than the elderly, and those with disabilities and men’s. Women also struggled to access specific needs—have skewed significant treatment outside of the home due to impacts on women’s economic capacities; controls on their freedom of movement, women with higher levels of caring respon- both through threats to their personal sa- sibilities are more likely to be self-employ- fety and access to the resources necessary ed, to work in the informal economy, and for transport.5 A second core finding from to have reduced protections in their work. the analysis of the impact of SARS in Hong In times of crisis, including pandemics, wo- Kong also found that women make up a men’s lower incomes are the ones most large portion of healthcare workers, ma- likely to collapse first, with women also king them more exposed to infection and being more unlikely to sustain their work therefore more vulnerable. alongside increased responsibilities for others.11 These findings were echoed in research from the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola out- The gendered nature of social care and break, where the reality of women making care work means women are at greater up more than 80% of the nursing and mid- risk of infection. They also lack access to wifery workforce had an immense impact information that can slow the spread of the on their risk of contracting the illness,6 par- illness, including through limited access to ticularly early on when personal protective formal education, gendered communica- equipment (PPE) was either unavailable or tion barriers, and the exclusion of women tightly limited. Women’s informal caregi- from public meetings.12 Women’s reliance ving roles within communities, including on the men around them for information as traditional birth attendants and in the further reduces their understanding of the preparation of bodies for burial, also increa- illness, including how to keep themselves sed their exposure, as they were more likely safe, where to find resources, and what to take on responsibilities and work within support is available. their families and their wider communities as more people became sick, thus being Gendered dynamics continue to play out in much more exposed to person-to-person health crises and pandemics. No medical transmission.7 or health emergency takes place in a social vacuum, and the bodies upon which a Globally, women perform 76.2% of the total pandemic is manifest are not outside social hours of unpaid care work, more than three power relations and relationships. Situati- times as much as men. In Asia and the Pa- ons of crisis amplify existing inequalities cific, this rises to 80%.8 The economic value across multiple dimensions, with gender of unpaid care work is staggering—it ac- hierarchies running through and across counts for 40% of GDP according to some every axis of discrimination and oppres- reports. Even when women earn more than sion.13 men, they still shoulder a great portion of this work,9 across social contexts, the status Gender power relations create inequities of countries, and cultural divides. More or in access to resources, the distribution of less explicit patriarchal norms mean wo- labor and roles, social norms and values, men everywhere carry the majority of do- and decision-making—all of which mani- mestic, reproductive, and caregiving work; fest throughout health and social care.14 within a crisis, women’s caregiving respon- There is a nascent recognition that health sibilities increase, often at the expense of policy shapes and affects gender inequali- their own health.10 These responsibilities ties due to how it takes account of existing for the care of others—including children, inequalities in its approaches, expectations

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 7 and practices. Policies that fail to recognize ties such as visiting the sick, cooking, and existing gendered inequalities will exacer- cleaning.19 Data compiled by the World bate and reinforce them, however inadvert- Health Organization (WHO) from 104 ently, and create more difficulties, exposu- countries showed that women form 70% res, and insecurities for women and girls. of the healthcare and social services workforce. Given their limited access to PPE and Findings around previous pandemics sho- regular interactions with carriers of the vi- wed that pregnant women and girls have rus,20 women’s risk of contracting COVID-19 more contact with health services, putting goes up. them at potentially higher risk, while the vectors and mechanisms of transmission Despite all the data on the influence of are poorly understood, and pregnancy sta- gendered social norms on health system tus tends to be treated like any other con- structures and processes, and the recog- comitant condition. While gender has an nized reliance on overwhelmingly female impact on the transmission and impacts unpaid caregivers,21 health systems still of diseases, not enough focus is given to fail to include a gendered perspective into gender as a factor.15 Treatment protocols, their work and approaches.22 This is equally as well as the development of vaccines, are true of the international aid system. rarely tested for safety with pregnant women, leaving them exposed to unknown Women’s organizations and services tend risks.16 to be significantly under-funded, under-re- sourced, and overlooked by international This disproportionate distribution of wealth aid agencies, even outside of a crisis.23 They means that women have less control and have a disproportionate dependence on less influence within capitalist socio-econo- women’s voluntary or underpaid work and mic structures, where control of resources skills, and this extends into crises. Prior to shapes freedoms and autonomy. Women this pandemic, the Coalition of Feminists have less decision-making power both in for Social Change collated data and infor- public and private spheres and are more mation around the distribution of funding vulnerable to exploitation in the workforce, and allocations to VAWG interventions wit- and these dynamics are connected as both hin humanitarian crises,24 finding that the causes and effects. specific resources available are minimal. Research led by VOICE and the Interna- COVID-19’s risks of economic and social loss tional Rescue Committee (IRC) tracked are far greater for women and girls.17 From the funding for women’s organizations the closure of schools, the increased need in the report Where’s the Money?25 and for care, and more people constrained at found a shocking lack of commitment to home, to the need for increased health and women’s organizations and to addressing hygiene practices, the increase in forced the potential and reality of VAWG within and early marriage driven by economic in- the pandemic. stability, the inability to access formal education, and a continuing lack of interge- Experts suggested the importance of in- nerational support,18 women and girls are cluding a specific objective dedicated to hardest hit by the impacts of a pandemic. the prevention of VAWG and response strategies within the GHRP. This would have A gender analysis of news media from Sri ensured at least some prioritization of the Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Australia du- acute need for response, as well as some le- ring the COVID-19 pandemic recognized vel of tracking of VAWG-specific indicators the gendered burdens in frontline work, and funding and some level of accountabi- unpaid care work, and community activi- lity. Most importantly, it would have made

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 8 VAWG prevention and response a precon- dition of a “successful” humanitarian effort. These expert calls fell on deaf ears, just as they historically have decade after decade.

While there has been some progress to date, as of August 2020, VAWG accounted for only 0.48% of the overall funding appeal of the GHRP—a shockingly small share, given the increased need that had already been observed.26

What we learned from the research is fully aligned with UNFPA’s May 2020 report, which revealed the scale of the impact of COVID-19 on women as health systems became overloaded, facilities closed or limited their services, and women began skipping medical visits to avoid virus risks. This report flagged concerns about supply chain disruptions, leading to shortages of contraceptives, and an increase in VAWG due to families being trapped at home. The report projected that:

47 MILLION 31 MILLION women in 114 low- and middle-income count- additional cases of VAWG were expected to ries may not be able to access modern con- occur if the lockdown continued for at least traceptives and seven million unintended six months. For every three months beyond pregnancies were expected to occur if the that, an additional 15 million extra cases of lockdown carried on for six months. For every VAWG were expected. three months the lockdown continued, an additional two million women may have been unable to use modern contraceptives. 2 MILLION 13 MILLION female genital mutilation cases may occur additional child marriages potentially taking over the next decade that could have other- place between 2020 and 2030. wise been averted.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 9 RESEARCH AIMS AND CORE QUESTIONS

The aim of this research, and the analysis and challenges social policy; and under- of the data, are grounded in VOICE’s femi- taking research that improves our own nist values, and an explicit commitment reflexivity in becoming catalysts for social to understanding the specific impacts change. and implications of COVID-19 on women, girls, and the organizations and associati- This research sought to understand the ons they lead. In line with Bloom and Sa- impact of the current pandemic on wo- win’s criteria,27 this research was focused men and girls in the context of wider global on women’s voices and experiences and in gender inequalities, with an understanding reducing the power asymmetry between of VAWG as a central mechanism in the researcher and participants; analyzing data maintenance of this inequality. The work to uncover sites of resistance and opportu- sought to better understand how indivi- nities for social change; creating a practical dual women and feminist organizations difference with the women engaged in the are affected and supported. The primary study; carrying out research that affects lines of inquiry were:

WHAT WHAT are the needs and risks of women are the priorities for support among and girls in the context of COVID-19? women- and girl-led organizations, activists, and networks related to VAWG and COVID-19? HOW have these changed due to the crisis? WHAT are the recommendations for VOICE to incorporate into the design and imple- HOW mentation of interventions to support are COVID-19 and related concerns im- women- and girl-led organizations and pacting women- and girl-led organiza- networks during the COVID-19 pande- tions, activists, and networks? mic and beyond?

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 10 METHODOLOGY

The survey enabled women to look at their Limitations experiences as individuals with private and domestic lives, as well as their roles in orga- Responses are likely to be clustered around nizations and public life. Respondents ref- organizations with greater resources, due lected on their access to resources, health to the necessity of survey participation on- care and social care, and supportive net- line. Participation was also self-selecting; works, as well as their exposure to violence. some organizations may not have respon- The focus of the research was organizations ded due to high workload or additional led by women and girls, providing services donor demands. Further work will be un- and advocacy to the same groups. Prioriti- dertaken with smaller and unregistered zing women’s leadership, recognizing the groups to extend the opportunity to par- contributions of their organizations, and ticipate and validate the findings across letting them name their own experiences regions. was central to the ethic of the research. This report looks at the global commo- To support the participation of as many wo- nalities and differences across thematic men as possible, we used an online survey. areas. Companion papers from VOICE in The link was shared through multiple net- 2021 will delve more deeply into particular works and platforms using a mix of quanti- aspects of the findings, exploring the de- tative and qualitative questions to provide tails of women’s concerns and looking at texture. regional issues. 9 LANGUAGES The survey was translated into nine languages, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dari, and Arabic. 200 ORGANIZATIONS More than 200 organizations respon- ded, providing a broad spectrum of experience across six regions.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 11 About the Respondents

Responses came predominantly from wo- posed to both poverty and violence within men-led civil society organizations, repre- the family. These are also the years when senting both themselves as individuals and women are most likely to be responsible the women and girls they support. 84% of for the care of their children, elderly family the participating groups, networks, and or- members, and those with disabilities. ganizations described themselves as being led by women, with 15% being led by men. The focus on adolescent girls is par- The final1% described themselves as led by ticularly important since the impacts a management committee that they did of crises fall heavily on them in mul- not disaggregate by gender. tiple ways, including their exposure to violence. The majority work in small organizations or networks with fewer than 50 Within the work with women and girls, the team members. survey explored in more depth the kinds of work that organizations are involved with They are mainly locally focused, and their around violence. Many of these categories work is mostly in service delivery. Many are overlapping. Child, early, and forced are also involved with advocacy, changing marriage, for example, will often include community norms, and policy work in ad- domestic violence, always include sexual dition to their core services. violence, and will sometimes include child sexual abuse, depending on the age of the Not all the organizations participating are girl. solely focused on women and girls, but the majority were focused on females from 18 The majority of respondents reported that to 65 years of age and adolescent girls bet- their work focused primarily on domestic ween the ages of 11 and 17. This age bracket violence, sexual violence, sexual exploita- covers women through their reproductive tion and abuse, child sexual abuse, intimate years, when they are most likely to need partner violence, harmful practices, or hu- SRH services and when they are highly ex- man trafficking, with a small proportion noting none or other.

84% of the participating groups, networks, and organizations described themselves as being led by women

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 12 FINDINGS: WHAT WOMEN AND GIRLS TOLD US

We are unable to reach out to friends either because of constraints, or preoc- Responses to the survey clustered around three cupation due to [our] husbands and kids interconnected themes: staying at home [increasing] our workloads, or time constraints because we use the time to meet basic needs. SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS Women’s Rights Activist AND NORMS Somalia through, for example, public shaming, stigmati- zing, the ruination of the reputations of women ACCESS TO GIVING AND and girls, and the marginalizing of women who RESOURCES RECEIVING CARE AND ASSETS are considered to have “failed.” Victim-blaming not only serves to protect perpetrators but to uphold the social narratives of women’s “respec- tability,” “honor,” and “deservingness” of support and care. Social violence surrounds and enables Girls’ and women’s health have suffered, the multiple forms of violence that women and [but] their needs are less of a priority. girls experience from the men in their families As they are experiencing financial in- and their communities. Women and girls often stability, [they turn] to bad practices experience these as a “second wound,” com- as they cannot afford alternatives, [lose pounding and reinforcing the first and intensi- their] power position in the family as deci- fying their isolation and their loneliness. sion-makers, lack safe space to recuperate These themes do not stand alone and deeply [and experience] mental trauma. intersect with one another. The connections Women’s Rights Activist between these issues are critical areas of atten- Bangladesh tion for any feminist or woman-centered policy The social expectation that women and girls will response or aid intervention. The experiences provide care to family members means that their of women and girls in their access to resources work is considered a family or household resour- and assets, and their experiences of giving and ce, taken for granted, unpaid, and unrecognized. receiving care, are influenced and affected by This has consequences for themselves, in parti- social expectations and norms, not only in their cular the need for friends and social networks, communities but throughout the architecture education, and livelihoods. Women and girls are of aid interventions. not regarded as stakeholders in the response to the pandemic with needs and interests of their Women and girls responding to this survey de- own; rather, they are situated and understood as scribed the parallel processes between their li- one of the resources deployed to support others. ves as individual women and their experiences running women- or girl-led organizations; for The experiences of women and girls also exist example, expectations that they would work vo- within the various layers of social inequality, fur- luntarily, without additional resources, that they ther exacerbating their vulnerability and their would put the needs of others ahead of their exposure to violence. The violence they face is own, or that they should provide care to ever- not only individual or from individual men; social yone else before their own staff, were reported violence also reinforces inequitable gender roles in every region.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 13 1. SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS AND NORMS

Quarantine has increased the workload inside and outside the home.

