‘We endure because we need money’: everyday violence, COVID-19 and domestic workers in South Africa

Abstract

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has made the lives of domestic workers, who are mostly women, more difficult. Building on the testimonies of domestic workers in South Africa collected between January and August 2021, this article examines the everyday violence they face during the pandemic. It argues that everyday violence is greatly amplified during the pandemic, because the virus not only affects domestic workers’ livelihoods, but generates new forms of discrimination at work. The article calls for expanded worker alliances to be built in the informal sector to push back against everyday violence and reduce workers’ vulnerabilities.