From Crisis to a New Social Compact: An inclusive, intersectional feminist approach is the only way out of the COVID crisis

Migrant women, in particular, straddle worlds but are too often exempt from even the
most basic rights, protections and benefits. As a result, they face elevated risks and
consequences of virus exposure and many related concerns that include increased issues
with mental health, domestic violence and gender-based violence and harassment at work.
Toxic symptoms of existing power relations are worsened by household confinement, social
distancing and lockdown protocols that cut off access to vital community spaces of support
and respite—making the enclosure mandates a time of great vigilance for women activists,
migrants and intersectional feminists. Many migrant women are further constrained by the
lack of documentation that hampers their ability to generate income, limits their access to
social protections, and even restricts their freedom of movement, particularly in the
context of increased militarization of our societies.