Feminist Collective for Economic Justice recommends progressive gender sensitive social protection response to crisis

The limited and short-sighted recovery measures are visibly causing severe pain to the working poor, women, children and marginalised sections of society – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

The Feminist Collective for Economic Justice (FCEJ) studied social protection policies in Sri Lanka to better understand the impact of the crisis on the lives of people and identify an appropriate design for social protection in the context of the economic crisis. This policy brief provides the main insights and recommendations for a gender sensitive social protection program.

Inclusive and universalist approaches to social protection and its recognition as a right have resulted in better outcomes globally. Sri Lanka too has recorded significant results in its human development indicators due to robust state-led universal social welfare policies and social investments in the early decades after gaining independence. In recent times, the erosion of social welfare under the influence of market oriented policies via cuts to public funding, narrowly defined social protection programs and privatisation have left Sri Lankans vulnerable particularly during economic shocks. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and impact of the economic crisis has doubled poverty, increased inequalities and resulted in a severe food and nutrition crisis. The austerity oriented recovery program has also increased the cost of basic needs for survival and aggravated the situation of household debt. Without adequate State protections, people have lost livelihoods, experienced income reductions, and their earning capacities cannot sustain survival in the face of the massive increase in cost of living. The failure to address basic concerns such as food security has resulted in long-term consequences, including malnutrition among young children. The limited and short-sighted recovery measures are visibly causing severe pain to the working poor, women, children and marginalised sections of society. 

A social safety net, proposed as part of IMF’s recommendations and designed by the World Bank, to help cushion the effects of the austerity programme is not effectively addressing the problem and in fact may be causing harm. The verification process to identify the recipients for the proposed Aswesuma Welfare Benefits Payment Scheme which concluded in March, 2023 was found to be coercive with excessive surveillance and data gathering, caused fear and fuelled social disharmony, and appears poised to fail extremely vulnerable populations.

Instead of expanding beneficiaries people are being pushed out by the ‘hit or miss’ approach which adopts survey criteria designed prior to the pandemic and economic crisis. For example, the process fails to measure the ability to ensure food security, meet basic nutritional needs and account for household debt which are major concerns under the current economic crisis.

A social protection program that is gender sensitive and adequately addresses the pauperisation of Sri Lankans amidst an economic crisis must be of urgent priority. The Feminist Collective for Economic Justice recommends the following:

Summary of recommendations

Immediate assistance 

• Cash grant beneficiaries must be expanded and cash grants increased to meaningful amounts
• Food insecurity must be addressed by a food distribution program, school mid-day meal program, subsidised food costs and a program to disseminate nutrition information.
• Immediate moratorium on household debt payments for those who are unemployed, low income or on social welfare schemes

Plan for universal social protections (move away from targeted programs) 

• Increase state spending on social welfare
• Recognise care work
• Invest in the free health and free education policy of Sri Lanka
• Decent living wages, decent working conditions and social protections for women’s labour 

Frame social protection policies as citizenship, employment and community based entitlements

nImmediately cease political and public framing of social protection beneficiaries as poor, lazy, lying and unproductive. Re-frame social protection programs as citizenship, employment and community based entitlements that poverty and inequality in the country. Guarantee human dignity to social protection beneficiaries. Recognise their contribution to the economy as informal sector workers, care work providers and working people.

nConsult women, consult social welfare beneficiaries, consult vulnerable groups: Effective social protection programs can only be developed as part of safe and open consultations with those most affected. 

• Ensure the right to information and transparency of social protection programs 
• Accountability and transparency about Samurdhi savings 
• Data privacy and data protection for social protection beneficiaries

To read the Policy Brief in full, which includes some case studies, go to: https://www.srilankafeministcollective.org/_files/ugd/06bf48_e91e38e5a22d47c2a3e3e1684201812c.pdf.