Understanding Pandemics Through a Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (SGBA+) Lens

Abstract

During pandemics, existing inequities are exacerbated, increasing vulnerabilities to disease among those who are socially, economically, and geographically disadvantaged and who already experience a disproportionate burden of poor health. Specific calls have recently been made in Canada, for example, for the country as a whole to deepen its commitment to sex- and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+) in research and policy in the current COVID-19 era (Bauer, Why Canada needs to deepen its commitment to SGBA+ in research and policy. The Hill Times. 1726: 28, 2020). Both individuals and populations have different susceptibility to disease if they are exposed, different levels of exposures when pandemics strike, and differential access to timely and appropriate treatments (e.g. Crooks et al. Planning for and responding to pandemic influenza emergencies: it’s time to listen to, prioritize and privilege Aboriginal perspectives. Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal, 9(5 Suppl 1), 5, 2018; Doyal, Living with HIV and dying with AIDS: Diversity, inequality, and human rights in the global pandemic. London: Taylor & Francis, 2013; Pirtle, Racial capitalism: A fundamental cause of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic inequities in the United States. Health Education & Behavior, 47, 504–508, 2020). Research evidence also demonstrates significant differences in how regions and countries around the world experience pandemics due to geographic location, public health emergency preparedness measures, strengths of existing healthcare systems, and resources available to respond to such emergencies (Lebeaux, Developing nations and disadvantaged populations: How the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic exacerbated disparities and inequities. Independent study project collection https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2429. Accessed 4 Aug 2020, 2016; San Martin et al. Addressing geospatial preparedness inequity: A sustainable bottom-up approach for non-governmental development organizations. Sustainability, 11(23), 6634, 2019; McLafferty, Placing pandemics: Geographical dimensions of vulnerability and spread. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 51(2), 143–161, 2010). This chapter reviews a growing body of knowledge on the specific factors and contexts indicating the magnitude of the disproportionate impacts on the poor, disadvantaged, and socially marginalized populations. For example, the gendered impacts of pandemics have been increasingly highlighted resulting in calls to action to respond to these effects (e.g. Patton 2005; Purdie et al. 2020; Richardson et al. 2014; Smith 2019, 2020; Wenham et al. 2020).