Environmental Disasters

Enhancing Resilience of Women to Hazards through Mainstreaming Gender into Disaster Risk Reduction Policies in Botswana

Citation:

Moyo, Nkosiyabo F. 2019. "Enhancing Resilience of Women to Hazards through Mainstreaming Gender into Disaster Risk Reduction Policies in Botswana." PhD diss., North-West University.

Author: Nkosiyabo F. Moyo

Abstract:

The absence of a gender perspective in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a matter of serious concern for both research and practice. This is despite overwhelming evidence that women are disproportionately affected by disasters. During the past decade, there has been a worldwide alarming increase in the impact and frequency of disasters, especially hydro-meteorological hazards (heavy rain storms) as a result of climate change. It is estimated that two-thirds of the world's disasters are related to climate change (Mitchell and van Aalst, 2008:1). Likewise, Botswana is currently experiencing an increase in the number of localised disasters climatological as well as non climatological disasters, which hardly reached global headlines, but silently and persistently eroded the capacities of Batswana to survive and prosper. However, these disasters did not affect people equally. Women, especially those in rural female-headed households were profoundly impacted the most. In Botswana and other developing countries, existing and entrenched social inequalities contribute to the disparity in vulnerability. As a result Women are at a greater disadvantage, even before a disaster strikes, due to the implications of inequalities and how they manifest and influence existing historical, social, cultural, economic and political conditions in Botswana.

Generally, there is paucity of research on sex and gender differences regarding vulnerability to disasters. The limited data available suggests a pattern of gender differentiation in the various phases of disaster risk reduction. While studies in DRR include gender as demographic variable, they provide only basic information on gender, but do not engage in any thorough explanation or analysis of women’s experiences in a disaster situation. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of disasters on women in Botswana and provide concrete recommendations on how to address the practical (food, shelter, income) and strategic (human rights, skills and leadership training) gender needs and interests of women, without necessarily alienating men. This would help realise Vision 2036, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve these goals, it was posited that gender issues should be mainstreamed into DRR. 

Based on the premise above, the study examined the origins and the evolution of the concepts of disaster, gender and mainstreaming. It also examined best international practices in these fields. Such practices were analysed and discussed from within a global perspective and operationalised to Botswana's context. Following a qualitative design, the research used focus group discussions of households affected by disasters and subject-matter specialists (practitioners, scholars, politicians, traditional leaders and activists) to collect data. 

The findings confirmed the differential vulnerabilities between men and women and their differing adaptive capacities regarding disaster situations. These capacities were found to be influenced largely by culture and its institutional frameworks. The study affirmed the central role played by culture and institutions in marginalising women. 

Keywords: disaster risk reduction, climate-change adaptation, Gender, mainstreaming, women, social vulnerability, resilience, sustainable development, Botswana

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Rights, Human Rights, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Botswana

Year: 2019

Women Empowerment in Disaster Vulnerable Village Through Vocational Life Skill Education Based on Utilization of Local Potential

Citation:

Tohani, Entoh, Iis Prasetyo, and R.B. Suharta. 2019. "Women Empowerment in Disaster Vulnerable Village Through Vocational Life Skill Education Based on Utilization of Local Potential." Journal of Nonformal Education 5 (1): 35-46.

Authors: Entoh Tohani, Iis Prasetyo, R.B. Suharta

Abstract:

Woman empowerment is one important and appropiate action to the area because there is rarely education which focus on build productive skills of woman to using local wisdom to be more useful. This research aims to develop women competence in disaster vulnerable village to understand and manage a local wisdom through vocational life skills education in context of increasing quality of the family and community socioeconomy. The research is action research which has steps include issue analyzing, planning, implementation, and evaluation of action. The action is vocational life skills education. Its research subjects are 25 women in Sengir Village, Kalirejo, Kokap, Yogyakarta as target group. They chosen by the local government consideration and the group characteristic such as wifes of people producing coconut essence, who are till productive and motive to develop. Data collected by interview, observation, and questionnair and analyzed by qualitative analysis techniques. The data validity obtained by perseverance of observation, triangulation, and expert validation. The results of study reveal that the target group was able to develop awareness of utilization of the local potential, having attitudes, knowledge and skills of its production, and creating of the joint business. The existence of women's empowerment makes it more productive in economic activities in order to achieve their welfare.

