Spotlight on the gendered impacts of COVID-19 in Australia: a gender matrix analysis

ABSTRACT

The gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, beyond infection and fatality rates, can be seen across a range of broader social and economic issues including care overload, domestic violence, unemployment and job loss, and housing insecurity. On the whole, government public policy in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has not adequately addressed or prevented the inevitable gender impacts that have emerged. To what extent did governments have ‘early warning’ of these impacts? Using a matrix methodology to shine a light on a range of COVID-related gender impacts in Australia, this article indicates how the impact of the pandemic was exacerbated by already existing unequal gendered power relations. Our findings, identifiable in real time through news media reports, reveal that these debilitating effects extended to other social identifier groups (for instance, elderly, ethnic minorities, disabled) who were similarly caught up in underlying uneven power relations and structures.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• gender analysis
• Australia
• pandemic
• equity

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the feedback and advice received from the project lead investigators Julia Smith, Simon Fraser University, Clare Wenham, London School of Economics and Rosemary Morgan, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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3 Tali Kristal and Meir Yaish, ‘Does the Coronavirus Pandemic Level the Gender Inequality Curve? (It Doesn’t)’ (2020) 68 Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 100520; Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, ‘The Impact of Sex and Gender in the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (Report, Brussels, European Commission May 2020) <https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/4f419ffb-a0ca-11ea-9d2d-01aa75ed71a1/language-en> accessed 19 August 2021; Sonia Oreffice and Climent Quintana-Domeque, ‘Gender Inequality in COVID-19 Times: Evidence from UK Prolific Participants’ (GLO Discussion Paper No. 738, Global Labor Organization (GLO) 2020); Kristen D Krause, ‘Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on LGBTQ Communities’ (2021) 27(1) Journal of Public Health Management and Practice S69; Francis Markham, Diane Smith and Frances Morphy (eds), ‘Indigenous Australians and the COVID-19 Crisis: Perspectives on Public Policy’ (2020) (Topical Issue 1) Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research <https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/202733/1/CAEPR_TI_no1_2020_Markham_Smith_Morphy.pdf> accessed 13 August 2021; Melissa McLeod and others, ‘COVID-19: We Must Not Forget About Indigenous Health and Equity’ (2020) 44(4) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 253; John P Salerno, Natasha D Williams, and Karina A Gattamorta, ‘LGBTQ Populations: Psychologically Vulnerable Communities in the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) 12(S1) Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy S239; Aryati Yashadhana and others, ‘Indigenous Australians at Increased Risk of COVID-19 Due to Existing Health and Socioeconomic Inequities’ (2020) 1(10007) The Lancet Regional Health-Western Pacific 1.

4 Oertelt-Prigione (n 3); European Commission, ‘2021 Report on Gender Equality in the EU’ (Report, Brussels, European Union 2021) <https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/aid_development_cooperation_fundamental_rights/annual_report_ge_2021_en.pdf> accessed 19 August 2021.

5 Hai-Ahn H Dang and Cuong Viet Nguyen, ‘Gender Inequality During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Income, Expenditure, Savings, and Job Loss’ (2021) 140 World Development 1.

6 de Paz and others (n 2). See also Malte Reichelt, Kinga Makovi, and Anahit Sargsyan, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Inequality in the Labor Market and Gender-Role Attitudes’ (2020) 23(S1) European Societies S228.

7 Miyamoto (n 2).

8 Sana Malik and Khansa Naeem, ‘Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Women: Health, Livelihoods & Domestic Violence’ (Policy Review, Sustainable Development Policy Institute 8 May 2020); Richard Blundell and others, ‘COVID-19 and Inequalities’ (2020) 41(2) Fiscal Studies 291.

9 See Clare Wenham and others, ‘Women Are Most Affected by Pandemics—Lessons from Past Outbreaks’ (2020) 583 Nature 194; Amber Peterman and others, ‘Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children’ (April 2020) Working Paper 528, Center for Global Development <www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/pandemics-and-vawg-april2.pdf> accessed 28 August 2021.

10 Amy Dawel and others, ‘The Effect of COVID-19 on Mental Health and Wellbeing in a Representative Sample of Australian Adults’ (2020) 11 Frontiers in Psychiatry 1; Jane RW Fisher and others, ‘Mental Health of People in Australia in the First Month of COVID-19 Restrictions: A National Survey’ (2020) 213(10) Medical Journal of Australia 458, 462.

11 Naomi Pfitzner, Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Jacqui True, ‘Responding to the “Shadow Pandemic”: Practitioner Views on the Nature of and Responses to Violence Against Women in Victoria, Australia During the COVID-19 Restrictions’ (Report, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre 2020).

