Since March, the COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the stark racial, gender, and socioeconomic health inequalities that have always existed in the U.S. Black and Brown Americans are dying at much higher rates from COVID-19 than white Americans are. People of color are more likely to hold jobs that require them to put their lives at risk every day as essential front-line industry workers. Employment has dropped sharply, with Black and Latinx women facing the largest job losses. Monthly poverty rates have consistently increased since February 2020, and communities of color face the greatest poverty gaps.
The pandemic poses a dire threat to the well-being and economic futures of survivors who are most marginalized. Addressing the devastating socio-economic effects of COVID-19 on survivors of color requires social and political investment in our lives. This takes more than a one-time $1,200 stimulus check. This report makes seven policy recommendations for addressing the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 on survivors of SV and IPV. These include investments in housing, healthcare, childcare, and programs that enable survivors’ financial freedom, but they are just the beginning.