Women’s Organization Iraq

The central theme in the responses is that social expectations and norms shape the experiences of women and girls and their organizations. The increased unpaid responsibilities for care, the deprioritizing of women’s services and health care, and the The end of access to school for adolescent struggles of women- and girl-led organi- girls is catastrophic over the life-cycle. Not zations to meet the increased demand for only can they lose self-esteem and stan- services with fewer resources are universal. ding in the community, but they also lose the single most significant social and protective structure in their lives. Out of school, Women used to all stay together most of they miss opportunities to make friends the time so we kept each other safe, [but] and build supportive relationships, and the due to COVID we are scattered in different implications are well-documented: they parts of the country. Some went upcoun- become more likely to experience intimate try to bury loved ones or to mitigate the partner violence (IPV) and unchosen preg- pressures of town life. Right now, most nancies, be given reduced opportunities of our advocacy and edutainment is done to generate their own income, and have a online. They bully us and insult us there, greater dependency on men. but it is to be expected. The global evidence is that men are also Women’s Rights Advocate Kenya not taking up the additional workload of homeschooling children, providing care, Freedom of movement and association and ensuring that the elderly, the vulnera- are now being taken away from women ble and the isolated have food, company, and girls, in one of the clearest examples and care during lockdowns. These are glo- of norms and expectations constraining bal dynamics, as familiar in countries whe- women’s lives. For adolescent girls, the im- re there is presumed to be more gender plications are stark; multiple respondents equality as in those with more patriarchal highlighted that the longer schools are clo- cultures.28 29 The fragility of the structural sed, the less likely it is that girls will return progress toward gender equality has been to education when it becomes possible— revealed as the pressures of care, domes- much less likely, in fact, than their male tic responsibilities, and social expectations peers. about who cares and who is cared for land on women and girls. Men’s reflexive res- Most families invest in their boy child ponse has been to lean on women, and the first, then the girl. structures of work, care, public life, policy, and intervention have enabled and rein- Women’s Empowerment Association Bangladesh forced this.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 14 2. ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND ASSETS

Most resort to prostitution to access mo- A second central theme in the responses ney and other material needs. to the survey was access to financial resources and other assets. These included Women’s Support Association Sierra Leone household economic assets, funding for organizations, food security, technology, and girls from the virus, and exposure to and social assets. The manifestations ran- sexual violence. ged from the loss of paid work, the struggle to have access to resources to meet basic According to many predictions, this may needs, reduced incomes forcing impossible only be the beginning of the economic decisions and unbearable choices, a lack downturn, and the impact on control of of digital access and thus a lack of access resources and aid priorities remains to be to banking or mobile money information seen. The longer the disruptions in global (as well as other information resources), supply chains and the deeper the econo- increased burdens of unpaid care work, mic effects, the more women and girls and more. These are not just results of the stand to lose progress made in recent de- pandemic but also factors leading to di- cades. sproportionate health impacts for women

2.1. CHANNELS FOR ECONOMIC ASSETS

Women commonly reported job losses, decreased income, and struggles to keep Because of climate change, the job pattern small businesses afloat. The livelihood chal- in my working area changed. Now, most lenges come on top of what we already of the women are involved with crab and know about women and work—that they shrimp cultivation. But during COVID-19, are normally employed in more insecure si- they could not sell their product as ex- tuations, with informal and part-time jobs, ports have stopped. As a result, they do and are more likely to be self-employed not have any income. with fewer labor protections than men. Women’s Livelihoods Project Bangladesh In many contexts, the pandemic has exacerbated the impacts of climate change The issues faced by women with small and on women’s work; it has become harder to micro-enterprises were also widely discus- access clean water for themselves and their sed across regions, including those with families, there is sustained precarity of their home-based businesses, street vendors, incomes through periodic and increased and market traders, who faced the brunt flooding of farmland, and there have been of the economic crisis when their access increases in natural disasters. Collectively, to customers was denied by lockdowns. these have all had an impact on domestic Livelihoods were also lost to increased care and income-generating agricultural work. burdens, which meant losing control over These dynamics also reduce the economic resources, decision-making authority and resilience with which to weather shocks. status, and learning opportunities.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 15 The decrease in income highlighted in the The financial situation of many women survey is also interesting to examine in the and girls has deteriorated. In families wider context of the gender wage gap, where there is domestic violence, the which is globally estimated to be around partner’s control over financial expendi- 23%.30 This both underestimates and un- tures has been tightened. derstates the full extent of the impact of Domestic Violence Services Organization COVID-19 by not accounting for the infor- Russian Federation mal work and self-employment that is primarily undertaken by women. Women’s ability to provide food for the family has also been compromised by The links between the poverty of women the collapse of their incomes. and girls and their exposure to sexual exploitation and abuse are well-documented. The collapse of their incomes, combined The needs of women and girls have chan- with the reinforcement by some aid agen- ged. They mostly need support as most of cies that men are the “heads of house- them lost their livelihood and income-ge- holds” and control the available resources, nerating activities [due to] COVID. We takes no account of the responsibilities that have seen women land owners forced to women and girls carry for providing for the sell their land due to lack of money to needs of others. This generates precarity run the family. and exposure to both sexual abuse and the

Women’s Association virus. Bangladesh A compounding issue is the prioritizing of men in the recovery and reconstruction The economic situation has limited [wo- planning and interventions. Women are men’s ability to meet] material needs like not typically part of the planning for live- buying clothes, food, and household items. lihoods or economic strengthening pro- grams, which not only results in disappo- Women’s Rights Network inting outcomes but also increases their Haiti exposure to violence within households and communities.

2.2. FUNDING FOR WOMEN- AND GIRL-LED ORGANIZATIONS Since everyone is figuring how best to It is not just individual women who are feeling this impact; at an organizational survive with their own families, I am the level, respondents say they are struggling one who is doing most of the work by with a lack of funding, inability to meet the myself. This [organization] is something costs of basic sanitary and medical needs, and decreasing staff numbers. Women’s I started and I am happy to hold the organizations described the need for their fort. It is hard and the main issue is re- service delivery, support, and work to in- sources. crease at the same time as their funding Women’s Rights Activist and capacity was being reduced. Mentions Kenya of “less money, more work” or “do more with less” ran through responses from all regions. Demand for services increased, but without the resources, or the support to change the modes of delivery in the context of socially distanced provision, made available to meet those needs.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 16 Have you been able to access have not received any additional funding new funding for your services to help with their response. As the needs and/or activism to respond to of their service users increase, the needs COVID-19? for PPE and other resources for staff also increase. 2% YES 23% 22% NO STILL WAITING Our organization had no funds from 15 FOR FUNDING February until 15 September. 50% DECISIONS DO NOT KNOW Women’s Rights Organization Bangladesh