Keywords: empowerment, life skills, vocational, women, disaster

Topics: Economies, Education, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Indonesia

Year: 2019

Investigating the Increase in Domestic Violence Post Disaster: An Australian Case Study

Citation:

Parkinson, Debra. 2019. "Investigating the Increase in Domestic Violence Post Disaster: An Australian Case Study." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 34 (11): 2333-62.

Author: Debra Parkinson

Abstract:

Interviews with 30 women in two shires in Victoria, Australia, confirmed that domestic violence increased following the catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires on February 7, 2009. As such research is rare, it addresses a gap in the disaster and interpersonal violence literature. The research that exists internationally indicates that increased violence against women is characteristic of a postdisaster recovery in developing countries. The relative lack of published research from primary data in developed countries instead reflects our resistance to investigating or recognizing increased male violence against women after disasters in developed countries. This article begins with an overview of this literature. The primary research was qualitative, using in-depth semistructured interviews to address the research question of whether violence against women increased in the Australian context. The sample of 30 women was aged from 20s to 60s. Recruitment was through flyers and advertisements, and interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and checked by participants. Analysis was inductive, using modified grounded theory. Seventeen women gave accounts of new or increased violence from male partners that they attribute to the disaster. A key finding is that, not only is there both increased and new domestic violence but formal reporting will not increase in communities unwilling to hear of this hidden disaster. Findings are reported within a framework of three broad explanations. In conclusion, although causation is not claimed, it is important to act on the knowledge that increased domestic violence and disasters are linked.

Keywords: domestic violence, gendered violence, disaster, Gender

Topics: Domestic Violence, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence Regions: Oceania Countries: Australia

Year: 2019

Prevalence of Depression among Bangladeshi Village Women Subsequence to a Natural Disaster: A Pilot Study

Citation:

Mamun, Mohammed A., Nafisa Huq, Zinat Fatima Papia, Sadia Tasfina, and David Gozal. 2019. "Prevalence of Depression among Bangladeshi Village Women Subsequence to a Natural Disaster: A Pilot Study." Psychiatry Research 276: 124-8.

Authors: Mohammed A. Mamun, Nafisa Huq, Zinat Fatima Papia, Sadia Tasfina, David Gozal

Abstract:

Women living in disaster-prone areas are at risk of developing and suffering from mental health problems, such as depression. However, this issue has not been studied previously among village dwelling women in Bangladesh. Improved knowledge of post-disaster depression rates and its risk factors could facilitate design and implementation of targeted disaster management protocols. Therefore, face-to-face surveys were conducted from September to October 2017 among 111 women in Dalbangha village, Bangladesh who survived cyclone Mora. Depression was assessed using the Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire – 9 (PHQ-9) along with relevant sociodemographics and disaster-related variables. The prevalence of depression was 64.9% and 36.9% of the women failed to receive any alert prior to the disaster. Along with a wide range of post-disaster consequences, 36.0% were physically injured, 27.9% had to be absent from work with consequent income loss, and 17.1% experienced death of a family member. Lower age group (18–30 years), being an income earner, disaster-related physical injury, and post-disaster work absenteeism emerged as the risk factors associated with depressive symptoms. In light of current findings, disaster preparedness programs and management protocols should incorporate measures aimed at palliating the risk factor elements that promote depression among vulnerable women following a disaster.

Keywords: natural disaster, cyclone, depression, risk factors, women, Bangladesh

Topics: Age, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Climate Hazards, Disasters, and Gender Ramifications

Citation:

Kinnvall, Catarina, and Helle Rydstrom, eds. 2019. Climate Hazards, Disasters, and Gender Ramifications. Abingdon: Routledge.

Authors: Catarina Kinnvall, Helle Rydstrom

Annotation:

Summary:
This book focuses on the challenges of living with climate disasters, in addition to the existing gender inequalities that prevail and define social, economic and political conditions.

