Unheard Unseen: A COVID-19 briefing Ensuring the inclusion of marginalised women in fragile and conflict-affected states in COVID-19 prevention, response and recovery. “COVID-19 is worse than our usual South Sudanese war because when you hear gun shots, you can run or hide. But you cannot hide from coronavirus.” Sipura, South Sudan The cracks in our systems have been brutally ‘Unheard. Unseen.’ identifies five priority exposed. COVID-19 is amplifying inequalities action areas and provides analysis and and power disparities. Poverty, insecurity and recommendations on the important policy gender-based violence are spiralling – and changes that are so urgently needed for those who are already unheard and unseen marginalised women affected by conflict. will be hit the hardest. In the report, we also outline how important it is to create space for marginalised women 2020 was set to be an important year for in conflict-affected countries to share their women’s rights, with an unprecedented experiences and influence change. number of global gatherings and political milestones planned – the beginning of a Our Agenda for Action is more relevant and new era for global action to scale up gender urgent now than ever. Were governments equality in conflict-affected settings. and international institutions to action these recommendations, it could set a pathway for a On 9th March 2020, on what should have more just and equitable world that would be been the first day of the 64th session of the increasingly resilient to future disruptions – be United Nations Commission on the Status they health, conflict, climate or other crises. of Women (CSW), Women for Women International launched ‘Unheard. Unseen.’ Drawing from our Agenda for Action, - A Global Agenda for Action. Two days insights and experiences, this briefing later, the World Health Organisation officially serves as a reminder that the existing, declared COVID-19 a pandemic. long-term challenges we face as a global community are exacerbated in times of crisis – and, as with all crises, the impacts of COVID-19 are deeply gendered. In support of Generation Equality The COVID-19 pandemic threatens women’s power - and we are already hearing how women and girls living in conflict are disproportionately impacted: • Increased exposure: Globally, women • Barriers to information: Women are perform 76.2% of unpaid care work, and in struggling to acquire the information they conflict-affected countries - where unequal need as a result of growing misinformation, gender norms are often most pronounced limited literacy and limited or no access - this imbalance is even higher.1 This puts to technology. In low- and middle- women on the frontlines of prevention income countries, women are 10% less and treatment of COVID-19 within their likely to own a mobile phone.9 Research households, making them more susceptible from past pandemics has also shown to infection and illness. Lockdown is also a that people who have low literacy or luxury that the poor cannot afford - women proficiency in the national language tend experiencing poverty and fragility are less to face higher rates of the disease10 and able to avoid crowded spaces and are women make up more than two-thirds of therefore at greater risk of contracting and the world‘s illiterate population.11 These transmitting the disease. Those living in barriers to information are exacerbated refugee and IDP camps are at particular by lockdown measures and prohibition risk due to overcrowding and woefully of gatherings, making person-to-person inadequate sanitation - in Cox’s Bazar in information sharing more difficult. Bangladesh there are 40 people per 1,000 metres squared.2 • Rising violence: Globally, emerging data shows that since the outbreak of COVID-19, • Lack of access to healthcare: Women are violence against women and girls (and concerned about their ability to access particularly intimate partner violence) has clinics and hospitals should they need to, intensified.12 Studies of conflict and crisis since conflict has destroyed and weakened have long shown that women living in healthcare systems. Afghanistan has just conflict settings are much more exposed to 7.26 doctors, nurses and midwives per violence during emergencies.13 The impacts 10,000 people3 and health spending of this are being further compounded by in the Democratic Republic of Congo lockdown measures that are unintentionally (DRC) is just $32 per capita4, compared creating stressful and precarious to over $3,300 per capita in the UK.5 environments14, as well as growing tensions This is on top of existing barriers, with caused by economic depression, hunger a quarter of women reporting that and poverty.15 Less than 40% of women they are not able to make their own who experience violence tend to seek decisions around accessing healthcare.6 help, and if they do, they turn to family and friends - curfews and quarantines add an • Reduction in vital services: As the poorest additional and life-threatening barrier.16 countries are forced to divert scarce medical resources to respond to