Over the past year, several donors have Organizations have also reported donors taken action to make their reporting and reducing or canceling their grant-making. application procedures more flexible and Others have had difficulty in getting donor easier on their grantees. Examples include funds transferred as banks have been clo- groups such as the NoVo Foundation, Well- sed. For some, the changes in funding have spring Philanthropic Fund, and the Oak been catastrophic. Foundation. Some groups have also pulled together to create The Global Resilience Fund for Girls and Young Women. Some Many potential donors canceled the gran- UN agencies have started trying to increase ting process due to COVID-19 and they their ability to work with women- and girl- haven’t opened any other opportunities led organizations as direct grantees. For yet. One of [our] donors had already ap- example, UNICEF has taken a number of proved their grant, but it took more than concrete steps to strengthen the capacity two months to have the funds transferred. of its internal systems to partner with local Women’s Rights Organization women’s organizations. Through the Call to Malawi Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies: Road Map 2021- Reliance on individual donations also be- 2025 and the new Core Commitments for comes more precarious as grantors have Children in Humanitarian Action, UNICEF fewer resources and increasing needs of has made specific commitments on this to- their own. Organizations that rely on offi- pic. It also recently commissioned VOICE to cers’ side-jobs to stay afloat in lean times develop a background paper summarizing are now less able to do so. Not only are feedback from local women’s organizati- women’s and girls’ organizations shut out ons on their actual experiences partnering from access to and conversations with do- with UNICEF in the field, which will inform nors, but their self-financing mechanisms development of the forthcoming Strategic are also under threat. Plan. When asked what kinds of funding support While some donors have recognized the efforts they need, the majority of respon- needs of women- and girl-led organiza- dents noted wanting opportunities to build tions, and have made important efforts donor relationships and support in enga- to accommodate the necessary changes ging in advocacy for funding with the UN and to support organizations to sustain and other donors. They also noted wanting services, most have not been so generous. application and disbursement processes A year into this pandemic, many organi- that are easy and simple, not bureaucratic zations are still waiting to hear about fun- and convoluted. ding decisions, and half of respondents

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 17 2.3. FOOD INSECURITY

With incomes decreasing, women say they The women never really had access to are now more likely to go hungry or distri- these resources; only a few organizati- bute their share to children and elders in the household. ons provided… materials for women. Even our government did not do anything to respond to the needs of the women... The women and girls were left to themselves… The World Food Programme re- If they were to wait for the government, ports that the number of peop- everyone who is vulnerable would die. Women’s Rights Association le facing a food crisis will likely Haiti double because of COVID-19, with women and girls already When faced with reduced resources and constituting 60% of those facing assets, including losing jobs, many women a food crisis.ɢ󰉠 As women volun- experience abandonment by their hus- tarily or involuntarily sacrifice bands. In the context of polygamy, men food to others in the household, make choices about which wives and chil- they run the risk of malnutrition, dren to support, and there is little women making them more susceptible can do to make themselves the priority. In to disease.ɢɡ other instances, women report having their assets effectively stolen by their husbands.

2.4. ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND REMOTE SERVICES

One of the key impacts shared by respon- from consultations on the pandemic res- dents was around the digital divide and ponse, and experience a much greater sen- limited access to information through tech- se of loneliness and isolation. Connections nology. Many reported constrained access with their friends, women’s groups, and to their own devices and the internet. support networks have also been seriously curtailed, leaving them much more exposed and vulnerable to violence, exploitation, The digital divide remains a gen- and abuse. dered one: most of the 3.9 billion people who are offline are in ru- [We are seeing] a lack of access to technology ral areas, poorer, less educated, and places to access publicly available tech- and overwhelmingly women and nology [because] libraries and community girls.ɢɢ centers are closing. Women’s Domestic Violence Response Service Canada They may be unable to access information about the pandemic or necessary health At both the individual and organizational and support services, or to remain connec- level, women and girls who did have access ted to family and friends during lockdowns. to technology struggled to fully utilize it due to less familiarity and their reduced They have been unable to utilize work- access to education. Organizations repor- from-home opportunities, are excluded ted a struggle to shift the delivery of their

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 18 services to online platforms. They may not Some services have been provided online, have the resources or skills to provide sup- [such as] mental health care. Some other port and information by phone or online, and survivors may not have the resources health services are being provided through or technology to access remote services. cell phones. [But] they are facing many Survivors living with domestic violence and difficulties. confined to home with their abuser may Women’s Support Association Afghanistan not be able to safely communicate with service providers.

Younger organizations may be more able to work with technology, though they often lack the resources, having had less time to develop the donor relationships and funding sources.

2.5. SOCIAL ASSETS AND ISOLATION

Respondents also described the effects of Women’s groups and organizations repor- isolation due to lockdowns, loss of work, ted being unable to convene meetings, de- or increased workloads. Women are being scribing being “robbed” of a sense of com- isolated from groups that are their sources munity and something vital to their work. of support and solace, and the witnesses to Despite seeing an increase in caregiving their lives. This loss of networks, conversa- responsibilities, women now have less per- tion, and access to informal information is sonal and community support to maintain detrimental to their sense of themselves, their mental well-being in a highly stressful their drive and aspirations, their opportu- time. nities, and their potential to dream a future for themselves to bring into being. Through the reversion to the patriarchal isolation of women from each other, their collective movement building and advocacy are undermined, and their capacity to act is diminished. Women lose exposure to the “dangerous ideas” of their own liberation and freedom. It was no longer possible to visit family, friends, or even local or national organizations because everyone was… believing that anyone arriving had the disease. We missed out on many opportunities and meetings within our organization due to this virus.

Women’s Rights Organization Democratic Republic of the Congo

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 19 3. GIVING AND RECEIVING CARE

A third central theme in the survey was lack of access to services and fear around using the services that do exist. Many discussed the issue of services pivoting away from their core focus to offer pandemic care; they report that women’s services in particular have suffered from this shift. These changes are happening in a context with increased levels of VAWG, fewer resources to pay for services, and a lack of services for women and girls specifically. As noted, a variety of gendered social norms also pre- We barely have time for our families because sent barriers to seeking care. you are needed to respond almost everywhere… we do get burn out. Leader of a Women‘s Organization South Sudan Women do not have access to services due to harassment or curfew while outside. These reported concerns highlight the

Women-Led VAWG Organization amount of care work that women take on, Iraq both within women’s organizations and as individuals within their families and communities. The burden of addressing con- The increase in care work has been im- cerns that are not dealt with in mainstream mense during the pandemic, and yet its spaces––often with no additional funding importance has been continually unrecog- or support––is heavily gendered, and seen nized. Respondents also discussed caregi- as a “natural” responsibility of women and ving in the context of women being more their organizations. vulnerable to contracting the virus as they are more likely to be on the frontlines in The extraction, exploitation, and theft of healthcare work and taking care of those women’s labor and skills in the provision who are ill, as well as being afraid to access of care is the most significant stressor, af- health care services. fecting women’s access to resources, time, and employment, as well as their experiences of social stigma concerning their pro- ximity to the sickness. This reliance, and Access to health services is limited [due] demand, that women provide care in the private sphere is foundational in patriarchal to the lockdown and curfew, lack of trans- systems and the dynamic that underpins port,[and] facilities closed due to fear of the increases in the marriage of girls; they infection. can cease to be a fully equal person with Women‘s GBV Services needs of their own and instead become so- Uganda meone who is a reproductive resource for her husband and his family. It also makes Women whose levels of caregiving are in- it harder for her to be cared about and ca- creasing in their private lives are meeting red for, something that again reduces her similar demands for their skills and work in humanity. These dynamics were reported their public roles, with little or no support over and over by respondents, in every area in either domain. of the world.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 20 3.1. ACCESS TO SRH SERVICES

Many respondents reported losses in ac- seek services is higher during the pan- cess to SRH services, with pregnant wo- demic, even without the logistical issues. men, women needing contraception, and Seeking services in relation to violence be- women living with HIV unable to get ac- comes even more difficult when there is cess to the care they need, due to reduced uncertainty about how those services are income to pay for services or transport to being delivered, a lack of accessible infor- services, restrictions on movement, the mation, and even fewer “public” functio- pivoting of clinics to pandemic response, ning health services to provide cover for or the need to be present in the home to women seeking help. care for others.