12 Regan M Johnston, Anwar Mohammed, and Clifton Van der Linden, ‘Evidence of Exacerbated Gender Inequality in Child Care Obligations in Canada and Australia During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) 16(4) Politics & Gender 1131.

13 Berta Ausín and others, ‘Gender-Related Differences in the Psychological Impact of Confinement as a Consequence of COVID-19 in Spain’ (2021) 30(1) Journal of Gender Studies 29.

14 Lorena García-Fernández and others, ‘Gender Differences in Emotional Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak in Spain’ (2020) 11(1) Brain and Behavior 1.

15 Nianqi Liu and others, ‘Prevalence and Predictors of PTSS During COVID-19 Outbreak in China Hardest-Hit Areas: Gender Differences Matter’ (2020) 287 Psychiatry Research 112921; Oreffice and Quintana-Domeque (n 3).

16 See Ginette Azcona and others, ‘Will the Pandemic Derail Hard-Won Progress on Gender Equality?’ (UN Women 2020) <www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Spotlight-on-gender-COVID-19-and-the-SDGs-en.pdf.> accessed 28 August 2021; Paola Profeta (n 3); United Nations Population Fund, ‘Covid-19: A Gender Lens. Protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and Promoting Gender Equality’ (Report, New York, March 2020) <www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/COVID-19_A_Gender_Lens_Guidance_Note.pdf> accessed 5 September 2021; United Nations, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Women’ (Policy Brief, 9 April 2020) <www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/report/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women/policy-brief-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women-en-1.pdf> accessed 28 August 2021; Wenham, Smith and Morgan (n 2); World Health Organization, ‘Gender and Covid-19’ (Advocacy Brief, 14 May 2020); de Paz and others (n 2).

17 ‘COVID-19: Emerging Gender Data and Why It Matters’ (UN Women, 26 June 2020); Lotus McDougal and others, ‘Strengthening Gender Measures and Data in the COVID-19 Era: An Urgent Need for Change’ (Report, 2020) <https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/Documents/COVID-19_Gender_Data_and_Measures_Evidence_Review.pdf> accessed 2 October 2021.

18 JHPIEGO (Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics), ‘Seven Steps to a Gender Analysis’ (John Hopkins University Affiliate, 21 March 2016) <https://gender.jhpiego.org/analysistoolkit/seven-steps-to-a-gender-analysis/> accessed 15 June 2021.

19 Rosemary Morgan and others, ‘How to Do (or Not to Do) … Gender Analysis in Health Systems Research’ (2016) 31(8) Health Policy and Planning 1069.

20 JHPIEGO (n 18).

21 Candida March, Ines Smyth, and Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay, A Guide to Gender-Analysis Frameworks (Oxfam February 1999) 22.

22 Morgan and others (n 19).

23 ibid.

24 Isadora Quay, ‘Rapid Gender Analysis and Its Use in Crises: From Zero to Fifty in Five Years’ (2019) 27(2) Gender and Development 221; Peterman and others (n 9).

25 Kimberlé Crenshaw, ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Anti-Discrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics’ (1989) (1) University of Chicago Legal Forum 139.

26 Anna Carastathis, ‘The Concept of Intersectionality in Feminist Theory’ (2020) 9(5) Philosophy Compass 304, 304.

27 Karen Ross and Margie Comrie, ‘The Rules of the (Leadership) Game: Gender, Politics and News’ (2012) 13(8) Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism 969; GK Sahu and Shah Alam, ‘Media Agenda on Gender Issues: Content Analysis of Two National Dailies’ (2013) 11(1) Pragyaan: Journal of Mass Communication 14.

28 Judith Baxter, Positioning Gender in Discourse: A Feminist Methodology (Palgrave Macmillan 2003) 8, 40.

29 Ian Hutchby, Media Talk: Conversation Analysis and the Study of Broadcasting (Open University Press 2005) 20.

30 Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F Klein, Data Feminism (MIT Press 2020) 125.

31 Jacqui Smith and others, ‘More Than a Public Health Crisis: A Feminist Political Economic Analysis of COVID-19’ (2021) 16(8–9) Global Public Health 1364.

32 On the use of Google News please note that it is a ‘news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organised from thousands of publishers and magazines’.

33 JHPIEGO (n 18).

34 See Figure 1; Morgan and others (n 19).

35 ‘Gender Matrix’ (Gender & COVID-19, 13 July 2020) <www.genderandcovid-19.org/matrix/> accessed 7 August 2021; Smith and others (n 31) 1368–70, 1380.

