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Women and children are particularly affected by disasters,
accounting for more than seventy five percent of displaced persons. In addition to the general effects of
natural disaster and lack of health care, women are vulnerable to
reproductive and sexual health problems, and increased rates of sexual and
domestic violence. Moreover, gender
roles dictate that women become the primary caretakers for those affected by
disasters – including children, the injured and sick, and the elderly –
substantially increasing their emotional and material work load. Women’s vulnerability is further increased
by the loss of men and/or livelihoods, especially when a male head of
household has died and the women must provide for their families. Post disaster stress symptoms are often but
not universally reported more frequently by women than men.
In addition, gender inequality in social, economic and
political spheres results in vast differences between men and women in emergency
communication; household decisions about use of relief assets; voluntary
relief and recovery work; access to evacuation shelter and relief goods; and
employment in disaster planning, relief and recovery programs, among other
areas of concern in disaster relief.
Women are portrayed as the victims of disaster, and their
central role in response to disaster is often overlooked. A woman’s pre-disaster familial
responsibilities are magnified and expanded by the onset of a disaster or
emergency, with significantly less support and resources. Women play a central role within the
family, securing relief from emergency authorities, meeting the immediate
survival needs of family members and managing temporary relocation.
To target scarce resources effectively, disaster
practitioners should be aware of gender patterns in disaster, and respond
appropriately. Seeing disaster through
a gender lens can help identify key issues for policymakers, planners and
practitioners, expose critical system gaps, and bring a gender focus into the
analysis of disaster mitigation and response.
Incorporating gender issues into disaster management
requires;
 Generating sex disaggregated data for
community vulnerability and capacity assessments (See tools on mapping
gender-based vulnerabilities [MS Word 39 KB]; and
Identifying those women who are marginalized
and particularly at-risk, including economically destitute women, women belonging
to racial and ethnic minorities, women with chronic disabilities or health problems, women
subject to gender based violence and women with insufficient security and
privacy in shelters.
Engaging women as full and equal partners in
community-based disaster mitigation and planning, and integrating women at
the highest levels of planning and decision making in camp environments
(particularly with respect to the health needs of women, including
reproductive health services) and employing women as primary distributors of
emergency rations and medical supplies.
Useful information
Gender considerations in Disaster Assessments
WHO, Department of Gender, Women and Health
(GWH), 2005.
Six
practical rules for working with women and girls by Elaine Enarson
This 2-page awareness raising
document provides a list of practical points to promote.
Gender and
natural disasters, PAHO
This is a fact sheet on women
in the disaster process including vulnerability, response, and the need for
gender analysis.
Integrating
gender into emergency responses
A quarterly update from BRIDGE, raising gender awareness
among policy-makers and practitioners
Gender and health in disasters
A briefing note
prepared by WHO on current research concerning
gender and disasters, research gaps and implications of current research for
disaster relief programmes and policies.
Useful links
Gender
and Disaster Network
An international forum for
discussion, networking, and information exchange including topical
bibliographies and reports on applied projects or research in progress, book
reviews, current information about relevant conferences and other events, a
bulletin board for employment, scholarship or funding opportunities.
The Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response
Referred to as the Sphere
handbook, this sets out what people affected by disasters have a right to
expect from humanitarian assistance (Sphere Project).
WHO, Department of Gender, Women and Health (GWH)
Further information and links
on gender and disaster. 
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