“Adopting a gender-sensitive approach to disaster risk management is not only an issue of basic human rights but also effective
on the practical level. Simply put, policies that ensure that women as well as men are fully involved in planning DRR strategies
and are full participants in recovery efforts are more likely to succeed. Disaster response strategies that protect and assist women
as well as men are better for the community as a whole. A gender-sensitive approach is also a smart policy in that it enables
the resources of all members of an affected community to be fully utilized,” (“Disaster Risk Management,” p. 17).
Recommendation:
1. Gender Analysis: “Humanitarian actors [including all stakeholders involved in disaster response,such as
the HN, UN, U.S. Government, military, civil society, international agencies, etc.] should carry out a
rigorous and context-specific gender analysis of the populations they set out to support.[…] Gender-
sensitive baseline information – both qualitative and quantitative – should be collected at household and
community level. Sex- and age- disaggregated data, as well as data on other social determinants of
vulnerability, should be collected and analyzed routinely, in order to target assistance towards those most
at risk,” (Oxfam (2013), p. 3). It is important as such that gender considerations and a gender assessment
be incorporated into all HA/DR doctrine, handbooks, and guides.
2. Response: Humanitarian actors as part of HA/DR must be mindful of vulnerabilities indisaster rescue
and how gender and cultural norms may impact locations of where men, women, boys, and girls may be
trapped during disasters. Temporary shelters should be designed in consultation with local women in order
to take care of women’s specific needs. HN women shouldbe in leadership positions during crises to ensure
that women’s needs are addressed, and women’s and women’s organizations’ official and unofficial disaster
relief efforts should be acknowledged. Long-term response efforts to humanitarian disasters must be
designed to deal with the social impacts if fewer women survive.
3. Prevention: Implement the Sendai 2015-2030 framework to increase gender mainstreaming inDisaster
Risk Reduction (DRR) efforts. Involving HN women and women’s organizations in HA/DR efforts is
also paramount, making sure that women are not just included as tokens but as partners. Gender-sensitive
prevention efforts aimed at decreasing the high rate of female mortality during disasters should include
teaching women skills that may save their lives during disasters (e.g., tree climbing and swimming) and
familiarizing them with early warning systems. Furthermore, development work targeting gender
inequalities may decrease the high rate of female mortality, since the gender gap is most exacerbated by
women’s socioeconomic status.
Note: See also the recommendations within this document from the United Nations Office for Disaster
Risk Reduction (UNISDR) for increasing gender sensitivity in DRR: “20-Point Checklist on Making
Disaster Risk Reduction Gender Sensitive.”
Implications:
If humanitarian actors involved in disaster response (such as the HN, UN, U.S. Government, military, civil
society, international agencies, etc.) do not perform a gender analysis before beginning operations, they
may miss important gender disaggregated data concerning which populations are most at risk and may
subsequently not provide aid to those most vulnerable. If women are not consulted and included in
humanitarian assistance, disaster relief efforts, rescue attempts, and temporary shelter design, then their
needs may not be met and they may be more vulnerable to sexual violence. “If humanitarian interventions
are not planned with gender dynamics in mind, the needs of those most under threat may not be adequately
met, and an opportunity to support positive change will be lost. That is why gender equality is central to
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