Women and Coronavirus: A Gender-Conscious Approach in Yogyakarta

WOMEN AND CORONAVIRUS A GENDER-CONSCIOUS APPROACH IN YOGYAKARTA

WRITTEN BY

TIARA PUTRI ASEAN Youth Organization Ambassador

PROJECT 01 May 2020

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THE RELATIONS The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening pre-existing gender inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities of women which are in turn amplifying the impacts of it. Across every sector, from social to economy, from political to security, the impacts of the pandemic are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their gender. Based on the UN Women release, women are uniquely impacted by Covid-19 in such ways:

1.

WOMEN PLAY A DISPROPORTIONATE ROLE IN DISEASE RESPONSE A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that two-thirds of the human resources in the health sector globally are women. This phenomenon is also known as "feminization of the health profession", where women form 70% of workers in the health sector. In Indonesia, Komnas Perempuan reported from 359,339 nurses, 71% or 259,326 of them are women, they are at the forefront to reduce the spread of Covid19 by treating the sick and educating the public. Women’s role in this pandemic are varying from frontline responders, health professionals, community volunteers, transport and logistics managers, scientists, doctors, vaccine developers and more.

2.

WOMEN WILL HIT HARDER BY AN ECONOMIC FALLOUT The pandemic resulted in termination of employment or layoffs in several companies either temporary or permanent. The Office of Manpower and Transmigration (Disnakertrans) Special Region of Yogyakarta recorded per 4 April 2020 there were 14,055 employees from 307 companies affected in the Covid-19 pandemic situation, consisting of 11 permanent layoffs to 258 employees and 296 temporary layoffs to 13,797 employees. Apart from formal workers, there are also hundreds of informal workers who faced the same situation. There are 474 affected workers, e.g. women homeworkers, prospective migrant workers, and retired migrant workers from Yogyakarta. Women often play a multilayered role, from being a workforce to taking the responsibility of raising their children. In fact, many of them are the sole breadwinners for their family.

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3.

DURING CRISES, GENDERBASED VIOLENCE INCREASED

4.

WHEN HEALTH SERVICES ARE OVERSTRETCHED, SERVICES FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS SUFFER

Along with economic pressure amidst the pandemic, women desperately fight to meet their daily needs. Multilayered domestic burdens, inequal power relations between different gender, and economic pressures during the pandemic may trigger genderbased violence. On April 2020, a counseling agency for violence against women in Yogyakarta, Rifka Annisa, recorded 53 cases of violence against women. This number doubled than the average number of cases reported to the agency each month, with approximate 22 cases.The trigger of domestic violence amidst the pandemic dominantly comes from the economy factor. If this is not immediately anticipated, the number of domestic violence can continue to rise and gradually unsolved over the long term.

The response to the pandemic has put pressure on the health system in Indonesia, especially Yogyakarta, on health services that are essential for vulnerable population groups. The sustainability of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child, and Youth (SRMNCAH) health services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic are still questionable.

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THE TASKS AND ACTIONS IN YOGYAKARTA Unlike usual natural disasters, this pandemic strictly requires everyone to social distancing, so counselors and volunteers cannot easily go down directly to the victims or vulnerable groups in need. Other than encouraging government to establish gender-based policies, as youth, we can also take strategic steps that implement a gender-conscious approach. Here are several inspirational steps by Yogyakartan youth amidst the pandemic.

#1 SOLIDARITAS PANGAN JOGJA Ita Fatia Nadia, a woman activist, initiated Solidaritas Pangan Jogja (SPJ/Jogja Food Solidarity) when Covid19 began to hit Indonesia in March 2020. SPJ defines itself as a collective soup kitchen to overcome the food crisis for informal workers in Yogyakarta. This movement is a network of solidarity based in Yogyakarta that transcends the boundaries of villages and cities, farmers and laborers, students and workers, artists and activists, local and migrant communities, and other aspects of society who are struggling to meet their daily dose of foods. SPJ is an

independent initiative from Yogyakartan youth to look after each other by building soup kitchens as food processing facilities and food distribution channels for those in need.

