Today is my 15th day of self-isolation in the north of Europe. After a long, dark, grey, gloomy autumn and odd winter, spring is finally here. We now have sunny and longer days with a strong desire to be outside enjoying them. But, unfortunately, that is not the scenario since we need to be indoors and take care of ourselves because of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, which is a worldwide pandemic.
During these months of the crisis, a lot of people are working to give us the services that we need. Among these are health professionals, public workers, social workers and others. Thanks to their great work plus our self-awareness, we are coping with the crisis.
I would like to highlight in these lines the work and situation of 3 different groups of women who are living with this crisis:
Women at home (mother, wife, partner)
The hashtag #Stayhome had become very popular on social networks to raise awareness for people to stay indoors to reduce the spread of the virus. However, home is not a safe place for many women who experience gender violence at home.
According to the World Health Organisation, worldwide, nearly one in three women (30 per cent) have experienced physical or sexual violence committed by their intimate partners, and 7 per cent have been sexually assaulted by someone other than their partner.
Most of these gender violences occur at home; however, many countries lawfully recognise this violence as a crime and not as a domestic or private matter.
“During this COVID-19 crisis, domestic violence is on the rise. “Code grays” (situations where a hostile visitor and/or patient needing security intervention) and “code emergency department lockdown” (police escort hostile individual from hospital premises) are noted more regularly during this pandemic. Front line health care providers are here to provide a holistic approach of care”, said a friend who is an ER nurse working Upstate New York, United States of America.
The campaign against gender violence titled Mascarilla-19 (mask-19) is being implemented in Spain, where women under gender violence can go to the pharmacy and say: I want a mask-19, in that case, the seller will know and call for help.
A lot of mothers are currently doing remote work, and so are their children, studying from home. So, for these moms, time off for them to relax can be nullified or reduced.
Another factor for these women is space at home. It is recommended that everyone has their space to work, study, or chill out. But the reality can be another since home space is reduced for many families. My friends who are moms have commented that it is “not an easy road”.
For single women, there are advantages to not dealing with spousal, partner, or children’s tension in these moments of crisis. But the challenge may be that a single woman may fall into depression and a state of loneliness due to the fact of self-isolation for a long period of time. Therefore, a single person must receive the necessary support by a simple phone call, text message or via social media.
Domestic workers and cleaners
Regardless of the danger, they face many needs to continue working for an income since, in many cases, they are single mothers, immigrant women, and are from an impoverished class.
In many countries, they are not protected by the labour law, they don’t have suitable equipment, don’t have basic cleaning supplies (especially for this crisis), face a lot of sexual harassment, and more.
In Spain, for example, the Servicio Domestico Activo- SEDOAC (Active Domestic Service), along with other women organizations are campaigning to be aware to “take care of who takes care of you”.
Nurses/Doctors
A friend of mine who works during her free time as a nurse (she is currently a student in Finland) told me that she had her first encounter with a patient who tested positive for coronavirus. She did her job and used all the precautionary equipment. I think that is a brave action.
Even though it is a critical situation, for her, it is more positive to work out rather than sit at home. However, after being with the patient, she manifested being worried and having post-panic thoughts.
A story like this is what thousands of nurses and doctors are living day by day worldwide to battle the virus.
All these women and others are heroines in all the countries affected by the virus. The question is how they are coping after their working shift and going home to their family, or being alone. Are they getting any advice, psychological help, support group, etc.?
In many countries, citizens go to their balconies and applaud these brave women and men. I would say keep it up. But also, health care providers need the government and health organisations to provide them with the necessary equipment to protect themselves better from contracting the COVID-19 virus.
When and how is this going to end? It is uncertain. But it is clear that we are going to have a post-pandemic world crisis, there will be a severe impact on business, sports, culture, education, climate, and human behaviour; for example, greeting with a kiss or shaking hands will probably be stopped. These bigger scenarios will have other implications in our society that we probably do not even imagine.
So, the next time you want to leave your house without any strong argument, please think about the thousands of women and men who leave their loved ones or use their time to serve us. They are human beings and, therefore, need our help.
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