It has become more difficult, not only -be What has changed is that most of the emp- cause health care is more focused on the hasis is placed on COVID-19 patients, and pandemic but also because SRH is neglected places that used to cater to SRH issues are overall. Abortion access is more challenging. Women‘s Reproductive Health Organization now focusing on the pandemic instead. Sierra Leone Women’s Organization Liberia These findings overlap with the findings around access to physical assets (techno- The absence of consistent or accessible logy and information), economic assets in information, alongside the practical and terms of reduced income, and the fiscal ca- logistical constraints, further discourages pacity to access services. This intersection is women from trying to sustain their con- also found in reference to childcare support nections with services. and lack of transport, which decreased women’s ability to access these services. Go- Social stigma, the continued exposure to vernment and aid funding were reported violence, and realistic concerns about a as being redirected into the COVID-19 re- lack of confidentiality present further bar- sponse, even though VAWG resources are riers to services. At the best of times, it is already scarce and limited. These services difficult for women and adolescent girls to are not considered essential or integral in sustain their privacy with SRH services, and the pandemic response, and there is little during times of lockdowns and quaranti- consideration of the longer-term and wider ning it is even more difficult for women to impacts of this on women’s reproductive move around without their actions being and sexual health. noticed. The potential for women to be reported to their husbands when trying to Partners have become more violent and spousal relationships have [broken] down completely.

Individual Respondent Iraq

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 21 3.2. INCREASES IN FORMS OF VIOLENCE

There is an increase in sexual and eco- Many respondents recognized the increa- nomic violence. They are seeking protec- ses in multiple forms of violence, from the pressure on women to see their daughters tion from abusers because safe spaces are married young as a way to take some of either closed or inaccessible. There is also the burdens away from the family, to se- a lot of violence stemming from partners xual exploitation in the context of women’s not providing for the household, leading collapsing incomes. The connection bet- to an increase in struggles for assets and ween women’s poverty and their exposure subduing of women to prove power over to sexual exploitation is a straightforward them. one and of grave concern to respondents. Women’s Organization Uganda

We have seen discrimination, domestic vio- The lockdown and isolation policies imple- lence, FGM, forced and early marriages, se- mented in many countries put women at xual exploitation, and a shortage of jobs. a higher risk of domestic and sexual abuse as they are likely to spend more time with Women‘s Disability Rights Organization Somalia their abusers, while also suffering from loss of income, isolation, overcrowding in the home, and stress and anxiety.34 One An increase in IPV was reported across lamented that the global calls to “stay safe countries; women talked about how their at home” have overlooked the reality that mechanisms of safety were eroded in mul- home may be the site of the most violence. tiple ways through the pandemic and ab- This may be the starkest illustration of the out how insecure they are at home. The ways in which women and girls are margi- normal protections that provide them with nalized in the narratives of the pandemic some buttressing against violence—con- with their lived experience ignored. trol over their resources, friendships with other women, and access to services—are increasingly unavailable.

3.3. JUSTICE AS A FORM OF CARE

Judicial systems and policing have largely The reversion to informal mechanisms of returned to the “traditional,” shifting VAWG justice does not serve the interests of wo- down the list of priorities as the world pi- men and girls either, embedded as they are vots to an enforcement of curfews and in patriarchal systems of men’s authority lockdowns. Authoritarian models of poli- and framing VAWG as an issue between cing and security work against the needs men, rather than against women and girls. of women and girls, reinforcing ideas of the As in other areas, the gains in access to jus- guardianship of men over their families and tice made in the period before the pande- relegating women and girls to the private mic are revealed to be fragile and precari- and domestic sphere. ous, and not holding up in times of crisis.

Government agencies sit alone, dilly-dally with the issues, and stigmatize women-led and girl child organizations for being right in the field and reporting cases.

End Child Marriage Association Kenya

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 22 3.4. EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

The mental health and well-being of wo- We need to be mentally fit to be men and girls have been devastated by lockdowns and social isolation. The sense able to serve others through our of loneliness was universal and powerful, voices because wounded soldiers with respondents describing losing their are no good for battle. This means connections to other women, their support that therapy is important. Some of groups and solidarity, and their collective power for advocacy and representation. the things we see […] have affec- The grief they feel in these losses is one ted us tremendously. Some of us of the most significant impacts of COVID; cannot sleep at night or lose sight they sounded bereft as they talked about missing their friends, colleagues, and sister of our kids for even one second activists. because of the abuse we wit- ness. Another important thing is With limited movement and constrained having dignity and comfort, even ability to reach out to their networks for solidarity and social connections, women’s [as] frontier flag bearers of total insecurity is exacerbated and significantly self-autonomy and women emp- increased. Despite seeing an increase in owerment. We need to be able to their caregiving responsibilities, women now have less support to deal with this take care of our small problems shift, let alone the community support nee- before we can take care of others ded to deal with the impact on emotional and right now even the little we and mental well-being as a direct result of could provide for one another is the pandemic. gone.

Women’s Rights Activist Unfortunately, despite realizing that it Kenya has taken a toll on our staff, we have not been able to come up with a solid health and well-being plan. Other than checking on the team over the phone, the organization does not have the capacity to offer any other assistance.

