The Silent Pandemic: Women Are Being Impacted Personally and Professionally by Divorce During COVID

 The Director of Erasing Family, Ginger Gentile is helping to change the common misconception that men are always impacted more by divorce proceedings. Ms. Gentile’s documentary showcases the impact of nasty custody battles on families and the journey young adults take to reunite with their erased parents following divorce. The film reveals that mothers can also be erased from their children’s lives during a divorce.

 

With many women being impacted by the pandemic, it is important to address the professional and personal toll of divorce on women. Vice President Kamala Harris recently stated that roughly 2.5 million women have left the workforce since the beginning of the pandemic. The pandemic is hitting single mothers and moms who are going through divorces especially hard. Many women are finding it impossible to wage court battles due to courts being backlogged or closed entirely. Women are also experiencing lower economic power, which makes it harder to invest in divorce proceedings.

 

Ms. Gentile asserts, "We need to think of how women are being impacted by the ongoing pandemic. Many women have been forced to leave the workforce in order to compensate for less assistance with childcare. They are also becoming more financially dependent on their husbands and less likely to endure the burden of a costly divorce.”

 

She also argues that addressing misconceptions surrounding women and divorce is necessary, “I think it is important that while 83% of custody is awarded to mothers in the US parental alienation, when a child is poisoned against the other parent, affects both moms and dads equally. The harm to children is long-lasting and many mothers suffer when they are separated from their children for extended periods of time or are emotionally distanced from the child. This is a silent epidemic that we need to address in order to help women, especially during the pandemic.”

 

After interviewing hundreds of families who reunited, Gentile can offer practical tips on how to rekindle relationships with kids without going through the expensive and time-consuming family court process.

 

Erasing Family is currently available to stream for free on Tubi, YouTube and to rent on Vimeo, iTunes, and Amazon.