To Örebro University

The current crisis precipitated by SARS-CoV-2 is more than a health crisis; it is a human, economic and social crisis, attacking people, societies, and economies at their core. Revealing how deep-rooted gender inequality is, the pandemic has entrenched, expanded, and exacerbated pre-pandemic gendered and intersectional inequalities, from care to violence. 

While research has shown how Europe, and elsewhere, is witnessing a reversal of gender and intersectional equality, with increased levels of gender-based violence against women and girls, traditionalization of gender roles and norms, and strengthening of gendered stereotypes, we simultaneously witness new feminist mobilisations and resistances against these in the form of new alliances, coalitions, and campaigns.  

The aim of this paper is to map and explore these new feminist mobilisations and resistances in civil societal responses to covid-19 in the EU27, Serbia, Turkey, and the UK. We focus on mobilisation and resistances aiming to mitigate the unequal and unequalising effects of both covid-19 itself, and the unintended effects of the policy responses to covid-19. The paper asks: What feminist mobilisations have taken place in response to the outbreak of the virus and its policy responses? Have there been opportunities presented by the Covid context that feminists have been able to usefully exploit? What political theorisations have underpinned such mobilisations? What potential do political action and theory hold to redress or exacerbate gender inequalities in Covid times?  

The paper is based on preliminary results of the EUH2020 funded RESISTRÉ: RESpondIng to outbreakS through co-creaTIve inclusive equality stRatEgies (2021-2024) which gathers ten European partners and a wider network of researchers in 30+ countries to analyse the impact of COVID-19 policies on gendered inequalities.