What Shapes Government Responsiveness to Violence Against Women During Crises? Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Drawing on a unique global dataset that monitored violence against women (VAW) measures during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article explores the political and institutional factors that supported government responsiveness to VAW at that particular crisis moment. Our quantitative data highlights feminist mobilization as a central driver of government action. Yet feminist mobilization did not always translate into policy action. In some countries, governments adopted a significant response without visible feminist mobilization. Based on qualitative case studies, we identify four distinct pathways – cumulative, truncated, critical juncture, and opportunistic – through which VAW made it onto the COVID-19 response agendas of four countries with very different political and institutional contexts – Argentina, Brazil, Fiji, and Uzbekistan. The findings offer important lessons for both researchers and activists interested in exploring or promoting government action regarding VAW during emergencies.