In March 2020, Women Enabled International (WEI) identified a gap in initial global responses to COVID-19: many actors were discussing how to include women and persons with disabilities in the response, but few were considering the unique experiences of women with disabilities and others living at the intersection of gender and disability. At the same time, we were hearing from local advocates that they were distressed about the situations in their countries and had concerns about the impact of this crisis on women with disabilities in particular, especially with respect to violence, access to health goods and services, and meeting basic needs. As such, WEI created the
WEI COVID-19 Survey (Survey) to better understand these issues and how the lives of women, girls, non-binary, trans, and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities were being impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

One hundred women, non-binary, and trans persons with disabilities across the globe responded to this Survey, which asked respondents to identify concerns they had about healthcare, violence, support services, income, and education. Survey respondents identified that their mental and physical health was being negatively impacted by this crisis, that they feared healthcare shortages combined with discrimination would mean they would not receive needed care if they were to become sick, that they were having trouble meeting their basic needs, and that many were in fear for their personal safety. (From the Introduction). A 4-page Executive summary is also available. Record #6783