36 Greg Guest, Kathleen M MacQueen, and Emily E Namey, Applied Thematic Analysis (Sage 2012).

37 Giovanni Sotgiu and Claudia C Dobler, ‘Social Stigma in the Time of Coronavirus Disease 2019’ (2020) 56(2) The European Respiratory Journal <https://research.bond.edu.au/en/publications/social-stigma-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-disease-2019> accessed 23 October 2021.

38 David Richardson and Richard Dennis, ‘Gender Experiences during the COVID-19 Lockdown Women Lose from COVID-19, Men to Gain from Stimulus’ (Report, The Australian Institute, June 2020) 2.

39 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, ‘Gendered Impacts of COVID-19’ (Report, May 2020) 4; PAEC (Public Accounts and Estimates Committee), ‘Inquiry into the Victorian Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (Interim Report, Parliament of Victoria, July 2020) 68.

40 Ryan Batchelor, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Women and Work in Victoria’ (The McKell Institute, August 2020) <https://mckellinstitute.org.au/research/articles/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women-and-work-in-victoria/> accessed 6 July 2021.

41 WGEA (n 39).

42 Batchelor (n 40); Workplace Gender Equality Agency, ‘COVID-19 and the Australian Workforce’ (Factsheet, August 2020); WGEA (n 39); Daniel Ziffer, ‘Coronavirus Pandemic Job Losses Shift from Youth in Hospitality to White-Collar Professionals’ ABC News (28 July 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-28/coronavirus-job-losses-shift-to-white-collar-professionals/12496724> accessed 7 July 2021.

43 Sarah Hill, ‘Lost Jobs and Missed Opportunities: How Young Women’s Financial Security and Careers Will Take a COVID-19 Hit’ Women’s Agenda (5 May 2020) <https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/lost-jobs-and-missed-opportunities-how-young-womens-financial-security-and-careers-will-take-a-covid-19-hit/> accessed 3 May 2021; Tom Stayner, ‘Young Australians Forced Out of Work by Coronavirus Face “Devastating” Long-Term Impacts’ SBS News (26 May 2020) <www.sbs.com.au/news/young-australians-forced-out-of-work-by-coronavirus-face-devastating-long-term-impacts/772f99b6-5e45-4752-bbdb-bed8012a7afd> accessed 4 May 2021; SBS News, ‘Coronavirus Pandemic Highlights “Stark” Inequalities Between Australian Workers, Think Tank Says’ SBS News (30 December 2020) <www.sbs.com.au/news/coronavirus-pandemic-highlights-stark-inequalities-between-australian-workers-think-tank-says/a5fb6190-6d53-4b01-8f4b-508b8207cc0c> accessed 4 May 2021.

44 Katherine Kent and others, ‘One in Four Tasmanians Experienced Food Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (Report No 15, The Tasmania Project, Institute for Social Change, 15 June 2020); The Catholic Leader, ‘Almost a Third of Australians Experience Food Insecurity in 2020’ The Catholic Leader (16 October 2020) <https://catholicleader.com.au/news/australia/almost-a-third-of-australians-experience-food-insecurity-in-2020/> accessed 22 June 2021.

45 Julia Kanapathippillai, ‘Foodbank Expects More Australians Will Face Food Insecurity’ Canberra Times (12 October 2020) <www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6965317/covid-19-worsens-food-insecurity/> accessed 21 June 2021; Emily Olle and Alex Chapman, ‘Coronavirus Toilet Paper Panic Buying Leaves Elderly Shopper Looking for the Basic Product’ 7 News (6 March 2020) <https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/coronavirus-toilet-paper-panic-buying-leaves-elderly-shopper-looking-for-the-basic-product-c-733092> accessed 21 June 2021; Jason Om, ‘Panic Buying Causing Serious Problems for Some of Australia’s Most Vulnerable People’ (7.30 Report, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 10 March 2020).

46 Richardson and Dennis (n 38).

47 Celina Ribeiro, ‘“Pink-collar Recession”: How the Covid-19 Crisis Could Set Back a Generation of Women’ The Guardian (24 May 2020) <www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/24/pink-collar-recession-how-the-covid-19-crisis-is-eroding-womens-economic-power> accessed 30 June 2021; Euan Black, ‘Pink-Collar Recession: Data Reveals Women Have Borne Brunt of Pandemic’ The New Daily (16 July 2020) <https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/work/2020/07/16/pink-collar-recession-coronavirus/> accessed 30 June 2021; WGEA (n 39).