Women’s Organization Afghanistan

Increased restrictions on freedom of movement have also impacted mental health and well-being. Research shows that women seek help mainly from women with a similar profile to them,35 and rely more on these informal support systems than formal support. Their trust in services is often predicated on what they have heard from friends.36 This was confirmed throughout our findings, across contexts.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 23 CORE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ACCORDING TO WOMEN LEADERS

A recurring theme from respondents was their fear of what this means for future work We have lost most of the gains made. We need and that they will have to start again from to urgently go back to advocacy, training, a position of lost ground that will need to empowerment, and re-strengthening the be rebuilt over the long term. They are also groups. legitimately concerned that having done Women’s Rights Activist this work on minimal resources and with Nigeria limited support—because they care about women and girls—they will be expected to What organizations report they need continue to do it on the same terms in the shows us the limitations of their current future. Because it can and has been done access to the resources of the humanitarian on these terms, it does not in any way mean response; they need access to donors and it should be. to be able to build donor relationships, and they need to be in the spaces where they can advocate for the needs of women and We are facing many security issues [as] girls. That this access still is not available, victims of violence and death threats. guaranteed, or part of the response is an Both for ourselves and our family, many indictment of the sustained failure of the of us cannot even leave our homes for fear humanitarian sector to write women and that they could attack us. Several of us girls into a response from the beginning. are in a delicate security situation. That women’s organizations are not invited to participate in the planning and the res- Women’s Human Rights Association Colombia ponse, and that consistently across regions there is no sustained or systemic space for At the same time, activists are sharply the voices of women and girls to influence aware of how much ground they have and shape the resources and priorities in lost, and how much of the work they have the response, suggests a sustained lack of been engaged in for decades has disap- interest in the emergency needs and vul- peared through both the pandemic and nerabilities of women and girls. the response to it. When asked what kinds of advocacy support women- and girl-led The centrality of women and girls in this organizations need, many respondents crisis is seen in the responsibilities placed noted the need for support in developing upon them; so many responsibilities for so advocacy messages for decision-makers, many people, without the control or the developing social media content on VAWG resources to be able to meet these respon- and COVID, support for conducting assess- sibilities safely. This combination of respon- ments, and creative storytelling to docu- sibility and lack of control is also visible in ment the realities that women and girls services: the reproduction of the personal have faced in the pandemic. in the public, organizational sphere.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 24 Women, and women’s organizations, are others and spaces—even virtual spaces— put into the same positions and dynamics for solace and recognition. that underpin their non-crisis lives, in shar- per and more focused ways; the underlying Respondents made clear calls for support power inequalities are both much more de- that ranged from material needs such as fined and much more defining. PPE to operational support for staff safety and security and well-being. They also Aligned with their sense of loss and grief made loud calls for support on increasing around not being able to meet with their and strengthening the leadership of wo- support networks and the activists that men and girls, especially within the hu- have a shared understanding of the spe- manitarian system, and virtual network cific pressures facing their organizations, building and capacity-sharing support it is little surprise that their overwhelming to increase access to information and re- priority is to find ways to connect with sources on COVID-19 and VAWG.

CONCLUSIONS

Women and girls are at the center of this order to meet their own needs and the crisis; critical in the provision of care, dispro- needs of those they care for. portionately impoverished and margina- lized, and highly exposed to violence and The research has helped us to abuse. VAWG can manifest as a teaching understand that women around tool, demonstrating precisely the limits of the world (both as individuals freedom and the consequences if those and organizations) spend energy limits are overstepped. In times of crisis, being forced to respond to when protective assets are under thre- immediate needs, leaving limited at and undermined, potential violence is resources and ability to address enabled, pushing back on women’s rights their strategic needs. and redefining limits. The reinforcement of women’s dependency on the men around As the demands of the immediate conti- them, combined with their isolation from nue to take center stage and focus, wo- support networks, makes them more ex- men’s strategic needs remain unmet, and posed to violence and less able to protect de-prioritized, pushed further and further themselves. The reversion to starkly gende- into an imaginary future, post-pandemic red control of resources puts women and and post-crisis. Maintaining the focus on girls at high risk of sexual exploitation in the immediate through under-resourcing, order

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 25 presuming women’s labor, and sustaining response to a public health crisis. How do attention on the clinical needs rather than women and girls continue to care when the people that these are happening to me- they are so uncared for and uncared about, ans that it is difficult for women and girls drained of care by the communities, autho- to advocate in their own interests and to rities, and institutions around them? Who think about the kind of world they want to is committing resources to ensure they are build post-crisis. The parallel processes are cared for? visible; while women and girls are providing the immediate care and functionality, men What has happened to the learning from are freed up to engage in thinking about previous health crises such as SARS, Ebola, what comes next and what kinds of recove- and Zika? Why is VAWG the first priority to ry processes they see as a priority. Women be under-funded in a crisis, despite being and girls do not have this luxury and are the biggest risk to communities? How are routinely excluded from these conversa- services for women and girls continually tions as they are pushed back into their denied, when the evidence shows they traditional roles, meaning that decisions, are life-saving? And who benefits when strategies, and priorities are determined women and girls are excluded from poli- without them. These returns to traditional cy-making and planning for disaster res- patriarchal dynamics undermine the pro- ponse and recovery? gress women and girls have made and re- institute old inequalities once more. Within the humanitarian sector, we need to ask ourselves again why there is so little at- The aid sector and the donor system fail tention given to local women- and girl-led to not only recognize the needs of women organizations, who have access to and are in an emergency but also their enormous trusted by the women and girls who need worth to the response. them. We need to interrogate the colonial, othering assumptions that presume local Despite women being the women have little to contribute, when they are the ones with the most relevant know- primary frontline humani- ledge and skills. tarian actors in every crisis, they are not taken seriously The response to COVID-19 and not supported. denies the domestic rea-

Their organizations do not usually have the lities of women and girls, educational or class backgrounds, the net- effectively erasing violence works, the language skills, or the technolo- and safety as relevant con- gy to engage with foreign aid agencies and donors. Women’s needs and contributions siderations. remain a lesser concern of international aid, and responses suffer as a result. Built on gender-blind assumptions and an unspoken, shared understanding of a theo- A further insight from this research is that retical crisis-affected male with “normal” “care” is a contradictory notion and a pro- characteristics, the response actively blematic one in the context of gender in- increases the life-threatening risks of vio- equity. Questions about who cares, who lence to women and girls. is cared for, and whose needs for care are taken seriously are political ones that need Major crises bring the dynamics of patri- to be unpacked in the planning of every archy into sharp focus; they quickly reveal

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 26 how gains toward equality were only tem- truth it is only another surge in the sustai- porary concessions. While the backsliding ned attack on the safety and autonomy of on the rights of women and girls might be women and girls over millennia. seen as a symptom of the pandemic, in

