COVID-19 Resources for Activists

Updated November 19, 2020
As women are being disproportionately impacted by the Coronavirus, the National Organization for Women seeks to provide resources for activists working on the frontlines of gender-based challenges during these difficult times.
These resources are specifically for organizations advocating on the behalf of high-risk groups. They include webinars, petitions, and other campaigns that are underway in addressing these inequities and pushing federal and state governments to increase protections for women.
These resources are for informational purposes only and do not indicate an endorsement from or partnership with the National Organization for Women.
Domestic Violence
- Resources on running domestic violence shelters and digital outreach
- California Partnership to End Domestic Violence: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Prevention Webinars
- NNEDV: What’s New: Changes and Details with Communication Platforms
- NNEDV: Video Conferencing & Digital Communication Platforms: Comparison Chart
- Hotlines
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/
- New York City Anti-Violence Project: 24/7 English/Spanish hotline at 212-714-1141. If calling is not safe but email is possible, make a report at avp.org/get-help.
- U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255)
- The Trevor Project’s TrevorLifeline: 1-866-488-7386 (for people who identify as LGBTQIA+, if you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal)
- RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline — 800.656.HOPE (4673)
- Trans Lifeline: Available 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. EST US: 877-330-6366 / Canada: 877-330-6366
- National Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Preventing & Managing the Spread of COVID-19 Within Domestic Violence Programs
- NNEDV: COVID-19 Coalition Guidance for Programs
- National Taskforce to End Sexual and Domestic Violence: Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence are at Heightened Risk Now, and Will Remain So Long After the Current Crisis
- Resources on running domestic violence shelters and digital outreach
- California Partnership to End Domestic Violence: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Prevention Webinars
- NNEDV: What’s New: Changes and Details with Communication Platforms
- NNEDV: Video Conferencing & Digital Communication Platforms: Comparison Chart
Sexual Assault
- RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline— 800.656.HOPE (4673)
- All in Together: COVID Resources Center.
- The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or download the RAINN mobile app.
- National Alliance to End Sexual Violence: Responding to COVID-19: Rape Crisis Centers & Survivor Needs
- National Women’s Law Center: Requests for COVID-19 Phase Four Response Package
- National Sexual Violence Resource Center: Resources for COVID-19 Response
- The Evolution of Human Trafficking During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Paid Family Leave/Sick Leave
- Children’s Defense Fund: Protecting children and families during the COVID-19 crisis
- Paid Leave for the United States: Coronavirus Resource Page
- Family Equality: Congressional Relief Bill Action Page
- EEOC Answers Questions About the Pandemic and Antidiscrimination Laws- RECORDED WEBINAR
- National Partnership for Women and Families: Know Your Rights: Emergency Paid Sick Days and Paid Leave for Child Care and Coronavirus
- Medium: What the Public Is Saying to Congress: Expand Paid Sick Days and Paid Family and Medical Leave to All
- New America Memo: High Levels of Bipartisan Public Support for National Emergency Paid Sick Days and Paid Family and Medical Leave in the Wake of COVID-19
- Catalyst: How COVID-19 is Changing the Future of Work for Women (Video)
- EEOC Answers Questions About the Pandemic and Antidiscrimination Laws- RECORDED WEBINAR
Food Service Workers
- Restaurant Opportunities Centers United: National Organizing and Support
- Vox: Here’s how you can help people who’ve lost jobs or housing in the wake of coronavirus
- A study from Barnard and Duke: Snapshot of the COVID Crisis Impact on Working Families
- National Employment Law Project: Resources to Support Workers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- National Partnership for Women and Families: Employer Best Practices – Policies to Support Workers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Children and Older People
- Milbank Memorial Fund: The Impact of COVID-19’s Closure of Meal Sites on Older Adults
- AARP: Mutual Aid Networks
- Justice in Aging: The “CARES Act:” What’s in It & What’s Missing
- Mental Health/Coping Tools + Children’s Activities
- Preventing and Addressing Elder Abuse during COVID-19 – December 3, 2020
Health Care Workers
- Women on the Front Lines: Tracking Women’s Employment in the COVID-19 crisis
- How to Stand Behind Frontline Health Care Workers Fighting Coronavirus
- New York State Nurses Association: COVID-19: SAFETY/ADVOCACY TOOLS
Immigration
- Latest Updates: Coronavirus and Immigration on Boundless
- American Immigration Lawyers Association COVID-19 Resource Center
- National Immigration Law Center: Update on Access to Health Care for Immigrants and Their Families
- National Immigration Law Center: Understanding the Impact of Key Provisions of COVID-19 Relief Bills on Immigrant Communities
- Human Impact Partner Taking Action for Health, Justice, and Belonging in the Age of COVID-19
- The New York Immigration Coalition has a list of demands for how state government can help undocumented immigrants during the crisis
- Center for American Progress: Federal Immigration Officials Can Help Protect Public Health During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Center for American Progress: Resources on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (not COVID-19 specific)
- Center for American Progress: Removing Barriers for Immigrant Medical Professionals Is Critical To Help Fight Coronavirus
- The Washington Post: Immigrants are in the same boat with the rest of us in this pandemic. The administration doesn’t care.
