Background
The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed our lives, and for many, everyday life is now restricted to home. The ongoing crisis has opened our eyes to many vulnerabilities. Around the world, as cities have gone into lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus, the mass efforts to save lives have put vulnerable groups at more risk.
Due to corona quarantining, the home has become a place for wage work, public education, healthcare and early childhood education – all tasks that were previously assigned to the state, municipalities and other official institutions. Home commonly represents a private and intimate space for support and safety. It is generally understood as a safe haven when public life and formal institutions are restricted. The idea of home as a protective refuge has been seriously disputed as, due to lockdown, it is alleged to have become the most dangerous place, especially for vulnerable groups. While perhaps the expectation is to feel safe during home quarantine, there are many people who may suffer very severely from being at home due to physical isolation and social distancing. With the lockdown conditions, those in the most difficult situation are those who were already in a vulnerable position.
Aims
The aim of the HoCC project is to produce holistic and up-to-date scientific knowledge on the social and health impacts of the corona crisis and to focus on home as the key analytic lens. Home is the social space in which the economic and societal impacts of the current crisis are experienced most intimately. HoCC studies the new roles and functions of home by means of the triangulation of disciplines, data sets and research methods. The aim is to conduct a holistic evaluation of the impacts of the current crisis from the perspectives of family relations, elderly and childcare, domestic violence, and social and healthcare sustainability, and to analyse these through conceptualisations of vulnerability, intersectionality and social suffering.
Funding
HoCC is funded by Tampere University.