48 Greg Jericho, ‘Jobkeeper Has Failed, and It’s Hitting Women and Young People the Hardest’ The Guardian (21 June 2020) <www.theguardian.com/business/commentisfree/2020/jun/20/jobkeeper-has-failed-and-its-hitting-women-and-young-people-the-hardest> accessed 3 October 2021; Jessica Yun, ‘“Barely Any Jobs for Women”: The Gender Inequality of Morrison’s Stimulus Packages’ Yahoo Finance (10 June 2020) <https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-women-retirement-225642479.html> accessed 7 October 2021; Richardson and Dennis (n 38).

49 Norman Herman, ‘COVID-19 to Impact Australian Refugees Without Access to Welfare’ (ABC Radio, 8 April 2020) <www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/covid-19-to-impact-australian-refugees-without-access-to-welfare/12131794> accessed 3 October 2021; Bethan Smoleniec and Maani Truu, ‘“No Excuse” not to Extend Jobkeeper to Temporary Migrants, Casuals after $60 Billion Bungle: Advocacy Groups’ SBS News (23 May 2020) <www.sbs.com.au/news/no-excuse-not-to-extend-jobkeeper-to-temporary-migrants-casuals-after-60-billion-bungle-advocacy-groups/0919712a-9f1b-4471-8a6e-8156350c150b> accessed 3 October 2021; Alice Moldovan and Erica Vowles, ‘Migrant Workers Call for Coronavirus Support amid Fears of “Crisis Situation”’ (ABC Radio National, 5 June 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-05/australia-migrant-workers-temporary-visa-holders-coronavirus/12301394> accessed 10 October 2021; Carrington Clarke, ‘Meet the Non-Residents and Casuals Who Can’t Get the Coronavirus Jobkeeper Wage Subsidy’ ABC News (2 April 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-02/coronavirus-wage-subsidy-jobkeeper-workers-who-cant-get-it/12114728> accessed 12 October 2021.

50 Emma Walsh, ‘Government Must Enable Pregnant Women to Access Extended & Flexible Parental Leave Provisions during this Crisis’ (Women’s Agenda, 1 April 2020) <https://womensagenda.com.au/life/jugglehood/government-must-enable-pregnant-women-to-access-extended-flexible-parental-leave-provisions-during-this-crisis/> accessed 2 October 2021.

51 See WGEA (n 39) 4; Claudia Farhart, ‘Women Fear They Will Have to Stop Working When Childcare Fees Return’ SBS News (9 June 2020) <www.sbs.com.au/news/women-fear-they-will-have-to-stop-working-when-childcare-fees-return/47240e70-5451-4288-bec6-0e242c2573e7> accessed 2 October 2021; Zoe McClure, ‘Universal Childcare a Key Pillar for Australia’s COVID-19 Recession Recovery’ (Women’s Electoral Lobby, 22 June 2020) <www.wel.org.au/universal_childcare_a_key_pillar_for_australia_s_covid_19_recession_recovery> accessed 12 October 2021; Lucy Dean, ‘“Double Whammy”: Jobkeeper Policy Tripping Up Women Twice’ Yahoo Finance (11 June 2020) <https://au.news.yahoo.com/childcare-decision-effect-on-aussie-women-013409639.html> accessed 23 September 2021.

52 WGEA (n 39); Trish Bergin, ‘Covid’s Toll on Women—Why Australia Needs a Gender Impact Statement’ (BroadAgenda, 4 August 2020) <www.broadagenda.com.au/2020/we-need-a-gender-lens-on-public-policy-more-than-ever/> accessed 23 September 2021.

53 Amy Cheng, ‘Women Shoulder Brunt of Household Work During Covid-19’ The South Sydney Herald (4 August 2020) <https://southsydneyherald.com.au/women-shoulder-brunt-of-household-work-during-covid-19/> accessed 2 October 2021; Emma Macdonald, ‘Gender Wars in the Time of COVID’ Her Canberra (26 June 2020) <https://hercanberra.com.au/life/family/gender-wars-in-the-time-of-covid/> accessed 2 October 2021; Kristine Ziwica, ‘Our Minister for Women is Missing on How the COVID-19 Crisis Is Disproportionately Impacting Women’ (Women’s Agenda, 11 August 2020) <https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/our-minister-for-women-is-missing-on-how-the-covid-19-crisis-is-disproportionately-impacting-women/> accessed 23 September 2021.

54 Cheng (n 53).

55 ‘Employment: Time Spent in Paid and Unpaid Work, by Sex’ (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) <https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54757> accessed 5 January 2022; see also Lyn Craig, ‘COVID-19 Has Laid Bare How Much We Value Women’s Work, and How Little We Pay for It’ The Conversation (21 April 2020) <https://theconversation.com/covid-19-has-laid-bare-how-much-we-value-womens-work-and-how-little-we-pay-for-it-136042> accessed 22 October 2021.