COVID-19, • Exclusion from decision-making: Evidence women will be among the first to suffer across sectors demonstrates that women from gaps in the other vital services are being excluded from the decision- they need to survive - including water, making processes around COVID-19, sanitation, hygiene systems and essential despite their active participation in the sexual and reproductive healthcare. The response itself.17 This is disappointing 2013-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa but sadly unsurprising; a 2018 study showed the catastrophic impact this can found that only 56% of the monitored have, reducing access to health care crisis contexts directly consulted with services by 50%7, in turn leading to a local women’s organisations in the 75% increase in maternal mortality.8 humanitarian planning process.18 2 • Economic shocks: Women in conflict- • A double burden: Women living in affected settings are typically engaged in fragile and conflict-affected states are informal, low paid work, which is being facing all of the above in addition to hardest hit by the economic fallout from the existing challenges they were facing COVID-19.19 Traders and small business before COVID-19 – in contexts where owners cannot work remotely and isolate the effects of existing gender inequality, themselves, so face the choice of risking marginalisation and poverty were already infection or exposing their families to devastating. COVID-19 threatens to financial hardship and compromised exacerbate this, as epidemics can also livelihoods. With 80% of schools closed be a driver of increased insecurity, globally, women are also taking on more violence and stigmatisation. During the childcare responsibilities which leaves less West Africa Ebola outbreak, each new time for economic activities.20 This will infection confirmed per 100,000 people have lasting consequences - global GDP increased the risk of conflict in that area is expected to fall by 1.9% this year as a over the following two weeks by 10%.24 result of COVID-19, and the impact of this - as with everything else - will be felt more acutely by the most marginalised women in those fragile settings that lack resilient “Our leaders and influencers financial systems, governments and social need to intensify efforts more safety nets.21 in creating awareness and sensitisation on the pandemic. • Food and resource insecurity: The UN World Food Programme has warned that Most community members still the number of people facing acute food have doubt on the existence insecurity will likely double before the of the disease, since none end of 2020, naming fragile and conflict- has been reported in the affected states as ‘food security hotspots’.22 Women are being forced to make difficult community. They need to be decisions about how to use their limited proactive in the preventive resources, and may be forced to resort measures, as we don’t have to negative mechanisms – as they did functional health facilities.” during the West Africa Ebola crisis - such as reducing food consumption, engaging Asabe, Nigeria in transactional sex, or borrowing money or going into debt to pay for food.23 The striking feature of the past 25 years has been the lack of prioritisation of the specific needs and rights of the most marginalised women in fragile and conflict-affected states by the global community. The same must not be the case with COVID-19 prevention, response and recovery. 3 Critical priorities Actively and meaningfully engages The specific needs and rights of 3 women and women’s rights marginalised women affected by conflict organisations as experts and must be integral to COVID-19 prevention, partners, both during and beyond response and recovery. In line with our this emergency, at all levels of Agenda for Action, Women for Women decision-making - from the household International is calling for an approach that: and community to the national and international levels: How? Formalise ways for women’s voices to be heard in decision-making Is nuanced and does not treat processes around COVID-19 and 1 ‘women’ as a single, homogenous provide women’s rights organisations group: with core, flexible and long-term funding as they adapt their work to How? Regularly conduct a gender respond to, and recover from, the analysis and collect disaggregated data gendered impact of this crisis. throughout the evolution of this crisis to understand the varying dimensions and their impacts on different people, Prioritises violence prevention communities and countries based on 4 and recovery, acknowledging the their intersecting identities, including: increased risk of violence that women gender, race, ethnicity, disability, affected by conflict face (particularly class, age and socio-economic status intimate partner violence) during in order to ensure representation of times of crisis: marginalised groups (disabled women, displaced women etc.). Importantly, use How? Avoid falling into the typical, this insight to guide any interventions narrow rhetoric around sexual violence; to ensure they are appropriate.