This seminar discusses the gendered human security threats posed by COVID-19 disruptions on women in small-scale fisheries (SSF) in the Gulf of Guinea (GOG). Drawing on fieldwork data from three West African countries, this presentation will highlight two critical findings. First, the COVID-19 lockdown measures by GOG countries threatened the human security of fisherfolk by amplifying the gendered inequalities and vulnerabilities that historically pervade the SSF sector. Secondly, in applying and extending the four-part framework of seafood system disruptions – demand, distribution, labour, and production – this presentation will argue that COVID-19 disruptions have acutely affected women in SSF, undermining their 'freedom from want' and 'freedom from fear.

About the speakers

Chaired by Clement Sefa-Nyarko, PhD Candidate, La Trobe University, and ALC Alumnus

Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, Lecturer in Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, and ALC Alumna

Akinbode Fasakin, PhD Candidate, Swedish Defence University and Stockholm University, and ALC Alumnus