Gender based perception and differentials of COVID-19: Findings from Rapid Survey

03, June 2020 | Bangladesh

Authors:

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused huge impacts on public health, socie�es and economies. Certain groups such as women, adolescent girls and children are widely considered to be more affected groups.1 In many developing countries including Bangladesh, preexis�ng societal norms and gender expecta�ons pose women and adolescent girls in greater risk of experiencing adverse impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent report by UN Women on COVID-19 and gender issues in Bangladesh states that, the COVID-19 pandemic is dispropor�onately affec�ng women as gender-based dispari�es s�ll exist in terms of access to informa�on, resources to cope with the pandemic, and its socio-economic impact.2 The report further pointed out that COVID-19 related policy responses are not incorpora�ng gender-responsive plans. In this backdrop, a group of researchers at BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University have u�lized the rapid survey data of COVID-19 currently conducted by the School to understand the gender-based percep- �ons among different popula�on groups and differen�als between their perspec�ves on the COVID-19 pandemic.