COVID-19 and its Impact on Gender, Justice and Security

Contributor(s): Dr Josephine Ahikire, Dr Nelson Camilo Sanchez | The outbreak of a global pandemic has simultaneously revealed the fragility and robustness of health, education, economic, security, political and social systems. There is no shortage of exceptional responses to the pandemic. These have included the physical lockdown of millions of people, mandates to return millions from cities to rural communities, restrictions on expression that challenges government management of the crisis, data tracking on the movement of persons, extensive border controls, and a broad range of political and legal controls that are far-reaching across all levels of public and private life. Responses have also included remarkable initiatives at community level, often led by women, to provide care where state services fail and to maintain momentum for progressive policy agendas.

This event will take stock of changing social and political landscapes, locally and internationally, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Co-Directors of the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub will discuss questions such as: How have responses to COVID-19 affected the fight for gender justice and inclusive security? What are the impacts of the crisis on political and social rights agendas? Has the pandemic exacerbated the closing down of civil society space? How are gender roles and conceptions of masculinity challenged as a result of the reconfiguration of public and private spaces? And, perhaps most importantly, as we head towards a post-COVID reckoning: does the moment of crisis brought about by the pandemic offer opportunities for positive change?

Meet our speakers and chair

Josephine Ahikire (@Josephineahiki1) is Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences and former Dean, School of Women and Gender Studies. She is a Member of Council for Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA). Dr Ahikire is a Co-Director of the Livelihood, Land and Rights stream on the Gender, Justice and Security Hub.

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (@NiAolainF) is University Regents Professor and faculty director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School. She is concurrently a professor of law at the Queen’s University of Belfast, School of Law. Professor Ní Aoláin is currently the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism and a Co-Director of the Transformation and Empowerment stream on the Gender, Justice and Security Hub.

Nelson Camilo Sanchez (@NCamiloSanchezL) is an assistant professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law and a research associate at the Center for the Study of Law, Justice and Society – Dejusticia, in Colombia. Dr Sanchez is a Co-Director of the Livelihood, Land and Rights stream on the Gender, Justice and Security Hub.

Christine Chinkin, CMG, FBA is Professorial Research Fellow in the Centre for Women, Peace and Security, where she leads three major projects: ‘A Feminist International Law of Peace and Security’ funded by the AHRC, ‘Gendered Peace’ funded by the ERC and the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub. Professor Chinkin was Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security from 2015-2018.

More about this event

The LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security (@LSE_WPS) is a leading academic space for scholars, practitioners, activists, policy-makers and students to develop strategies to promote justice, human rights and participation of women in conflict-affected situations around the world.

This event forms part of LSE’s Shaping the Post-COVID World initiative, a series of debates about the direction the world could and should be taking after the crisis.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSECOVID19