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OurGenforInclusivePeace
May 29, 20206 min read

Responding to COVID-19: diverse ways of organising

Updated: Dec 16, 2020

OGIP’s COVID-19 blog series has now been running for two months, creating a platform for youth voices to respond to the global pandemic and its impacts. Before the blog series continues over the coming months we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the work and ideas that have been generated in this space, and what we as an intersectional feminist youth organisation are striving for in our work on COVID-19.


COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on communities globally. In early April, when we started this blog series, over half of the world’s population was in some form of lockdown;(1) and predictions that it will take at least a year to develop a vaccine(2) mean that this could be the case for a long time to come. The impacts of this crisis are already being felt, both socially and economically, and relief efforts are underway, yet there is still a long way to go - both in terms of the nature of the response and how it is organised.


This is a moment to reflect on how we, as a global community, organise to ensure that the response to COVID-19 meets the needs of everyone in every community. The way to achieve this is through centring diverse voices and leadership in decision making processes and ensuring that gender considerations are central to the response to COVID-19. This is exactly what OGIP has been working to do through our research on COVID-19 and our advocacy with actors in the peace and security space.


Reality of the crisis for women, girls and youth

As of 27th May 2020, the global death toll of COVID-19 stands at 353,820(3) and the secondary impacts of the crisis are only just beginning to be felt. These secondary impacts are having, and will continue to have, a disproportionate impact on marginalised groups and communities including women(4) and youth.(5) For example, girls and young women are experiencing increased levels of domestic violence due to lockdown measures; essential health services, such as sexual and reproductive health services, are being deprioritised; women and girls are having to take on more unpaid care responsibilities due to COVID-19; and 743 million girls are out of school in 185 countries as a direct result of COVID-19.(6) These impacts are amplified further for girls and young women living in humanitarian contexts or affected by conflict.(7) Those that are marginalised in society across the world are most likely to live close to or under the poverty line(8) and are therefore most likely to be impacted by the global economic fall out of COVID-19.


Who is missing in responses to the crisis?

In response to this crisis, governments, multilateral organisations and International Non-Government Organisations (INGO’s) are organising nationally and globally. However, governments in particular have predominantly been looking inward, prioritising national interest over a global response. See for example, Donald Trump’s withdrawal of support from the US in the World Health Organisation’s efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.(9) The lack of collective action in tackling the virus, means the global response has been siloed and less effective, and some of the most marginalised communities, including countries in the global south, will be hit the hardest.(10)


At the global level, the UN has called for a $2.5 trillion COVID-19 crisis package for developing countries.(11) The question is: how and where is this money going to be spent and who is involved in making those decisions? There has already been criticism that the immediate response to COVID-19 in many countries did not include women; as, despite making up 70% of the healthcare workforce, women only comprise 25% of senior leadership positions.(12)


Historically, the international development sector has come under criticism for its lack of diversity(13) and the peace and security sector is distinctly lacking the voices of young people, women and people of colour.(14) There is, therefore, a need to ensure that the response to COVID-19 is inclusive of, and responsive to, the needs of everyone in society - in particular those who are disproportionately impacted by the crisis.


Centring diverse voices in responses

Any response must actively value and centre marginalised groups and communities, including them in decision making processes, listening to their needs and responding accordingly, and giving them leadership positions in shaping the response. Not only is this fulfilling the basic right to representation, it will also ensure that relief and recovery is effective as it will take into account the needs, perspectives and lived realities of those who will be most affected by this crisis. This also has transformative potential in the longer term, by prioritising those who are not usually prioritised it will provide the opportunity to make changes in structures of power and provide opportunities to reduce inequality through COVID-19 responses.


Further to this, it is essential that flexible models of funding for grassroots, autonomous, youth and women led organisations are made available. This will support localised responses that are aware of the needs of their communities and are able to respond more effectively. Those responding at the grassroots level in marginalised communities must also be supported to feed up their perspectives and needs to shape national level policies and responses. There is the need for both consultations and partnerships with such communities and with youth and women led groups. We need inclusive policy making that defines measures of success in line with the needs and values of these groups and communities, as opposed to predefined measures of neoliberal nation states, such as GDP. Only through full and equal participation in all spaces will responses fully meet the needs of everyone in society through the current crisis and longer-term recovery efforts.


OGIP COVID-19 series: radical transformations of power

Our Generation for Inclusive Peace (OGIP) works for more inclusive and diverse representation in peace and security spaces through advancing young voices and experiences. OGIP believes in interdisciplinary and intersectional feminist research, outreach and advocacy as essential tools for advancing inclusive, responsive and relevant agendas that reflect the concerns of younger generations. It is necessary for youth voices to be listened to as they are aware of the issues that are affecting them and have informed and relevant ideas of how to address such issues.


OGIP has responded to this crisis in line with our principles of transformation and diversity, creating a blog series where young people can respond to and provide critical commentary on the COVID-19 crisis.(15) The perspectives and issues highlighted in our blog series are used to shape our advocacy and inform our partnerships work, thus trying to minimise the information and communication gap between grassroots activists and high-level policy makers. The series demonstrates that diverse, young people have the skills, knowledge and experience that are integral to shaping an effective response to COVID-19, highlighting issues that aren’t often at the top of policy makers’ agendas. It also shows that through youth engagement there is the potential to build a more inclusive and equal society through our response to this crisis if we prioritise a transformative intersectional feminist approach.


The blogs respond to a diverse array of topics from micro to macro; grassroots to international. This series includes a blog from an anti-incarceration campaigner on the need to rethink how we understand security in light of COVID-19(16) and reflections from a young woman working with refugee communities on the Greek Islands. OGIP is continually working to broaden and diversify the contributors involved our research, and this blog series is no different. Many barriers exist to participation in dialogues such as this and OGIP is working hard to ensure that through our work we are breaking down these barriers, challenging who is defined as 'experts' and what is defined as 'knowledge'.


The need for diverse youth voices and the intersectional feminist approach advocated for by OGIP, holds great value when thinking about how to respond to COVID-19. This crisis provides an opportunity for decision makers to open up spaces of power, work with marginalised communities in a meaningful way, and diversify decision making processes. There is the potential here for a radical transformation in the way power is distributed and responses to this crisis must reflect that.


 

Florence Waller-Carr


Florence is a feminist activist working on gender equality, youth participation and peace and security. She is a Co-founder of OGIP where she works on the research pillar of the organisation. She also works for Plan International's 'Girls Advocacy Alliance' Programme where she focuses on supporting youth advocacy in international accountability mechanisms.


Follow Florence on Twitter: @florencewallerc


Are you interested in contributing to OGIP's Covid-19 Blog series. We are now looking for more diverse mediums - artwork, poetry, podcasts and more. Find out more here. Follow us on Twitter: @ourgenpeace

 

References








(7) Care International (2020). Gender implications of COVID-19 outbreaks in development and humanitarian settings. https://insights.careinternational.org.uk/publications/gender-implications-of-covid-19-outbreaks-in-development-and-humanitarian-settings









(15) Our Generation for Inclusive Peace (2020). https://ogiporg.wixsite.com/home/blog



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