RECOMMENDATIONS

Aligned with our commitment to femi- partnership; information, feedback and ac- nist research ethics, and to solidarity with tion; and results, which would ensure that women- and girl-led organizations, our communities are “meaningfully and conti- recommendations aim to make practical nuously involved in decisions that directly differences for and with women and girls, impact their lives.”38 challenging duty-bearers to do better. In support of many of the recommenda- The primary, overarching recommendation tions in this report, humanitarian actors is for duty-bearers to adhere to their own should incorporate the views and contribu- global commitments to localization and tions of women and girls affected by crises to get more funding and power into the into all phases of the HPC.39 In the prepa- hands of local crisis-affected people. The ratory stage, clusters or working groups40 Grand Bargain, the 2016 agreement bet- can ensure participation from women and ween more than 30 of the biggest donors girls in discussions on indicators and tar- and aid providers, called for “A participa- gets; harmonization of monitoring met- tion revolution: include people receiving hods; mechanisms for affected people to aid in making the decisions which affect provide ongoing feedback safely; regular their lives.”37 However, agencies continue reporting frequencies and formats; and the to lag in their efforts to localize or, better use and dissemination of findings. Clusters yet, decolonize aid, which requires ceding or working groups and inter-agency bodies control, addressing power imbalances, and should select outcome indicators that cap- investing in the grassroots, including wo- ture the perspectives of affected women men- and girl-led organizations. and girls in all their diversity, as well as their satisfaction with humanitarian assistance, A second overarching recommendation including the appropriateness and qua- is for duty-bearers to fulfill their promise lity of goods, services, and participation. of Accountability to Affected Populations When gathering monitoring data, agen- (AAP). The Inter-Agency Standing Commit- cies should, to the extent possible, involve tee (IASC) endorsed four commitments in women and girls in any field data collection 2017 around leadership; participation and exercises.41 42

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 27 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROGRAMMING AND POLICY LOCALIZATION

Prioritize all life-saving issues, including Undertake mapping to identify specialist addressing VAWG. The humanitarian sys- women- and girl-led services, associations, tem, including UN actors and INGOs, must and networks who are trusted in their com- always advocate for a specific objective munities, and dedicate adequate resources around VAWG and GBV through global for their support. Budget for their advocacy health partnerships. and representation in addition to service delivery. Bring a gender power analysis to all health interventions, to expose the specific risks Provide multi-year flexible funding to local and vulnerabilities of women and girls women- and girl-led organizations through within the COVID response and for future partnerships grounded in trusting local ex- responses. pertise and knowledge. Funding should prioritize organizational strengthening and Design interventions and policies that take joint learning. Consider the use of parti- into account women’s and girls’ greater cipatory grant-making approaches that exposure to the virus and their greater re- address the power imbalance between sponsibilities for care within their families donors and grantees. and communities. Responses should be de signed for and by women and girls so that Go beyond promoting the participation of they contribute to better outcomes for all. women- and girl-led organizations in fin- Ensure that they have adequate PPE, me- ding local solutions for addressing VAWG ans of communication, and hygiene kits by letting them design and lead these in- and materials. terventions. UN agencies and other donor group members should include a focus on Protect and enhance SRH services, inclu- accountability and learning systems and ding the provision of menstrual hygiene procedural adaptations to facilitate funding materials, and VAWG mitigation and res- for grassroots groups that may need to be ponse services, through ring-fenced fun- different from the procedures of larger ent- ding in recognition of their essential and ities. Consider the diversity of groups that life-saving functions for women and girls. may be smaller, harder to reach, or working Explore models of outreach or mobile ser- in different parts of a country. vices to reach those confined at home. Commit to ensuring that all pooled funds and projects meet the highest mark of the Gender-Age Marker. Funding should be proportional; if an overall appeal is funded at 50%, then the VAWG request within that appeal should also be funded by a mini- mum of 50%, given how VAWG has implications across all sectors of humanitarian action.

Commit a percentage of all emergency response funding to women- and girl-led organizations within the VAWG component of a response, and ensure that they can

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 28 receive the funds efficiently. Learn from the RECOMMENDATIONS FOR forthcoming UNICEF and VOICE partner- WORKING WITH AND FOR ship which includes the development of WOMEN- AND GIRL-LED OR- a partnership support tool to help foster GANIZATIONS relationships between donors and women- and girl-led organizations. Reach out to networks of women-led CSOs and NGOs to ask them what they need, Follow examples of UNICEF’s Call to Action and what roles they would like to play as commitment that 100% of humanitarian partners in the coordinated response. Work needs overviews and humanitarian res- with them to unpack any unintended risks ponse plans for UNICEF-led clusters should that could come with their participation. include consultations with women and Provide access to technology and ad- girls and that other cluster-lead agencies dress the other barriers to their participa- follow-suit.43 This should be done especially tion. Connect them with donors, INGOs, given the limited progress that has been and policy groups. made based on the outcomes of CARE’s recent Report Card review.44 45 Support and promote safe spaces (virtual or actual) for staff and volunteers in women- and girl-led organizations to meet, share experiences, and support each other. Ensure these are focused on care for staff and volunteers and not implementation of activities, and that they are regular and prioritized events.

Convene and enable meetings (virtual or actual) for staff and volunteers in women- and girl-led organizations to connect regionally and strengthen their solidarity, networks, and advocacy. Provide access to technology and address other barriers to their participation.

Commit to supporting networks and building movements; ensure that women- and girl-led organizations are part of all relevant clusters or working groups, are central in strategizing and designing responses, and are fully supported to do so.

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 29 REFERENCES

1 “What Happened? How the Humanitarian Response to COVID-19 Failed to Protect Women and Girls,” International Rescue Committee, October 2020. https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/5281/ircwpecovidreportv7.pdf 2 “The Great Lockdown: Worst Economic Downturn Since the Great Depression,” IMF, April 2020. https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/the-great-lockdown-worst-economic-downturn-since-the-great-depression 3 This is the flagship report of a series of intended publications developed with women and girls. 4 Peng, E., Yang, C.C., Lyu, S.Y., Shih, F.F, Yu, P.T. “Gender difference in response to new emerging diseases - an example of the SARS outbreak,” 2008 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266819487_Gender_difference_in_response_to_new_emerging_ diseases_---_an_example_of_the_SARS_outbreak 5 “Addressing sex and gender in epidemic-prone infectious diseases,” World Health Organization, 2007. https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/SexGenderInfectDis.pdf 6 Filipová, L., Dalaqua, R. H., Revil, J. “Pandemics are not gender-neutral, gender analysis can improve response to disease outbreaks,” UNIDIR. https://unidir.org/commentary/pandemics-are-not-gender-neutral-gender-analysis-can-improve- response-disease-outbreaks 7 Akanni, T. “Confronting Ebola in Liberia: The Gendered realities,” October 2014. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/confronting-ebola-in-liberia-gendered-realities-0/ 8 “Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work,” International Labour Organization, June 2018. https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_633135/lang--en/index.htm 9 “Unpaid Care Work in Times of the COVID-19 Crisis,” UNDP, June 2018. https://www.un.org/development/desa/family/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2020/06/Unpaid-care-work- in-times-of-the-COVID-19-crisis.Duragova.pdf 10 Gausman, J., Langer, A. “Sex and gender disparities in the covid-19 pandemic,” Journal of Women’s Health, Vol. 29, No. 4 (2020): 465-466. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/jwh.2020.8472 11 “Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work,” International Labour Organization, June 2018. https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_633135/lang--en/index.htm 12 Peters, M. M. “Community perceptions of Ebola response efforts in Liberia: Montserrado and Nimba Counties,” Oxfam, December 2014. http://www.ebola-anthropology.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Ox fam-MMinorPeters-Liberia-Anthro-report_Dec2014.pdf 13 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. “The social determinants of health: Developing an evidence base for political action,” WHO, October 2007. https://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/mekn_report_10oct07.pdf 14 Morgan, R., Ayiasi, R.M., Barman, D. et al. “Gendered health systems: evidence from low- and middle-income countries,” Health Res Policy Sys 16, 58 (2018). https://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12961-018-0338-5