56 WGEA (n 39) 3.

57 Ziwica (n 53).

58 Sav Zwickl and others, ‘The Impact of the First Three Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Australian Trans Community’ (2021) International Journal of Transgender Health <www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2021.1890659> accessed 22 November 2021.

59 Ben Nielsen, ‘LGBT Australians at Higher Risk of Depression, Suicide and Poor Access to Health Services During Coronavirus Pandemic’ ABC News (10 October 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-10/suicide-and-depression-among-lgbt-community-during-covid19/12743538> accessed 2 October 2021.

60 Luke Michael, ‘Prison is the “Perfect Breeding Ground” for COVID-19, Human Rights Groups Warn’ (Pro Bono Australia, 3 April 2020) <https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2020/04/prison-is-the-perfect-breeding-ground-for-covid-19-human-rights-groups-warn/> accessed 15 September 2021.

61 75.4%; see WGEA (n 39) 2.

62 Evelyn Lewin, ‘Risk of Infecting Others with COVID-19 Key Concern for Healthcare Workers’ RACGP (3 April 2020) <www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/risk-of-infecting-others-with-covid-19-a-key-conce> accessed 2 October 2021; Angus Thompson, ‘Healthcare Worker Sleeping in Her Garage to Avoid Family Contact’ The Sydney Morning Herald (31 March 2020) <www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/health-care-worker-sleeping-in-her-garage-to-avoid-family-contact-20200330-p54fei.html> accessed 2 October 2021.

63 Jessica Longbottom, Richard Willingham, and Rachel Clayton, ‘Victorian Coronavirus Healthcare Workers Not Getting Best PPE or More N95 Masks amid Shortage Fears’ ABC News (20 September 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-20/victorian-coronavirus-second-wave-fuelled-by-ppe-n95-shortages/12670226> accessed 5 October 2021; Anna Patty, ‘One in Five Doctors and Nurses Has Limited Access to Face Masks’ The Sydney Morning Herald (10 August 2020) <www.smh.com.au/national/one-in-five-doctors-and-nurses-have-limited-access-to-face-masks-20200809-p55jxx.html> accessed 7 October 2021.

64 Sarah-Jane Jones and Robert Cook, ‘Doctors and Nurses Already Face Routine Violence and Abuse—Coronavirus Could Make this Worse’ The Conversation (23 June 2020) <https://theconversation.com/doctors-and-nurses-already-face-routine-violence-and-abuse-coronavirus-could-make-this-worse-139167> accessed 9 November 2021; Kevin Nguyen, ‘NSW Nurses Told not Wear Scrubs Outside of Hospital Due to Abuse over Coronavirus Fears’ ABC News (5 April 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-05/nsw-nurses-midwives-abused-during-coronavirus-pandemic/12123216> accessed 9 November 2021.

65 ‘Coronavirus: Melbourne Health Workers of “Asian Appearance” Report Racial Abuse’ SBS News (27 February 2020) <www.sbs.com.au/news/coronavirus-melbourne-health-workers-of-asian-appearance-report-racial-abuse/1b1c524b-ec3f-44a5-a330-3891e91245a8> accessed 7 October 2021; ‘Coronavirus Fears Spark Racism Towards Hospital’s Doctors’ The New Daily (27 February 2020) <https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2020/02/27/coronavirus-racism-doctors/> accessed 8 October 2021.

66 ‘Happiness on the Horizon: Mental Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Professionals Revealed’ (Media Release, Mental Health Australia 7 October 2021) <https://mhaustralia.org/sites/default/files/docs/mental_health_australia_media_release_-_7_oct_2021_-_mental_health_and_wellbeing_of_healthcare_professionals_revealed.pdf> accessed 9 January 2022.

67 ibid.

68 WGEA (n 39) 2.

69 ‘Women’s Leadership’ (Data Summary, Chief Executive Women 2020) <https://cew.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CEW_Position-Policies_WomeninLeadership.pdf> accessed 5 January 2022.

