Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoKreatopolisLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente ¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Diversity
    • Gender
  • Authors
  • English
    • Español
COVID-19 No es el “gran igualador”

No great equalizer

May 6, 2020 Por María José Flor Ágreda - Anne-Marie Urban Leave a Comment


As we have struggled to navigate the current crisis, we have heard the coronavirus referred to as a “great equalizer”. These claims, however, were swiftly rebuked. While the virus can indeed affect any one of us, we know that individuals with preexisting medical conditions are extremely vulnerable. And pre-existing social and economic inequalities can be just as devastating. This is especially true for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/sexual, and Queer (LGBTQ+) individuals who often face debilitating discrimination.

What are the risks?

Healthcare

LGBTQ+ persons are more prone to have various types of cancers and HIV, which already puts them at high risk. This is exacerbated by a lack of knowledge of their specific healthcare needs, and barriers blocking their access to health care. In Mexico, for example, nearly 50% of LGBTQ+ patients reported that medical personnel were not adequately trained to provide care for their specific needs. In Colombia, 26% of LGBTQ+ persons reported open discrimination by a doctor, and 44% of transgender persons reported denial of medical attention. There have even been recent efforts to publicly sanction discrimination, such as permitting the refusal to treat LGBTQ+ patients as “conscientious objection”.

Loss of income

A recent report estimated that in OECD member countries LGBTQ+ persons were 7% less likely to be employed. This situation, which is reflected to some extent in the rest of the world, has worsened throughout Latin America and The Caribbean during the pandemic as LGBTQ+ persons tend to work in sectors that are most affected by the estimated 14 million jobs lost. Many LGBTQ+ persons are in service-based businesses such as bars, restaurants, and beauty salons, and trans women work informally, with as high as 95% participating in sex work.

Violence

During mandatory quarantine period, many of the LGBTQ+ persons confined in their homes are facing increased violence from family members. In Chile, 40% LGBTQ+ persons have reported verbal aggression, 38% psychological aggression, and 2.2% physical aggression. Close to half of these victims (45%) reported that mobility restrictions and social distancing have prevented them from seeking help.

What is being done?

Some noteworthy efforts have already emerged to mitigate LGBTQ+ exclusion in Latin American countries during the pandemic. The Health Ministry in Argentina issued a guidance note on treatment of transgender persons, and the Health Ministry in Peru offered recommendations to guarantee treatment and provision of antiretroviral medications to persons living with HIV. Likewise, in Argentina and El Salvador, specific hotlines have been set up in response to violence against LGBTQ+ persons.

Also in Argentina, the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), in coordination with other Ministries, has ensured the delivery of food and other basic needs to vulnerable transgender persons. Similar initiatives have been carried out by the governments, civil society and LGBTQ+ chambers of commerce in El Salvador, Paraguay and Ecuador.

What more can we do?

  • Provide clear guidance to health care providers on the inclusion and treatment of LGBTQ+ persons, including those living with HIV.
  • Ensure that temporary economic relief reaches LGBTQ+ individuals and households in need during and in the aftermath of the pandemic.
  • Explicitly target LGBTQ+ individuals in all initiatives that are addressing the rise in domestic violence.
  • Work together with civil society organizations with close ties to members of the LGBTQ+ community to help them to access resources and support, and to report abuses.

The coronavirus pandemic has challenged all of us to stop and think very seriously about the response capacity of the healthcare system and other critical sectors, and about who has the protection, support and resources they need to survive and thrive. As we find ourselves in this life or death situation, the profound effects of persistent inequalities could not be clearer. Perhaps the great equalizer, instead, will be our offering of truly inclusive responses to this pandemic that extend beyond this crisis and into a new mindset where equality is part of our DNA.


Filed Under: Diversity Tagged With: Coronavirus, COVID-19, diversity, LGTBQ+

María José Flor Ágreda

María José Flor Ágreda trabaja como consultora de integración de la perspectiva de género y gestión del conocimiento en la división de Género y Diversidad del BID. Antes de integrarse al Banco trabajó en investigación interseccional y diseño de políticas públicas relacionadas a regímenes de licencias familiares, migración, trabajo informal e inclusión de mujeres y personas LGBTI en los Estados Unidos, Ecuador y Trinidad y Tobago. También ha trabajado en iniciativas de alcance comunitario y comunicación con instituciones gubernamentales. María José tiene una maestría en género, políticas públicas y desigualdades sociales de London School of Economics (LSE), una maestría en estadísticas de desarrollo de University of the West Indies en Trinidad y Tobago, una especialización en migración y desarrollo de FLACSO-Ecuador, y una licenciatura en ciencias políticas y periodismo de la Universidad de Nevada, Las Vegas.

Anne-Marie Urban

Anne-Marie Urban es Especialista Líder en Desarrollo Social en la División de Género y Diversidad del BID. Ha trabajado en varios sectores, apoyando proyectos relacionados con desarrollo rural, inversión social, prevención de la violencia, infraestructura, salud reproductiva y desarrollo municipal. Además ha liderado la preparación y ejecución de los Planes de Acción de Género del BID. Cuenta con una Maestría en Desarrollo Internacional, Planificación Local y Medio Ambiente de la Universidad de Clark y una licenciatura en Ciencias Políticas y Alemán en la Universidad de Vanderbilt. Antes de incorporarse al BID, trabajó en la Oficina de la Mujer en el Desarrollo de la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID) y en un proyecto de investigación financiado por USAID.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Tweets

Tweets by BID_Igualdad

Related posts

  • #LGBTQtoo: making the invisible visible
  • Data for Equality
  • The strange case of women who disappear at age 49
  • Mobilizing Men for a New Normal
  • Responsiveness put to the test

Tags

Afrodescendants afrodescendientes Agricultura Bolivia Brechas de género Brechas digitales Coronavirus COVID-19 Data discriminación diversity Energy Gender Gender Equality Gender mainstreaming Healthcare igualdad de género inclusiveness Indigeneous economic development Indigenious development Indigenous economic development Indigenous entrepeneurship Indigenous identity Indigenous People Indigenous peoples Indigineous entrepeneurship Intimate Partner Violence Leadership Masculinities Mujer rural oportunidades económicas Paraguay post-pandemic pueblos indígenas technology Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación Trafficking Trafficking in persons Unpaid labor Violence against women violencia against women violencia contra la mujer Water Women leadership World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Google Analytics

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Derechos de autor © 2021 · Magazine Pro en Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube