An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 24 | COVID-19 AND THE WPS AGENDA BY LT COL MARY CARROLL Lt Col Mary Carroll Sanam Naraghi Anderlini E ach evening for the past month, I have stood on my balcony and clapped and cheered with my neighbours to acknowledge the remark- able efforts being made by those at the frontline of fighting COVID-19, the pandemic that has brought the world to a standstill. A small gesture, perhaps, but a heartfelt tribute none- theless to the health workforce worldwide, two thirds of whom are women. The current pan- demic sweeping the globe has exercised many minds; academ- ics, policy-makers, health care practitio- ners, gender ex- perts, security experts, warlords and politicians have all had their say. The gendered aspects of this crisis in public health have received much attention. This was not the case in previous pandemics. This is ultimately good news for the WPS (Women, Peace and Security) community of interest. At last the message seems to be getting through – that crises and conflicts impact differently on men and women, boys and girls and that a gender lens is, at last, acknowledged as key to a fuller understanding of any given situation. Some commenta- tors have suggest- ed that the WPS agenda has never been more relevant than at this time of crisis. Sanam Naraghi Anderlini wrote an insightful piece suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic, with its multifaceted secu- rity dimensions, is, in fact, proving the centrality of the WPS agenda to con- temporary global peace and security challenges. She ar- gues strongly that the issues that are so often called for by the WPS community are profoundly relevant to this pandemic too. It may be useful to reflect on what some of those issues are. Firstly, a gendered analysis is a key enabler in a crisis. The WPS agenda calls for a gendered analysis of the causes and conse- quences of crises, and the mapping of individuals, communities and institutions involved. This analysis is essential in ensuring early warning, adequate preparation, mitigation, response and recovery from crises. Sex disaggregated data is crucial to under- standing the impact of the virus and are necessary to inform the response and recovery strategies needed. Gender sensitivity, understanding the differential implications on men and women of policies that are established, is also critical. In the case of COVID-19, this would mean investigating and addressing, for example: • The gendered impact of the course of the pandemic – who gets sick and why? Indications across the world (although sex disaggregated data are as yet incomplete) are that more males die from the virus - what are the impacts of such findings? For example, what are the implications of more female-headed households, more elderly women living alone going forward? Such factors will have profound socio-economic implications that must be considered to reduce longer-term and future insecurity. • The gendered nature of the health workforce and the sig- nificant risks that predominantly female health workers incur.(Interestingly, OECD reported recently that although the majority of the healthcare workforce is female - 85% of nurses and midwives; 90% of long-term care providers - women still make up only a minority of senior leader- ship positions in health). • The gendered nature of caregiving responsibilities when schools and childcare facilities close with the bulk of caregiving responsibilities falling to women. • The gendered implications of imposed quarantine, such as whether women and men's different physical, cultural, security, and sanitary needs are recognised. In terms of individual security needs, reports from many countries suggest significant spikes in cases of domestic abuse, for example, and responses have included ensuring shelters remain open, helplines are staffed, and police train- ing programmes and public awareness campaigns are activated. A group of medical experts, writing in the Lancet journal, amongst others, recently called on governments and global health institutions to consider the sex and gender effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, both direct and indirect, and conduct an analysis of the gendered impacts of the multiple out- breaks, incorporating the voices of women on the front line of the response to COVID-19 and of those most affected by the disease within preparedness and response policies or prac- tices going forward. Secondly, the WPS emphasis on women's participation and agency in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding is

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