70 Patty (n 63); Longbottom, Willingham, and Clayton (n 63); Jane L Whitelaw and Alicia Dennis, ‘PPE Unmasked: Why Health-Care Workers in Australia Are Inadequately Protected Against Coronavirus’ (University of Wollongong, 4 August 2020) <www.uow.edu.au/media/2020/ppe-unmasked-why-health-care-workers-in-australia-are-inadequately-protected-against-coronavirus.php> accessed 2 October 2021; Rachel Clayton, ‘Victorian Healthcare Workers Continue to Face Shortages of PPE as Coronavirus Cases Ramp Up’ ABC News (11 July 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-11/victorian-hospitals-and-aged-care-still-cannot-access-ppe/12445318> accessed 2 October 2021; Hannah Sinclair and Laura Francis, ‘Nurses and Other Healthcare Workers Open up About “Terror” of Catching Coronavirus’ ABC News (27 July 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-27/more-than-700-victorian-healthcare-workers-with-covid19/12494330> accessed 5 November 2021; Clay Lucas, Aisha Dow, and Melissa Cunningham, ‘Health Staff Want Automatic Workcover Rights, as New Mask Concerns Emerge’ The Age (18 August 2020) <www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/health-staff-want-automatic-workcover-rights-as-new-mask-concerns-emerge-20200818-p55mvt.html> accessed 5 November 2021.

71 Erica Millar, ‘COVID Hurting Abortion Access Nationwide’ (La Trobe University, 12 May 2020) <www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2020/opinion/covid-hurting-abortion-access-nationwide> accessed 10 October 2021; Dilvin Yasa, ‘From Abortion to Birth Control: How Coronavirus Is Affecting Your Reproductive Rights’ MSN (20 April 2020) <www.msn.com/en-au/health/medical/from-abortion-to-birth-control-how-coronavirus-is-affecting-your-reproductive-rights/ar-BB12T15V> accessed 10 October 2021.

72 ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Australia’ (Situational Report, Marie Stopes Australia 16 August 2020) <https://resources.mariestopes.org.au/SRHRinAustralia.pdf> accessed 22 November 2021.

73 Ruby Prosser Scully, ‘Telehealth Restrictions “Jeopardise Sexual and Reproductive Health”’ (Medical Republic, 16 July 2020) <https://medicalrepublic.com.au/telehealth-restrictions-jeopardise-sexual-and-reproductive-health/31649> accessed 10 October 2021; See also Millar (n 71).

74 Yashadhana and others (n 3) 1; Jai McAllister, ‘Indigenous Leaders Warn “If Coronavirus Gets into Our Communities, We Are Gone”’ ABC News (20 March 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-20/dire-warning-on-coronavirus-for-indigenous-communities/12076420> accessed 5 January 2022.

75 Henry Zwartz, ‘Aboriginal Health Groups Fear New Coronavirus Outbreak as NT Government Plans to Reopen Borders’ ABC News (19 June 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-19/nt-borders-opening-indigenous-groups-coronavirus-concerns/12370018> accessed 10 October 2021.

76 Jessie Thompson, ‘COVID-19 Vaccinations for Remote and Vulnerable Indigenous Populations a “Massive Challenge” of Logistics’ ABC News (12 January 2021) <www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-12/covid-19-vaccinations-remote-vulnerable-indigenous-populations/13040334> accessed 22 November 2021.

77 Josh Butler, ‘“Unforgivable”: Only 6 Per Cent of Disability Residents Have Received Vaccines So Far’ The New Daily (21 April 2021) <https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/04/21/vaccine-rollout-disability/> accessed 2 September 2021. See also Nicolas Perpitch, ‘The Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak Leaves People with Disabilities Among the Most at Risk’ ABC News (20 March 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-20/disability-sector-particularly-at-risk-of-coronavirus-impact/12068090> accessed 2 September 2021; Joel Magarey, ‘People with Disabilities Refused Exercise, Healthcare as Homes Take Coronavirus Rules Too Far’ The New Daily (18 May 2020) <https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2020/05/18/coronavirus-care-home-rules-go-too-far/> accessed 10 October 2021; Ben Gauntlett, ‘Bringing a Disability Lens to the COVID-19 Health Policy Response’ (Australian Human Rights Commission, 5 May 2020) <https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/bringing-disability-lens-covid-19-health-policy-response> accessed 11 October 2021; Nas Campanella and Celina Edmonds, ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout for Australians Living with Disability Needs Clarity, Experts Say’ ABC News (22 January 2021) <www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-22/covid19-vaccine-rollout-people-living-with-disability/13078064> accessed 28 January 2022.

78 Anne Kavanagh and others, ‘COVID-19: Policy Action to Protect People with Disability in Australia’ (Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health, 24 March 2020) <https://credh.org.au/disability-and-health-sectors-need-a-coordinated-response-during-covid-19/> accessed 10 November 2021.

79 See also Helen Dickinson and Anne Kavanagh, ‘People with a Disability Are More Likely to Die from Coronavirus—But We Can Reduce This Risk’ (UNSW Newsroom, 27 March 2020) <https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/people-disability-are-more-likely-die-coronavirus-%E2%80%93-we-can-reduce-risk> accessed 10 November 2021.

