The Public Defender’s Office has prepared a study assessing the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on the rights situation of women working in the health sector, both in their workplace and social life.

To address the above needs, a small-scale survey was conducted and 90 women employed in the health sector were interviewed by telephone. Both nurses and doctors were among the respondents.

According to the World Health Organization, womenaccount for around 70% of health workforce, but they mainly hold lower-status roles. 24 million out of 28.5 million nurses employed worldwide are women. Accordingly, the Public Defender of Georgia considered it important to explore the needs of women working in the health sector in Georgia during the pandemic.

The results of the study show that the rights situation of women working in the health sector deteriorated during the pandemic. According to the respondents, the working conditions offered by their employer mostly failed to meet the pandemic challenges. Sometimes nurses had to work several shifts in a row without an interval prescribed by law.

There is a shortage of nurses in the country. There are an average of 2 to 5 nurses per doctor in Europe, while this figure is 0.6 in Georgia. This is a systemic problem, however, it acquired special significance during the pandemic. It is noteworthy that the pandemic also significantly worsened the psycho-emotional state of women employed in the health sector. This was not followed by an adequate response from the employers, who did not offer activities aimed at improving awareness of stress management/psychological support or developing related skills.

The study showed the following:

• The rights of women employed in the health sector were violated during the pandemic. In particular, in some cases, the 12-hour necessary interval between shifts was not observed. Some workers had to work several shifts in a row;
• Due to unequal gender distribution of the burden of care and its further increase during the pandemic, the workload of women working in the health sector doubled, both in the family and at work;
• The pandemic significantly worsened the psycho-emotional state of women employed in the health sector. This was not followed by an adequate response from the employers, who did not offer activities aimed at improving their awareness of stress management/psychological support or developing related skills;
• Some women working in the health sector do not have access to the infrastructure needed to manage their menstrual cycle in the workplace;
• According to respondents, women working in the health sector often become victims of exclusion/discrimination by the community on the grounds that they are perceived as persons carrying an increased risk of contagion;
• People working in the health sector are less informed about the nature of sexual harassment or response The lack of these mechanisms in the workplace and in general the lack of awareness of such services leave women working in the health sector vulnerable to the systemic problem of sexual harassment.

The Public Defender hopes that the relevant agencies will consider the findings and recommendations of this study and will take effective measures to improve the rights situation of women employed in the health sector.