Many women felt compelled to break lockdown laws, which banned meeting friends and family at home, due to caring responsibilities, says a report by staff at the University of York.

The report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found that women were nearly twice as likely than men to break laws prohibiting meeting with others indoors.

The findings highlight how many of the laws imposed during the pandemic clashed with existing gender inequalities, with women bearing the brunt of trying to balance childcare with work commitments.

Lead author of the study, Professor Joe Tomlinson from the Law School at the University of York, said: “The results of our study suggest there wasn’t enough consideration given to caring obligations and how the new laws would have a disproportionate impact on women and other groups facing inequalities. 

“Our findings surprised us because previous studies into compliance have shown that men are much more likely to break the law than women. However, our results are not about women being willfully non-compliant. Many participants told us how they broke the law by enlisting grandparents to help with childcare or meeting with other mothers for support. They were forming ‘bubbles’ out of necessity before it was officially allowed.”

For the study the researchers carried out surveys, interviews and focus groups with nearly 1,700 participants from across the country.