80 Raina MacIntyre, ‘The Impact of PPE Shortages on Health Workers During the Covid19 Pandemic’ (UNSW Centre for Research Excellence Integrated Systems for Epidemic Response, 24 March 2020) <https://iser.med.unsw.edu.au/blog/impact-ppe-shortages-health-workers-during-covid19-pandemic> accessed 12 November 2021; SBS News, ‘Calls for Australia’s Disability Carers to Get the Same Coronavirus Protections as Aged Care Workers’ SBS News (8 April 2020) <www.sbs.com.au/news/calls-for-australia-s-disability-carers-to-get-the-same-coronavirus-protections-as-aged-care-workers/eb30cdd3-e010-4c2e-84ca-a56c25c95f95> accessed 10 November 2021; Caroline Egan, ‘PPE Shortages Aged Care’s Number One Concern’ (Hellocare, 3 April 2020) <https://hellocare.com.au/government-restricts-access-amid-ppe-shortages/> accessed 12 November 2021; Caroline Egan, ‘Australia Has One of the World’s Highest Rates of COVID Death in Nursing Homes, Royal Commission Hears’ (Hellocare, 10 August 2020) <https://hellocare.com.au/australia-one-worlds-highest-rates-covid-death-nursing-homes-royal-commission-hears/> accessed 8 October 2021; Jewel Topsfield, ‘Duty of Care: COVID-19’s Deadly Progress Through our Aged Homes’ The Age (1 August 2020) <www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/duty-of-care-covid-19-s-deadly-progress-through-our-aged-homes-20200731-p55h8i.html> accessed 10 November 2021; Sarah Russell, ‘Aged Care COVID Tragedy Was Years in the Making’ The Sydney Morning Herald (6 October 2020) <www.smh.com.au/national/aged-care-covid-tragedy-was-years-in-the-making-20201006-p562du.html> accessed 12 November 2021.

81 Neil Mitchell, ‘Victoria’s “Disposable People”: Aged Care Residents with COVID-19 Turned Away from Hospital’ (3AW, 12 August 2020) <www.3aw.com.au/victorias-disposable-people-aged-care-residents-with-covid-19-turned-away-from-hospitals/> accessed 12 November 2021; SBS News, ‘Aged Care Residents with Coronavirus Turned Away from Hospital, Providers Say’ SBS News (24 July 2020) <www.sbs.com.au/news/aged-care-residents-with-coronavirus-turned-away-from-hospital-providers-say/162160c5-f2a7-4b9e-88bd-706306f0ae85> accessed 12 November 2021.

82 Egan (n 80).

83 Jessie Davies, ‘Elderly Patients and Carers Say Age Discrimination in NSW Hospitals Is Real and Heartbreaking’ ABC News (16 August 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-16/ageism-in-health-doctors-biased-best-hospitals-for-the-elderly/12395292?nw=0&r=HtmlFragment> accessed 14 November 2021.

84 Hayley Boxall, Anthony Morgan, and Rick Brown, ‘The Prevalence of Domestic Violence among Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (Statistical Bulletin 28, Institute of Criminology, Australian Government July 2020); Luke Michael, ‘Fears COVID-19 Could Have a Long-Lasting Impact on Women’s Safety’ (Pro Bono Australia, 12 May 2020) <https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2020/05/fears-covid-19-could-have-a-long-lasting-impact-on-womens-safety/> accessed 10 October 2021.

85 Henry Zwartz, ‘Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns, Use of Online Domestic Violence Reporting Tool Spikes’ ABC News (23 May 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-23/coronavirus-lockdown-domestic-violence-spikes-in-australia/12238962> accessed 13 October 2021.

86 Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon and True (n 11); Michele Robinson, ‘Survey of Australian Women Shows Domestic Violence Has Escalated During Coronavirus Pandemic’ (ANROWS, 13 July 2020) <www.anrows.org.au/media-releases/survey-of-australian-women-shows-domestic-violence-has-escalated-during-coronavirus-pandemic/#:~:text=Two%20thirds%20(65.4%25)%20of,to%20the%20May%202020%20survey> accessed 20 October 2021.

87 Robinson (n 86); Safe and Equal, ‘COVID-19 and Family Violence’ (Safe and Equal, 29 April 2020) <https://safeandequal.org.au/working-in-family-violence/> accessed 20 October 2021.

88 Brad Cooper, ‘Housing Crisis Deepens for Women in Regional Queensland’ In QLD (21 May 2020) <https://inqld.com.au/news/2020/05/21/housing-crisis-deepens-for-women-in-regional-queensland/> accessed 26 September 2021.

