Monash University Research Brief.
May 25, 2020.
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On 11 March 2020, it was declared a pandemic and as of 15 May 2020, there were 4.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 302,115 deaths in 188 countries (John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre n.d). Many countries in the Indo-Pacific region instituted shutdowns of schools, workplaces and other civil restrictions at this time to combat the spread of the virus. These shutdowns are already having a major impact on women’s rights.
As such, many donors and aid agencies have reached out to their partners to assess the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on the humanitarian, security, and rights-based sectors in the region. This report examines the impact on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) practitioners – broadly women’s rights organisations and advocates working across multiple sectors: human rights, research, humanitarian, governance, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), security and protection, economic development, law/justice and other fields. Based on survey data collected through the “Online Survey Women’s Rights Practitioners in Indo-Pacific region on needs, priorities and concerns as a result of COVID-19”, conducted between 24 April and 11 May 2020, the report analyses information from WPS practitioners on the frontlines to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their work and organisations.
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