Out of fear that they would be unable to take care of their children and other family members living with them, more than 30% of single mothers took a leave of absence or quit their jobs as a precaution against being infected with the novel coronavirus, a survey conducted by a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization has found.
The organization, Singlemothers Forum, and a research group including social welfare specialist Prof. Naomi Yuzawa at Rikkyo University conducted the survey via email and social networking services and asked 1,816 single mothers about the impact of the coronavirus on their work and lives.
Of the 1,603 respondents who were working when coronavirus infections began to increase nationwide in February and onward, over 30% took a leave of absence or quit their jobs. Of those, 28%, or 449 respondents, said they "voluntarily took a leave of absence to avoid infecting their children or relatives in need of care," and 4%, or 66 respondents, quit.
Some of the most common reasons cited by the respondents were that "my family members or I have a chronic disease and there's a concern that the disease may worsen," due to the virus and "My child is an infant and I can't ask anyone to provide care if the child becomes infected with the virus."
"There are only a few local governments that have a system in place to take care of a child in the event of a parent becoming infected [with the coronavirus]," Chieko Akaishi, head director of the organization, said. "We'd like to see more support for single parents so they can continue to work."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