89 Fergus Hunter, ‘Coronavirus Recession Risks Homelessness on a “Scale Unseen” Before’ The Sydney Morning Herald (31 August 2020) <www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/coronavirus-recession-risks-homelessness-on-a-scale-unseen-before-20200830-p55qmb.html> accessed 26 September 2021; Grace Tobin, ‘Renters in Arrears Fear an Eviction Backlash When Government Coronavirus Protections End’ ABC News (18 June 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-18/renters-facing-evictions-financial-squeeze-landlords/12370100> accessed 27 September 2021.

90 Nicole Gurran, Peter Phibbs, and Tess Lea, ‘Homelessness and Overcrowding Expose Us All to Coronavirus. Here’s What We Can Do to Stop the Spread’ The Conversation (24 March 2020) <https://theconversation.com/homelessness-and-overcrowding-expose-us-all-to-coronavirus-heres-what-we-can-do-to-stop-the-spread-134378> accessed 26 September 2021.

91 Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Peoples with Disability, ‘Public Hearing 5: Experiences of People with Disability During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic’ (Report, 26 November 2020) <https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2020-11/Report%20-%20Public%20hearing%205%20-%20Experiences%20of%20people%20with%20disability%20during%20the%20ongoing%20COVID-19%20pandemic.pdf> accessed 5 November 2021, 5.

92 Ursula Malone, ‘Government Coronavirus Plan Did Not Include People Living with Disability, Royal Commission Told’ ABC News (18 August 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-18/disability-royal-commission-to-shed-light-coronavirus-pandemic/12568436> accessed 5 November 2021.

93 Shawana Andrews, ‘At-Risk Aboriginal Women and Children Forgotten in Crisis’ (Pursuit, University of Melbourne, 21 April 2020) <https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/at-risk-aboriginal-women-and-children-forgotten-in-crisis> accessed 20 October 2021.

94 Asian Australian Alliance and Osmond Chiu, ‘COVID-19 Coronavirus Racism Incident Report: Reporting Racism Against Asians in Australia Arising Due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic’ (Report, Asian Australian Alliance 2020) <https://asianaustralianalliance.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/COVID-19-racism-incident-report-preliminary.pdf> accessed 5 November 2021.

95 ‘Asian-Australians Hit Hard by the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (ANU Newsroom, 2 November 2020) <www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/asian-australians-hit-hard-by-the-covid-19-pandemic> accessed 7 November 2021.

96 Jason Om, ‘Report Reveals Racist Abuse Experienced by Asian Australians During Coronavirus Pandemic’ ABC News (24 July 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-24/coronavirus-racism-report-reveals-asian-australians-abuse/12485734>; Max Walden, ‘More Than Eight in 10 Asian Australians Report Discrimination During Coronavirus Pandemic’ ABC News (2 November 2020) <www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-02/asian-australians-suffer-covid-19-discrimination-anu-survey/12834324> accessed 7 November 2021.

97 Patrick O’Keeffe, Belinda Johnson, and Kathryn Daley, ‘Continuing the Precedent: Financially Disadvantaging Young People in “Unprecedented” COVID-19 Times’ (2021) Australian Journal of Social Issues <https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.152>.

98 WGEA (n 42); WGEA (n 39).

99 Nielsen (n 59); Krause (n 3); Salerno and others (n 3).

100 Wenham and Davies (n 1).

101 ibid; see also World Health Organization (n 16) 1.

102 Johanna Bond, ‘Zika, Feminism, and the Failures of Health Policy’ (2016) 73 Washington and Lee Law Review Online 841.

Additional information

Funding

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Rapid Research Funding Grant for the project, Understanding and mitigating real-time differential gendered effects of the COVID-19 outbreak [agency grant number: 7-170639].

Notes on contributors

Sara E. Davies

Sara E. Davies is a Professor of International Relations, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Australia. Sara’s research focuses on Global Health Governance and the Women, Peace and Security agenda. She is the author of Containing Contagion: Politics of Disease Surveillance in Southeast Asia (2019), Disease Diplomacy (2014, with Adam Kamradt-Scott and Simon Rushton), Global Politics of Health (2010), and Legitimising Rejection: International Refugee Law in Southeast Asia (2007).

Daniela di Piramo

Daniela di Piramo is a research assistant at the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Australia. Her areas of expertise include gender studies, political philosophy and charismatic leadership. She is the author of Political Leadership in Zapatista Mexico: Marcos, Celebrity, and Charismatic Authority (2010).