Capitalism and COVID-19: The effects on Gender-Based Violence

By: Tammy Brisibe

2020 was a year no one will forget. From murder hornets to UFO sightings to the rise of a deadly virus, the world was turned on its axis. The COVID-19 pandemic was a worldwide phenomenon that caused stay-at-home orders across the globe leading to people having to create new lived realities. From drive-by birthdays to Zoom classes, everyone was learning how to create and operate with the new normal. What also came with the pandemic was a new understanding of governmental policy as many individuals started to question how the government has continued to fail certain marginalized bodies. The response to COVID-19, or the failure at that, showed the pre-existing inequalities in the system that have targeted marginalized communities. Several austerity measures taken that have harmed certain groups left many countries in a state of panic as it highlighted how little care has been taken in creating social welfare across the board. The pandemic created an opportunity to question neoliberal structures that have been put in place and instead analyze what bodies are continually being targeted or at risk due to these capitalistic policies.

This is where we then turn to the silent pandemic that happened to women in 2020. Although many of the lockdowns put in place had great health advantages, they also fostered an increase in gender-based violence in 2020. The pandemic created a strain on jobs causing many women to take on unpaid labour in the home, and with an inability to relocate, many women were trapped in abusive home situations. Due to the restraints imposed by the pandemic and the austerity measures that limited resources to domestic violence shelters, many women were left in vulnerable positions within the home where they had to come in contact with their abusers daily. The focus of the capitalist government was monitoring violations of curfew and instead paid little to no attention to the violence against women that was happening daily in the home. It was found that there was an increase in domestic violence cases of 25 to 33% around the globe, yet this issue was not at the forefront for the government. Often it was found that the reason victims were not reporting the abuse to authorities or local shelters was that the abuser was nearby, making those calls practically impossible. Gender-based violence cases increased exponentially during the pandemic yet not enough coverage has been given to such an important topic.

As part of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, it is important to raise awareness of the negative impacts of this abuse to create a more just society. The pandemic was nearly 4 years ago and even though we have entered this “post-covid era” one still needs to recognize how neoliberal policies through a capitalist framework placed little to no value on the lives of women. More care needs to be taken to creating better social welfare programs for victims of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence to make sure another shadow pandemic doesn’t happen.