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Danger Zone or Newfound Freedoms: Exploring Women and Girls’ Experiences in the Virtual Space during COVID-19 in Iraq

Author

Listed:
  • Najat Qushua

    (Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Alli Gillespie

    (Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Dechol Ramazan

    (UNICEF, New York, NY 10017, USA)

  • Sunita Joergensen

    (UNICEF, New York, NY 10017, USA)

  • Dorcas Erskine

    (UNICEF, New York, NY 10017, USA)

  • Catherine Poulton

    (UNICEF, New York, NY 10017, USA)

  • Lindsay Stark

    (Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Ilana Seff

    (Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls across the globe faced increased reliance on the digital space to access education, social support, and health and gender-based violence (GBV) services. While research from the last three years has explored how women and girls navigated and responded to their new virtual reality, minimal evidence has been generated from low-resource settings where access to technology may be limited. Further, no studies to date have examined these dynamics in Iraq, where women and girls already face numerous threats to safety due to various forms of structural violence and patriarchal family structures. This qualitative study aimed to examine women and girls’ experiences in the digital space during COVID-19 in Iraq, including the benefits and risks of engagement as well as how access to the digital space was controlled. Data for the present analysis come from the authors’ larger multi-country study investigating women and girls’ safety and access to GBV services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures employed to control the spread of the virus. In Iraq, semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted virtually with fifteen GBV service providers. Following the translation and transcription of interviews, the thematic analysis highlighted several benefits and challenges women and girls experienced as they tried to access and utilize technology for schooling, support services, and obtaining and spreading information. While many women and girls increasingly and successfully relied on social media to spread awareness of GBV cases, key informants noted that women and girls also faced increased risks of experiencing electronic blackmail. In addition to a substantial digital divide in this context—which manifested as differential access to technology by gender, rural/urban status, and socioeconomic status—intrahousehold control of girls’ access to and use of technology left many adolescent girls unable to continue schooling and contributed to their further marginalization and consequent decline in well-being. Implications for women’s safety and mitigation strategies are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Najat Qushua & Alli Gillespie & Dechol Ramazan & Sunita Joergensen & Dorcas Erskine & Catherine Poulton & Lindsay Stark & Ilana Seff, 2023. "Danger Zone or Newfound Freedoms: Exploring Women and Girls’ Experiences in the Virtual Space during COVID-19 in Iraq," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-16, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3400-:d:1069122
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luissa Vahedi & Ilana Seff & Deidi Olaya Rodriguez & Samantha McNelly & Ana Isabel Interiano Perez & Dorcas Erskine & Catherine Poulton & Lindsay Stark, 2022. "“ At the Root of COVID Grew a More Complicated Situation ”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Guatemalan Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response System during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Maha Sulaiman Younis & Riyadh Khudhiar Lafta, 2021. "The plight of women in Iraq: Gender disparity, violence, and mental health," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(8), pages 977-983, December.
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