Intersectionality, spatial justice, and digital resilience: women’s lived experiences in Cape Town during and beyond COVID-19

This paper explores women's experiences in Wallacedene, a Cape Town informal settlement, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Qualitative interviews and thematic analysis reveal how structural inequalities shaped healthcare access, economic security, safety, and mobility. The study identifies a spatial curfew, a restriction of movement enforced by risky geography rather than law, facilitating gender-based violence and enforcing the exclusion of women from public spaces. Findings show that spatial and socio-economic disadvantages heightened everyday risks. Although digital resilience offers a critical form of agency, the study conceptualizes this as a spatial bypass limited by the material failures of the built environment and the platform paradox. The study frames these experiences through intersectionality and spatial justice linking local realities to global development priorities (SDG 5, 10, 11). The study calls for gender-responsive interventions that dismantle the spatial curfew through inclusive urban design and leverage digital tools to foster sustainable livelihoods.