The ways in which care work has increased significantly, for women, was explored, and so was the increase in the numbers of domestic violence cases. It was suggested that this hinges on and also impacts the ways in which women are affected economically, by the lockdown. This is not to say the lockdown was a bad idea for women. Rather, it is a suggestion that in a state of public emergency, the needs of those most vulnerable to violence need to be protected and considered the most critically. It is a further suggestion that the imposition of the lockdown on all, in the same way, without giving thought to the ways in which is will affect those who are already at the risk of violence, was the mistake. It keeps us in a constant state of reacting and responding to gender-based violence, when we are fully aware of its extent of said violence, in our jurisdiction. Botswana ought to have figured out ways to ensure the independence of women and their reduced oppression for times such as these.
Livelihoods encompass people’s capabilities, assets, income and activities, required to secure the necessities in life. In essence, it refers to their means to securing the basic necessities. A livelihoods approach identifies programmes based on priorities and goals, defined by the people themselves. The pandemic has affected the right to livelihoods for most people in our country, resulting in government needing to intervene. This extends to the right to the opportunity to gain one’s living by freely choosing work, safe conditions for work, fair wages, as well as equal remuneration for work of equal value.