This meal center is a direct response to the impact of pandemic. Per May 2020, they already built soup kitchens in 11 sub-districts: Balirejo, Sembungan, Piyungan, Caturtunggal, Seyegan, Wonocatur, Kotagede, Ngadiwinatan, Prawirotaman, Bong Suwung, and Gamping.

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#2 PPE FOR HEALTH WORKERS

Devi Fitriani Putri is a 25-year-old woman who runs a convection business. Since the pandemic struck Yogyakarta, the number of hazmat requests has been increased rapidly. This made Devi switched her focus from casual clothing to producing hazmat clothing. When the demand continued to increases, Devi’s convection fell on labor shortages. She then took the initiative to invite unemployments from previous big layoffs in Yogyakarta to join her, especially women with sewing skills. This is a win-win solution, not only absorbing female workers affected by layoffs, but also helping to meet the needs of PPE in Yogyakarta health services.

Furthermore, there i s another movement cal l ed Mamaj ahi t. Thi s i s a j oi nt movement of tai l ors i n Yogyakarta whi ch hel ps to provi de personal protecti ve equi pment (PPE) for paramedi cs on duty. They made PPE to hospi tal s and heal th care workers i n need for free. Unti l May 15th 2020, a total of 19, 376 hazmat coveral l s have been made, 19, 363 have been di stri buted to vari ous hospi tal s and cl i ni cs i n vari ous regi ons i n Indonesi a. Mamaj ahi t has al so produced 4460 Faceshi el ds, 200 Safety Goggl es, and 86 Medi cal Gowns.

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#3 FREE PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING Rifka Annisa Women’s Crisis Center is a non-governmental organization based in Yogyakarta committed to eliminating violence against women.

Several women activists initiated this organization: Suwarni Angesti Rahayu, Sri Kusyuniati, Latifah Iskandar, Desti Murdijana, Sitoresmi Prabuningrat and Musrini Daruslan. In times of pandemic, psychological counseling from Rifka Annisa aims to take women to the empowered stage. The level of empowerment is measured through several indicators, including self-

control, increased responsibility, selfchange, self-respect, enthusiasm, and emotional control. The counseling can be done through face-to-face, e-mail, and telephone. In certain cases, Rifka Annisa WCC also conducts outreach services. Their programs are intended to intervene in every cause of violence against women and social-gender injustice. The factors described in their ecological framework consisting of 5 levels: individuals, families, communities, countries, and global structures.

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#4 SECRET CODE WORD Restrictions on movement during the pandemic have trapped women inside their homes with abusive partners, resulting in a sharp rise in reports of domestic violence. Zunea, a college student from Yogyakarta, along with her friends created a secret code word for them to discreetly seek help to each other, in response to a huge increase in domestic abuse during the coronavirus lockdown. This secret code word has been implemented in pharmacies by several government in European countries, but Zunea’s version is a simplified version of it.

For example, if you are currently stuck in isolation with someone who is abusive and need a safe place to escape, ask a friend if she’s still selling brownies. If you cannot get out of the situation only with the female helper and you need her to contact law enforcement, ask specifically for chocochips brownies, and so on. This code word will works better in small groups who has known each other’s addresses to ease the rescue process.

OUR COMMUNITY NEED GENDER-CONSCIOUS APPROACHES NOW MORE THAN EVER, BUT BEFORE A DEEP DIVE INTO SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOU ALL CAN DO, START BY APPLYING PRACTICALITY AND COMMON SENSE. THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO BE RESILIENCE AS A COMMUNITY, AND ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER ON A POSITIVE NOTE OF SOLIDARITY.

THIS ARTICLE WAS MADE FOR ASEAN YOUTH ORGANIZATION AMBASSADORIAL PROJECT.

References: UN Secretary-General’s policy brief: The impact of COVID-19 on women Rifka Annisa WCC Official Website Solidaritas Pangan Jogja Official Instagram Mamajahit Official Website All images are credited to Pixabay COLLABORATION OF:

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