Isabel Acheson is from the UK and holds a Masters degree from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in Humanitarian Studies. Her areas of interest are women’s rights and protection, with a specialisation in humanitarian responses and peace processes.
Jordan
Isabel Acheson
The first official case of COVID-19 in Jordan was reported on 2 March 2020 with the country going into lockdown and the suspension of all private sector activities and Government services with the exception of some health and security services.[1] In addition to this, curfew between 6 pm and 8 am was imposed.[2] The country has been successful in containing the first COVID-19 wave with 11,893 cases and 69 deaths by the beginning of October, though these rates have dramatically increased since then.[3] During this time, the Government and various organisations have implemented campaigns to control the spread of COVID-19. The Jordanian Ministry of Health has collaborated with the WHO and UNICEF to undertake a national communications campaign to provide information on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.[4] A report by UN Women stated that 97% of their survey respondents had knowledge of the coronavirus preventative measures, including social distancing and handwashing, through information from Government and non-Government sources.[5] However, the pandemic and lockdown have had significant consequences on the prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), livelihoods, and education with a disproportionate impact on women and girls.
Gender-Based Violence
GBV has been alarmingly increasing worldwide during the COVID pandemic, with it even being described as a ‘shadow pandemic’ by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Women.[6] Jordan is no exception to this. The reporting of GBV to case management agencies in Jordan dropped by 68% during the first two weeks of lockdown.[7] However, the number of survivors seeking help and reporting the violence sharply increased when stay-at-home measures relaxed and women were able to leave the house and ask for help at local centres and clinics.[8] Even with reduced reporting, the Social Protection Line run by the Ministry of Social Development still received 1,700 GBV cases during the lockdown.[9] The lockdown has increased exposure to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) due to individuals being trapped at home with family members, who are responsible for perpetrating the majority of cases of domestic violence.[10]
In order to address the increasing SGBV, the Department of Family Protection, with the support of UNICEF, has worked to combat online exploitation, ensure care for women and children affected by abuse, and preparing shelter and protection support for increasing needs.[11] Information and protection services were also provided in lockdown by UN Oasis Centres.[12] Despite this, it is important to consider that there have been various barriers to survivors being able to report instances of GBV or to access help. Due to COVID-19, Euromed has reported that despite three Government-run shelters and one shelter run by the Jordanian Women’s Union remaining open, they are difficult to access because individuals need to self-isolate for two weeks before being admitted into one.[13] Moreover, the aforementioned prohibitions on leaving the house and the chances of being in lockdown with one’s abuser reduced access to in-person help, including safe spaces and shelters.[14] To deal with victims’ proximity to perpetrators despite the move online or via phone of services, some organisations have used creative ways to avoid alerting abusers who are listening in on their victims’ phone calls. For example, centres run by the Arab Women Organisation of Jordan (AWO Jordan) have adapted services so that women in difficult situations can report abuse, including the use of everyday code phrases, such as making dinner, to indicate the level of risk they are in.[15]
Another challenge has been that survivors may not have had the means to seek help online or over the phone if they did not have access to a personal mobile phone.[16] There is a significant gender gap for access to technology, which has resulted in some women and girls not being able to access online help to report SGBV. A study by Plan International UK showed that only 48% of adolescent girls reported using online GBV services, though this was reduced to 23% of women aged 25-49.[17] This demonstrates that there is not only a gender digital gap but also one related to age. In instances when women and girls do have their own phones, some have reported that using them could seem suspicious to their families, even more so if the phone is password protected.[18] There are also external factors which discourage survivors from coming forward. One of these being the stigma attached to being a survivor of GBV.[19] These challenges in accessing help for SGBV are essential to be considered when designing programmes to support survivors of SGBV, not only in Jordan but around the world as the medical and psychosocial impacts on survivors of SGBV can last a lifetime.
Education
Not only has the digital gap affected the access to SGBV services but also to education. The country’s lockdown has caused the closure of schools, which has disproportionately impacted girls and children with disabilities.[20] To ensure that education continued, the Ministry of Education implemented online and TV-streaming learning and education resources.[21] However, access to these resources was a challenge for some children. These challenges included the lack of money required for online subscriptions, poor internet networks, and limited or no access to devices needed for this kind of education.[22] As a response, UNICEF has been working to develop low or no-technology opportunities to account for this disparity.[23] This is essential due to the long-term potential economic impacts of a lack of or interrupted education.
