Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Women with Different Socioeconomic Backgrounds and Victimization Experiences in Portugal

The heavy economic, social, and psychological toll of pandemic lockdowns around the world and their disproportionate effect on women are widely acknowledged, but different socioeconomic backgrounds and contexts may influence the degree to which stay-at-home measures impact their lives. Additionally, knowing that violence against women tends to increase during times of crisis, we are testing if the additional burden of victimization represents an added load to the perceived social impacts of the lockdown. Using 2021 survey data from a random sample of 1541 Portuguese women, the paper explores, through logistic regression models, the social impact of the lockdown on the lives of women, its socioeconomic determinants, and the role played by violence against women during the pandemic. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown did not equally affect all facets of women’s social lives, and women with higher education status and that experienced income reductions due to the measures taken to control the pandemic are more prone to experience a more severe negative impact of the lockdown on the various facets of their lives. Additionally, having been a victim during the pandemic partially mediates the effect of education and income reduction on the social outcomes of the lockdown.