2020, a trying year for many. The pandemic has spared no one, especially women. Here is however the good news that we retain, non-exhaustive selection!
2020 was the year of two lockdowns around the world. These times have not been the safest for women: domestic violence has increased significantly. From the first week of confinement in March 2020, calls to report violence in France grew by 30%. Women have often been on the front line to fight the pandemic, because the care professions are predominantly feminized. We know, for example, that more than 80% of the nursing workforce are nurses.
Fortunately, this year has brought its share of good news for women.
Advances in health
In November 2020, Scotland sets a global example by allowing free and open access to menstrual protection. In France in December 2020, the government announced that it would put 5 million euros on the table to provide associations and communities with the means to fight this public health issue.
Still in France, contraception is now free for young girls under 15.
Finally, a remarkable decision in Sudan: a country very concerned by excision, this mutilating practice has since May 2020 been punished by law and punishable by three years in prison. This is a great victory for the Sudanese women, in a country where nearly 9 out of 10 women have undergone this genital mutilation.
More protections against violence
As we said in the introduction, confinements have increased violence for some. This was an opportunity to once again put this scourge on the table to find solutions. In France, victims of domestic violence can now unlock their wage savings, thanks to an easing of conditions, so that they can escape more quickly.
Abroad, there are many initiatives helping women to escape quickly and for free. Two railway companies are offering train tickets across the UK until March 2021. In Canada, it is an association of movers that helps women across the country. The association offers its services free of charge, so that the cost of the move is not a barrier to departure.
Better recognition in society
France voted to extend paternity leave, which will be reduced from 14 to 28 days in July 2021. This facilitates the path to real equality of careers and wages within couples.
This year, the prestigious Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to an all-female duo. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were rewarded for their work on a technology known as the “genetic scissor”. This genetic tool could contribute to new therapies against diseases such as cancer.