Employment
With lockdown measures and the closure of private sector activities, there have been hugely detrimental consequences on workers and households. UN Women reported that in Jordan 29% of those in the formal sector and 99% of those in the informal sector lost their jobs due to the crisis.[24] The impact on access to income opportunities has been very gendered. Plan International reported the alarming statistics that 90% of women and girl respondents did not have accessible income-generating activities or material assistance, which compares to 74% of men and boys in this situation.[25]
A lack of financial autonomy from reduced employment opportunities has increased vulnerabilities of women and girls, particularly with the closure of courts, during the lockdown. With the loss of income sources, there has been increasing financial dependence on other household members, which puts women more at risk of abuse and exploitation.[26] This is the result of the fact that women may not be able to leave an abusive setting if they have no financial resources to do so. Furthermore, while women hold the right to file for divorce and are granted physical custody of children, men hold legal guardianship. [27] There have been increasing efforts to promote women’s rights, including financial resource access, by the Jordanian Government with Personal Status Law in 2012 introducing improved services on alimony and child support payments. [28] Despite this, women face challenges with receiving these financial payments as maintenance payments are required to be paid through courts [29]. However, during the lockdown with Sharia and administrative courts closed, women have been unable to claim child custody or financial claims increasing their financial burden.[30] With this economic hardship, women and girls in female-led households are more at risk to GBV at the hands of people they encounter, such as by landlords if women are not able to afford rent. [31] Moreover, as a result of COVID-related economic decline as well as the courts being closed, there could be an increase in early and forced marriages in the near future.[32]
Jordan has a diverse population whose work is protected differently based on their citizenship or migration status as well as other variables. This which is important to recognise to analyse the impact of economic hardships resulting from COVID-19. Over 700,000 refugees are living in Jordan with 80% of them living outside refugee camps and in densely populated areas.[33] It has been reported that most refugees in formal and informal sectors have lost their source of income due to the pandemic. [34]
Nationality has a significant impact on the working rights of women and their children in Jordan. For instance, if a Jordanian woman has a husband who does not have Jordanian nationality, then the entire family, including the Jordanian woman, is considered as foreign which affects access to high education, employment and healthcare.[35] Furthermore, children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians do not hold the needed type of ID, which means that many rely on irregular jobs in the informal sector for employment.[36] This puts them in a very vulnerable position and high uncertainty over sources of income.
Economic challenges have had a direct impact on food security. As a consequence of lost income in the pandemic, 52% of women reported they did not have enough money for more than 2 days’ supply of food.[37] Moreover, similarly to employment opportunity access, nationality is a factor. The ability of people to receive Food Packages in Jordan is related to the individuals’ citizenship status. Indeed, Jordanian citizenship and the necessary ID are required to receive Food Packages.[38] It is essential to consider the connection between food insecurity and abuse. UN Women reported that food security was linked to the increased risk of domestic violence, with 62% of the women interviewed reporting an increased risk of violence physically or psychologically due to increasing tensions or food insecurity within the household with some consequently having to seek food sources from other households.[39] The broad and devastating consequences of economic insecurity and, as a result, food insecurity are essential when designing response programmes to ensure that women are economically protected to reduce vulnerabilities to abuse.
As a response to the economic downturn, the Ministry of Labour has supported private-sector workers through regulations providing minimal income, which applies to refugees as well.[40] Through Jordanian legislation, there are alternative income-generating opportunities, including home-based businesses. Home-based businesses have become increasingly an employment option for men and women who are both nationals and refugees in Jordan. In September 2017, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs allowed Jordanian nationals the right to hold licences for operating home-based businesses and this right was extended in November 2018 to allow refugees in camp and non-camp settings to operate these without a joint venture.[41] This regulation change has allowed NGOs to support Syrian refugees to establish home-based businesses through technical and financial means.[42] This does require initial start-up finances however, but it is an incredibly important first step for empowerment programmes. NGOs have been working to improve the employment opportunities available during the pandemic to support the response. For example, UNICEF and Dar Abu Abdullah are employing 45 women and youths to produce non-medical face masks as well as providing financial, literacy and leadership training.[43]
As in most countries around the world affected by COVID-19, women and girls have faced disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on their wellbeing and opportunities. While combating the pandemic, the Government and organisations have worked to counter the devastating impacts on the population, including women and girls. Proceeding forward, it is essential that they are protected and have access to the resources needed in order to lessen the potentially lifelong impacts of SGBV, and education and economic disparities on their livelihoods.
