Access to social public policies by rural working women in the Northeast during Covid-19

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the access to public social policies of the Movement of Countryside Women Workers of the Northeast/Brazil, during the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It is a qualitative and exploratory study, which used semi-structured interviews with 31 participants. Content Analysis was used, with the support of the Iramuteq. The results were analyzed using this software tool called Descending Hierarchical Classification (DHC), which generated three empirical categories called: Public Health Policies: Primary health care during the pandemic; Social Policies: The rise in violence against women; and Public Education Policies: The suspension of face-to-face classes with the adoption of remote teaching. After analyzing the results, it was concluded that gender-based violence became more present in rural areas during the pandemic. This context culminated in difficulties in accessing public health services and protective policies for women in situations of violence, as well as conditions for keeping children in the public educational system remotely.