- National Immigration Law Center: Immigrant Workers’ Rights and COVID-19
- Church World Service: Challenges Refugees Face in Accessing COVID Relief Provisions
- PennStateLaw: Immigration Suspension Fact Sheet
- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: The Disparate Impact of COVID-19 on Immigrants
- Vera Institute of Justice: Immigrant Justice and the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Vera Institute of Justice: How Local Leaders Can Ensure Immigrant Justice During COVID-19 Guidance Brief
- Center for American Progress: Data on the Coronavirus Outbreak in Immigration Detention Offer More Questions than Answers
- Washington Monthly: They Can Help Fight Coronavirus. Trump Wants to Deport Them
Reproductive Health
- Center for Reproductive Rights: Safeguarding Maternal Health and Rights in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- The Center for Reproductive Rights: Access to Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Care is a Human Rights Imperative During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Center for Reproductive Rights: Abortion is Essential Health Care: Access is Imperative During COVID-19
- Center for Reproductive Rights: How State COVID-19 Orders Can Impact Abortion Access
- Center for Reproductive Rights: COVID-19 Underscores the Nonessential Nature of Abortion Restrictions
- ACLU: Abortion Access During COVID-19
- Rewire News: Your Questions About Reproductive Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Answered
- Guttmacher Institute: The COVID-19 Outbreak: Potential Fallout for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- Period: The Menstrual Movement – Covid-19 Period Rapid Response Toolkit
- Guttmacher Institute: COVID-19 Abortion Bans Would Greatly Increase Driving Distances for Those Seeking Care
- Guttmacher Institute: Nine Things Congress Must Do to Safeguard Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Age of COVID-19
- Guttmacher Institute: Crisis on the Horizon: Devastating Losses for Global Reproductive Health Are Possible Due to COVID-19
Education
- Mental Health America: COVID-19 Back to School Toolkit for students, parents, and teacher
- Emerson Hospital: 10 COVID-19 Back to School Tips
- DOE: Students’ Civil Rights During COVID-19
- U.S. Department of Education: Webinar, Fact Sheet for Protecting Students’ Civil Rights During COVID-19 Response
Racial Justice
- Resource List: Racial Equity and Social Justice Resource Kit
- NAACP: CORONAVIRUS AND OUR COMMUNITIES
- The Center for American Progress: The Disproportionate Economic Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Women of Color
- Racial Disparities, COVID-19, and Human Trafficking
- The African American Policy Forum: Under the Blacklight – The Intersectional Failures that COVID Lays Bare
- The previous week’s forums can be found here
COVID Activism
As protests and riots continue across our nation, seeking justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, James Blake and so many other Black lives that have been lost to police violence, NOW hopes to support Black communities however we can. The following are resources for protesting safely during this pandemic – as a virus that has had a disproportionate impact on Black communities, we urge everyone to take adequate measures to prevent further spread of the virus.
- Teen Vogue: Protest Safety: How to Protest During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Vox: How to more safely protest in a pandemic
- Huff Post: How To Protest Safely During The Coronavirus Pandemic
- List of Bail Funds for Protestors Across the Country
This year’s election will be different from any other. Many states have updated their absentee ballot regulations to allow COVID-19 as an adequate excuse for mail-in voting. While voting early and in person if one feels comfortable to do so is suggested, it is recommended that those who wish to vote by mail order their ballots as early as possible. Those who plan to vote in person on November 3 should make a voting plan and take the proper precautions for their state’s social distancing measures.
- Vote.org: Voting and COVID-19 Resource Page
- Votes Save America: Key dates for voter registration, recommended mail-in deadlines
- I Will Vote: Register to vote, registration status, and vote by mail / in person voting resources
Other Activist Resources
- National Council of Nonprofits: Nonprofits and Coronavirus, COVID-19
- Campaigns & Elections: ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
- Nonprofit Learning Lab: How to Lead Better Online Meetings and Training
- Charity Navigator: Town Hall: Philanthropy During COVID-19
- Justice Roundtable: Recommendations for Protecting Incarcerated Youth and Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: COVID-19: Responding to the Health and Economic Crisis
- The Coalition on Human Needs: COVID-19 Special Resource Page: Addressing The Needs Of Low-Income And Vulnerable People
- WIPFLI: COVID-19 resource center
- Center for American Progress: Supporting Low-Income LGBT People During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- National Center on Law and Elder Rights: Strategies for Continuing Court Based Advocacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Families USA: FIVE COVID-19 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS INFOGRAPHIC
- National Women’s Law Center: Letter to Congress: Women Demand More of Congress To Face COVID-19 Recession
- Columbia University: Gender Justice in the Global COVID-19 Response
- International Women’s Health Coalition: Coronavirus Disinformation to Defund the World Health Organization
- National Women’s Law Center: Effects of COVID-19 Show Us Equal Pay Is Critical for Mothers
Relevant News Articles
- 4/8/20 Fuller Project for International Reporting: Breaking: Some States Show Alarming Spike in Women’s Share of Unemployment Claims
- 4/1/20 The Critic: Prostitution is never safe, let alone now
- 3/31/20 Medium: Introducing the Principles of Equitable Disaster Response
- 3/19/20 The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism
- 3/18/20 The Washington Post: Laid-off restaurant workers face uncertain futures with looming rent and plenty of worry
- 3/18/20 Time Magazine: As Cities Around the World Go on Lockdown, Victims of Domestic Violence Look For A Way Out
- 3/18/20 USA Today: Self-isolation during the coronavirus outbreak: What do you do when the bigger danger is at home?
- 3/17/20 Ted Talk: Why COVID-19 is hitting us now — and how to prepare for the next outbreak