Citation

Dlamini NJ. Crit. Sociol. 2021; 47(4-5): 583-590.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Dept. of Sociology, University of Oregon)

DOI

10.1177/0896920520975465

PMID

38603014

PMCID

PMC7723732

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated existing inequalities within countries and across geographies. It reminded us how the world and its people are interconnected. Gender-based violence (GBV), which is an expression of gender inequality and toxic masculinity, is another pandemic that exists in all societies at varying degrees of prevalence and severity.(1) It requires the same effort and attention that governments globally have given to COVID-19. With half the world under lockdown as governments' response to COVID-19, GBV increased significantly (UN Women, 2020a). The increase was a reminder of the need to have contingent mitigating mechanism to protect the marginalized, women and girls, against a co-existing pandemic, GBV. The intersection of marginalization and discrimination made certain groups of women more susceptible to GBV and COVID-19 pandemics. These intersecting social identities of vulnerability need equal attention in order to eradicate inequality (Simonovic, 2020).

Language: en

Keywords

ageism; COVID-19; GBV; gender inequality; intersecting discrimination; pandemic; racism; sociology