[1] SGBV Sub-Working Group; Guidance Note on GBV Service Provision During COVID-19 in Jordan and a Forward Look to Safe Resume of Services, April 2020
[2] Zainab Moallin; 5 Ways to Learn from Local Women Humanitarians, 30 September 2020
[3] WHO; Coronavirus Disease Dashboard, 15 October 2020
[4] UNICEF; Protecting the Most Vulnerable Children from the Impact of Coronavirus: An Agenda for Action, April 2020
[5] UN Women; Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Women in Jordan, April 2020
[6] UN Women; Violence Against Women and Girls: The Shadow Pandemic, April 6 2020
[7] GBV IMS Taskforce Jordan; Preliminary Analysis of Gender Based Violence Trends During COVID-19, April 2020
[8] Jordan GBVIMS, UNFPA and UNHCR; Jordan GBVIMS TF Midyear Report, January to June 2020, 23 August 2020
[9] EuroMed Rights; COVID and the Increase in Domestic Violence Against Women, July 2020
[10] SGBV Sub-Working Group; Guidance Note on GBV Service Provision During COVID-19 in Jordan and a Forward Look to Safe Resume of Services, April 2020
[11] UNICEF; Protecting the Most Vulnerable Children from the Impact of Coronavirus: An Agenda for Action, April 2020
[12] UN Women; Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Women in Jordan, April 2020
[13] EuroMed Rights; COVID and the Increase in Domestic Violence Against Women, July 2020
[14] Jordan GBVIMS, UNFPA and UNHCR; Jordan GBVIMS TF Midyear Report, January to June 2020, 23 August 2020
[15] Zainab Moallin; 5 Ways to Learn from Local Women Humanitarians, 30 September 2020
[16] Inter-Sector Working Group Jordan; Refugee Response Coordination Coronavirus, March 2020
[17] Plan International UK; The Impacts of COVID-19 on Girls in Crisis, April 2020
[18] Ibid.
[19] Plan International; Jordan Sees Increase in Domestic. Violence, Poor Access to Family Planning, 20 May 2020
[20] UNICEF; Protecting the Most Vulnerable Children from the Impact of Coronavirus: An Agenda for Action, April 2020
[21] Ibid.
[22] Plan International UK; The Impacts of COVID-19 on Girls in Crisis, April 2020
[23] UNICEF; Protecting the Most Vulnerable Children from the Impact of Coronavirus: An Agenda for Action, April 2020
[24] UN Women; Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Women in Jordan, April 2020
[25] Plan International, 2020; Jordan Sees Increase in Domestic. Violence, Poor Access to Family Planning
[26] SGBV Sub-Working Group; Guidance Note on GBV Service Provision During COVID-19 in Jordan and a Forward Look to Safe Resume of Services, April 2020
[27] OECD; SIGI: Jordan, 2019
[28] Manial Sweidan; A Gender Perspective on Measuring Asset Ownership for Sustainable Development in Jordan; October 2016
[29] OECD; SIGI: Jordan, 2019
[30] SGBV Sub-Working Group; Guidance Note on GBV Service Provision During COVID-19 in Jordan and a Forward Look to Safe Resume of Services, April 2020
[31] Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development; The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women’s Access to Justice in Jordan, April 2020
[32] Jordan GBVIMS, UNFPA and UNHCR, 2020; Jordan GBVIMS TF Midyear Report, January to June 2020
[33] Plan International; Jordan Sees Increase in Domestic. Violence, Poor Access to Family Planning, 20 May 2020
[34] Inter-Sector Working Group Jordan; Refugee Response Coordination Coronavirus, March 2020
[35] Equality Now, 2020; COVID-19 Conservations: Discriminatory Nationality Law Harms Families
[36] Arab Women Organisation, 2020; Impact of COVID on Families Affected by Gender-Discriminatory Nationality Laws in Jordan
[37] UN Women; Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Women in Jordan, April 2020
[38] Arab Women Organisation, 2020; Impact of COVID on Families Affected by Gender-Discriminatory Nationality Laws in Jordan
[39] UN Women, 2020; Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Women in Jordan
[40] Inter-Sector Working Group Jordan; Refugee Response Coordination Coronavirus, March 2020
[41] REACH; Livelihood Assessment Focused on Micro-Businesses in Jordan, 20 May 2020
[42] Ibid.
[43] UNICEF, 2020; UNICEF and Dar Abu Abdullah Partner to Create Economic Opportunities for Youth and Women During COVID-19