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Gender, evictions, and relocations during COVID-19 in South Africa: Lessons for programming and practice

abstract Through secondary data analysis, review of reports of evictions during COVID-19 and policy analysis, this article examines women’s experience of evictions and relocations during the COVID-19 lockdown in cities across South Africa. Declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa at the end of March 2020 was accompanied by regulations which were designed to limit interactions in public spaces. However, these did not take into account that in informal settlements, where evictions are common, demarcation between public and private spaces is indistinct and remains contested. Moreover, there was little consideration of the fact that women and their children, who comprise most inhabitants in informal settlements, bear the brunt of evictions. The demographic composition of informal dwellers is often an indicator of the profile of the victims of evictions and possibly relocations. The experience of eviction among women is shaped by their multiple identities as informal dwellers, workers, mothers, and partners. Initial results suggest that evictions affected mostly women. The outcome was loss of their homes, possessions, and livelihoods in informal settlements at a time when their inadequate living conditions made them vulnerable. Evictions – particularly during the coldest months of 2020 – exacerbated their situation. While the findings address evictions as a challenge affecting women living in places and spaces where they are considered not to belong, they also speak to women’s vulnerability and their right of place in post-apartheid cities. This article contributes to the theoretical understanding of women’s experiences of evictions and relocations and how these intersected with COVID-19 to amplify the general vulnerability of women.