Living Under Lockdown: Girls and COVID-19

"Many people do not have access to mass media, internet and other sources of information in the camp, so that they do not have enough information about COVID-19. As a result, false rumours are spreading..." - Habiba, age 24, Bangladesh, 2020

At the end of March 2020, some 743 million girls were out of school due to lockdowns imposed by governments in an effort to quell the spread of COVID-19, with serious risks to girls' well-being. By learning from past humanitarian crises and listening to girls during the COVID-19 pandemic, Plan International has worked to help protect girls as this crisis unfolds and to address long-term impacts. This report intends to amplify the voices of girls, scientists, and policymakers in calling for a more gendered analysis of the challenges presented by COVID-19.

Re-examination of 5 previous studies of crises, such as Plan International's study of the Ebola crisis of 2014-2015 in West Africa, and discussions with girls during COVID-19 lockdowns reveals some of the ways containment measures will shape the lives of communities, families, and children, especially girls, into the future:

• Suspension of education: Across Plan studies, adolescent girls identified a lack of access to education as a major concern in their lives. They value education and want to continue to learn. Yet in many societies, adolescent girls are expected to take on domestic chores and care for siblings; these gender norms limit girls' ability to study at home and to return to schools when they reopen. Furthermore, lack of access at home to adult guidance, television, radio, or the internet impacts on children's resilience and ability to bounce back, both educationally and psychologically, after any crisis: in times of lockdown, these disadvantages are magnified. In Liberia and Sierra Leone, lessons were broadcast through community radio beginning in mid-September 2014. But almost half the children's groups in Sierra Leone said that the radio programmes were not useful because: their parents did not have a radio or could not afford batteries; they could not gather to listen at another household because of the restrictions on contact; or the radio-teacher went too fast.
• Loss of livelihoods: Faced with food shortages, girls could be forced to take on high-risk work for survival or be forced into early marriages. Janet, age 14, from Liberia (2020) said, "My fear with this virus [COVID-19] is that women will really suffer. We will suffer over food. Men will abuse us. Because if I don't have food and a boy has food, if I ask him for help, he will ask me for sex before he gives me some." After the lockdowns lift, families may no longer be able to afford school, particularly for the girls.
• Psycho-social effects: Abuse, bereavement, grief, and isolation may affect girls' mental health and wellbeing for years ahead.
• Girls and women find themselves more vulnerable: They are the carers of the sick, and poverty and isolation further limits their access to healthcare services. For example, schools and teachers, regarded by girls in a Sierra Leone study as an important source of contraception and sexual health education, are no longer a resource during lockdown.
• Increase in gender-based violence (GBV): Confinement, financial concerns, and insecurity can lead to violence by partners and family members; all over the world, reports of domestic violence during COVID-19 are on the rise.

Having outlined the vulnerabilities and insecurities many girls are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the report explores the way forward. Centrally, Plan notes that consultation is key; this includes strengthening the participation of girls and young women in decision-making arenas to make sure they are heard, their rights are respected, and their needs are met. Specific calls to action are offered in these areas:

• Education:
  • Policymakers should make sure that girls are not discouraged from returning to school - for example, by removing barriers for pregnant girls and young mothers, who often face stigma and discriminatory school reentry laws.
  • Governments need to work closely with teachers, school staff, and communities to ensure that caregivers and girls are motivated to pursue distance learning and are able to access it - for example, by investing in approaches that are low-tech and gender-responsive and/or by demanding free or inexpensive internet access for those who can't afford it.
• Economic support - For example, financial support packages should include targeted measures to protect and support young women's economic empowerment.
• Child protection and (GBV) - For example, governments and local authorities should put in place and fully fund lifesaving activities for survivors of GBV, including dedicated staff, helplines, and psycho-social support.
• Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) - For example, with the disruption of schools, routine health services, and community-level centres, new ways of providing information and support to adolescents and young people need to be established, including the use of social media and tele-health.