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 30 15 “Addressing sex and gender in epidemic-prone infectious diseases,” World Health Organization, 2007. https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/SexGenderInfectDis.pdf 16 The PREVENT Working Group. “Pregnant Women and Vaccines Against Emerging Epidemic Threats,” WHO, October 2018. https://www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2018/october/1_PREVENT_Recs_Excerpts_for_SAGE.PDF 17 Subrahmanian, R., Nesbitt-Ahmed, Z. “Caring in the time of COVID-19: Gender, unpaid care work and social protection,” UNICEF (blog), April 23, 2020. https://blogs.unicef.org/evidence-for-action/caring-in-the-time-of-covid-19-gender-unpaid-care-work- and-social-protection/ 18 “39 million girls are at risk: are humanitarian responses doing enough?” Theirworld and Safe Schools. http://s3.amazonaws.com/theirworld-site-resources/Reports/Theirworld-39-million-girls-at-risk.- Are-humanitarian-response-doing-enough.pdf 19 McLaren, Helen J.; Wong, Karen R.; Nguyen, Kieu N.; Mahamadachchi, Komalee N.D. „Covid-19 and Women’s Triple Burden: Vignettes from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia“ Soc. Sci. 9, no. 5: 87 (2020). https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/9/5/87 20 Ranney, M. L., Griffeth, V., Jha, A. K. “Critical supply Shortages — the need for ventilators and personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic.” New England Journal of Medicine, 382 (April 2020). https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMp2006141 21 Morgan, R., Ayiasi, R.M., Barman, D. et al. “Gendered health systems: evidence from low- and middle-income countries,” Health Res Policy Sys 16, 58 (2018). https://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12961-018-0338-5 22 Kuhlmann, E., Annandale, E. “Gender and healthcare policy,” The Palgrave International Handbook of Healthcare Policy and Governance, 578-596 (2015). https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137384935_35 23 Miller, K., Dolker, T., Staszewka, K. “Only 1% of gender equality funding is going to women‘s organisations – Why?” The Guardian. July 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/02/gender-equa lity-support-1bn-boost-how-to-spend-it 24 Cofem. “Feminist perspectives on addressing violence against women and girls: Funding: Whose priorities?” Raising Voices, September 2017. http://raisingvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Paper-4-COFEM.final_.sept2017.pdf 25 “Where is the money? How the Humanitarian System is Failing in its Commitments to End Violence Against Women and Girls,” VOICE Amplified and International Rescue Committee, September 2019. https://voiceamplified.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/WHERE-IS-THE-MONEY-wAnnexes.pdf.pdf 26 “What Happened? How the Humanitarian Response to COVID-19 Failed to Protect Women and Girls,” International Rescue Committee, October 2020. https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/5281/ircwpecovidreportv7.pdf 27 Bloom, L., Sawin, P. “Ethical responsibility in feminist research: Challenging ourselves to do activist research with women in poverty,” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 22. 333-351 (2009). doi:10.1080/09518390902835413. 28 Topping, A. „UK working mothers are ‚sacrificial lambs‘ in coronavirus childcare crisis,“ The Guardian, July 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jul/24/uk-working-mothers-are-sacrifical-lambs-in-coro navirus-childcare-crisis 29 “The true scale of the crisis facing working mums,” Pregnant Then Screwed, 2020. https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/the-covid-crisis-effect-on-working-mums/ 30 “Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture,” International Labour Organization, April 2018 http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_626831/lang--en/index.htm

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 31 31 “Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” UN Women, 2018 https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/2/gender-equality-in-the-2030- agenda-for-sustainable-development-2018 32 “WFP Chief Warns of Hunger Pandemic as COVID-19 Spreads (Statement to UN Security Council).” UN World Food Programme, 2020. https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-chief-warns-hunger-pandemic-covid-19-spre ads-statement-un-security-council 33 “COVID-19, Food & Nutrition Security, and Gender Equality,” CARE, 2020. https://www.care.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/covid_food_security_and_gender_equality.pdf 34 “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls,” United Nations Economic and Social Council, December 2017. http://undocs.org/E/CN.6/2018/3 35 Chandan, J.S., Taylor, J., Bradbury-Jones, C., Nirantharakumar, K., Kane, E., Bandyopadhyay, S. “COVID-19: a public health approach to manage domestic violence is needed,” The Lancet, May 2020. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30112-2/fulltext 36 Rodríguez-Madrid, María Nieves et al. “Gender Differences in Social Support Received by Informal Caregivers: A Personal Network Analysis Approach.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 16,1 91. 31 December 2018. doi:10.3390/ijerph16010091 37 “Women and Domestic Violence Toolkit”, Leeds Inter-Agency Project, 2003. 38 38 “Grand Bargain.” Agenda for Humanity. https://agendaforhumanity.org/initiatives/3861 39 “Emergency Handbook.” UNHCR. https://emergency.unhcr.org/entry/42554/accountability-to-affected- populations-aap 40 The HPC or, for refugee emergencies, the operational management cycle (OMC), both refer to a series of actions to help prepare for, manage, and deliver humanitarian response. They provide entry points for working with and for women and girls, men and boys, adolescents and youth at every stage and across all clusters or working groups. 41 Clusters are groups of humanitarian organizations, both UN and others, in each of the main areas of humanitarian action. In refugee responses, the term “cluster” is not used. Instead, the refugee coordination model follows a coordination structure known as refugee protection working groups. 42 Adapted from: IASC, With Us and For Us: Working With and For Young People in Humanitarian and Protracted Crises (https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/2021-02/IASC%20Guidelines%20 on%20Working%20with%20and%20for%20Young%20People%20in%20Humanitarian%20and%20Protrac- ted%20Crises_0.pdf). 43 Practical guidance for achieving these goals can be found in “Key actions for health programming at each stage of the humanitarian programme cycle,” a checklist included in the 2021 IASC guidelines With Us and For Us. These guidelines are reinforced by a vast number of key guidelines, such as the IASC’s Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action (https://gbvguidelines.org/wp/ wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-IASC-Gender-based-Violence-Guidelines_lo-res.pdf). 44 UNICEF Commitment: “GBV risk analysis in consultations with women/girls/local women’s organizations to inform 100% of UNICEF-led clusters’ contributions to Humanitarian Needs Overviews/Humanitarian Response Plans.” 45 March 2020. CARE, Collective Failure: How the Aid System Shortchanges Women and Girls in Crisis. https://www.care.org/our-work/reports-and-resources/she-leads-in-crisis-report-card/

AMPLIFYING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CRISES #WeMustDoBetter 32