• Culture
    Culture
    Filipino actors Bridgerton

    Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

    pura luka vega chappell roan church

    Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

    AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

    AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

    • Women
    • Queer
    • Politics
    • Environment
    • Food
  • Style
    Style
    Pond's serums

    These night serums are your new solutions for radiant, glowing skin

    5 original Filipino fragrance brands to check out

    5 original Filipino fragrance brands to check out

    Here’s where you can get unique, one-off accessories—designed by you

    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Space
    • Shopping
  • Entertainment
    Entertainment
    Filipino actors Bridgerton

    Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

    pura luka vega chappell roan church

    Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

    charlie’s angels totally spies!

    Our favorite onscreen spies, from Austin Powers to ‘Totally Spies!’

    • Celebrities
    • TV & Movies
    • Music
  • Life+Money
    Life+Money
    Single woman adopts baby

    Forming a family: When a single woman adopts a baby

    painting of baby

    A mother-to-be’s survival guide

    Navigating a friend breakup that has no bad blood

    It’s no one’s fault: When a friendship naturally runs its course

    • Career & Money
    • Parenting & Relationships
    • Sex & Health
    • Astrology
    • Travel
  • Inquirer.net
  • Lifestyle
Reading
We need to talk about women’s issues during pandemics
ShareTweet
In Editor's Pick
4 min read

We need to talk about women’s issues during pandemics

By Amrie Cruzon March 20, 2020
Share

The Philippines has adopted an enhanced community quarantine similar to that of China’s Hubei province. This month, a nonprofit organization based in Hubei reported an alarming statistic: 90 percent of the cases of domestic violence were related to the COVID-19 pandemic. How can we prevent the same thing from happening here? The lockdown also gave rise to panic buying, leaving some women without access to sanitary products. We got to discuss the gender issues that emerge during outbreaks with Charisse “Chang” Jordan, national project officer of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women’s (UN Women) Safe and Fair Programme and artist and women’s rights activist Nikki Luna. 

Compromised under COVID-19

Women are at a higher risk than usual in the time of a pandemic. According to Chang Jordan, it’s because they are care work frontliners at work and at home. Women are often employed as nurses, caregivers, teachers and other pink-collar roles. In addition to being responsible for individuals outside their family, they often put their children and spouse first. For communities reliant on them for care, women are extra vulnerable to the virus’ stealthy transmission.

Jordan adds that under the lockdown, threats of violence and harassment against women (both in public and private spaces) are also a big concern. From checkpoints to their very own homes, they are exposed to potential harm. The lack of safe transportation is an added factor. Those who are in abusive relationships may be subjected to heightened instances of domestic abuse if unable to find an alternative to staying with their perpetrators during the quarantine.

Public health measures should consider the living conditions of the general public. Local government units need to look out for the safety of women and girls in and out of their homes. “Women should not fear unwanted and unprotected sex. Girls should not fear being touched inappropriately,” says Jordan.

Lack of access to sanitary products

Women have specific, gender-differentiated needs often neglected in crisis response. Not only have prices soared for medical supplies, businesses and individuals are also selling pricier sanitary products and hygiene kits. “This relates to how the needs of women and girls are overlooked—when they are the ones who are putting the needs of their families first,” says Jordan. This is also a reflection of the state of our sexual and reproductive health rights. It is important to have strong gender-conscious policies that address this. 

Access to sanitary products is a human right. For women and girls, a huge part of health and overall well-being is dependent on feminine hygiene products. Male policymakers must consider the plight of women when crafting humane public programs. Jordan asserts, “It’s about recognizing that women’s and girls’ needs are of equal significance to other basic necessities.”

Put yourself in her shoes

How can we show our support for underprivileged women during the lockdown? Jordan says the best way to know what their needs are is to try to imagine being in their shoes. Those in low-income communities and working in informal economies struggle to afford basic necessities without a source of income. When taking part in donation drives, ask organizers to include sanitary pads in care packages. Power in Her Story is an example of a group that is organizing a donation drive to provide marginalized girls and women access to sanitary pads. Jordan also suggests supporting petitions for allowing business process outsourcing (BPO) employees, many of whom are women, to work from home.

Most kasambahays are women. Nikki Luna warns us not to disregard their emotional needs. They may choose to remain with you for financial reasons but their thoughts are probably with their loved ones. Reaching out to them, lending an ear and offering to help them with their work provides them with the support they deserve.

Luna urges, “Social media is a powerful tool, one must reflect before posting during a pandemic crisis.” Don’t assume that everything available to you is also within the reach of everyone else. Uploading photos of how you’re “enjoying” the lockdown with pandemic-related hashtags is insensitive, elitist and classist. We should be even more cautious of flaunting privilege.

For Luna, we can aid women and girls in abusive homes by learning the value of collective caring. Support organizations that help poor girls and women through legal assistance and shelters. 

Jordan expressed that while health reminders are important, we should also include a reminder to share the burdens that come with staying at home. Men and boys should help out at home. “This could be a chance to create a healthier relationship for the entire family,” she says.

In a time like this, it’s important to remain vigilant. Let’s also be especially attentive to the needs of women under the enhanced community quarantine.

 

 

Art by Tricia Guevara

Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Viber

Related Stories:
Don’t forget: Marginalized women and girls need sanitary pad donations too
It costs nothing to check your privilege during the COVID-19 crisis
Here’s a list of COVID-19 donation drives
PSA: Hold the government accountable for COVID-19 response

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0

Action Required!

We embed Facebook Comments plugin to allow you to leave comment at our website using your Facebook account. It may collects your IP address, your web browser User Agent, store and retrieve cookies on your browser, embed additional tracking, and monitor your interaction with the commenting interface, including correlating your Facebook account with whatever action you take within the interface (such as “liking” someone’s comment, replying to other comments), if you are logged into Facebook. For more information about how this data may be used, please see Facebook’s data privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update.

Accept    Decline

Tags
covid-19culture storiesdomestic abuseenhanced community quarantinewomen’s issues

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay in the loop


By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

ShareTweetEmailShare
Amrie Cruz
Amrie is a nonbinary writer who likes to talk about politics and viral animal videos. They have a dog daughter named Cassie who doesn’t go to school.

Peek This

cinemapua

CineMapua 2025 shines spotlight on next generation Filipino filmmakers

OMNIBUS 2025: A Festival For All

OMNIBUS 2025: A festival for all

Pond's serums

These night serums are your new solutions for radiant, glowing skin

Filipino actors Bridgerton

Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

Preen.ph © 2020. Hinge Inquirer Publications, Inc.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • HOME
  • ARCHIVES
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
Previous
Stressed? You can’t go wrong with feel-good animation
sanitary pad pexels
Next
Don’t forget: Marginalized women and girls need sanitary pad donations too
  • Culture
    • Women
    • Queer
    • Politics
    • Environment
    • Food
  • Style
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Space
    • Shopping
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrities
    • TV & Movies
    • Music
  • Life+Money
    • Career & Money
    • Parenting & Relationships
    • Sex & Health
    • Astrology
    • Travel
  • Inquirer.net
  • Lifestyle
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Search
Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close
fashion fashion news music Culture News movies
See all results

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay in the loop


By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.