Social inequalities have consequences for the everyday lives of women and girls where power relations, institutional and socio-cultural practices make them disadvantaged in terms of disaster preparedness and experience. Chapters in this book unravel how gender and masculinity intersect with age, ethnicity, sexuality and class in specific contexts around the globe. It looks at the various kinds of difficulties for particular groups before, during and after disastrous events such as typhoons, flooding, landslides and earthquakes. It explores how issues of gender hierarchies, patriarchal structures and masculinity are closely related to gender segregation, institutional codes of behaviour and to a denial of environmental crisis. This book stresses the need for a gender-responsive framework that can provide a more holistic understanding of disasters and climate change. A critical feminist perspective uncovers the gendered politics of disaster and climate change.

This book will be useful for practitioners and researchers working within the areas of Climate Change response, Gender Studies, Disaster Studies and International Relations. (Summary from Routledge)

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Climate Hazards, Disasters and Gender Ramifications
Helle Rydstrom and Catarina Kinnvall

2. Gender Responsive Alternatives on Climate Change from a Feminist Standpoint
Maria Tanyag and Jacqui True

3. Why Gender Does Not Stick: Exploring Conceptual Logics in Global Disaster Risk Reduction Policy
Sara Bondesson

4. Women as Agents of Change? Reflections on Women in Climate Adaptation and Mitigation in the Global North and Global South
Misse Wester and Phu Doma Lama

5. Industrial/Breadwinner Masculinities and Climate Change: Understanding the 'White Male Effect' of Climate Change Denial
Paul Pulé and Martin Hultman

6. Climate Change and 'Architectures of Entitlement': Beyond Gendered Virtue and Vulnerability in the Pacific Islands?
Nicole George

7. Gender as Fundamental to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: Experiences from South Asia
Emmanual Raju

8. #leavenoonebehind: Women, Gender Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction in Nepal
Katie Oven, Jonathan Rigg, Shubheksha Rana, Arya Gautam, and Toran Singh

9. Gendered and Ungendered Bodies in the Tsunami: Experiences and Ontological Vulnerability in Southern Thailand
Claudia Merli

10. Disasters and Gendered Violence in Pakistan: Religion, Nationalism and Masculinity
Sidsel Hansson and Catarina Kinnvall

11. Crises, Ruination and Slow Harm: Masculinized Livelihoods and Gendered Ramifications of Storms in Vietnam
Helle Rydstrom

12. In the Wake of Haiyan: An Ethnographic Study on Gendered Vulnerability and Resilience as a Result of Climatic Catastrophes in the Philippines
Huong Nguyen

13. Accountability for State Failures to Prevent Sexual Assault in Evacuation Centres and Temporary Shelters: A Human Rights Based Approach
Matthew Scott

14. Conclusions
Catarina Kinnvall and Helle Rydstrom

 

Topics: Age, Class, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Sexuality

Year: 2019

Impact of Tropical Cyclone Winston on Women Mud Crab Fishers in Fiji

Citation:

Thomas, Alyssa S., Sangeeta Mangubhai, Chloe Vandervord, Margaret Fox, and Yashika Nand. 2019. "Impact of Tropical Cyclone Winston on Women Mud Crab Fishers in Fiji." Climate and Development 11 (8): 699-709.

Authors: Alyssa S. Thomas, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Chloe Vandervord, Margaret Fox, Yashika Nand

Abstract:

Communities dependent on natural resources for food and livelihoods are extremely vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. Tropical cyclones are a frequent occurrence in the Pacific and can have devastating impacts on coastal communities, particularly in remote or isolated areas. However, most post-cyclone studies focus on damages and losses to infrastructure and services, and do not quantify the impact on fishers or community fisheries. We conducted a study to assess the social and economic effects of Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston on mud crab fishers in Bua Province, Fiji. The study methodology was one-on-one surveys with mud crab fishers, mostly women, in 16 villages who had previously participated in a 2015 value chain analysis survey. Post-cyclone, 52% of the fishers had stopped harvesting crabs because many were focussed on repairing their homes and had difficulties accessing collection sites and markets. Fishers that continued reported less frequent collection, and fewer and smaller crabs. To obtain income for house repairs, 65% of the fishers still harvesting sold the crabs to local traders, rather than consuming them. Understanding mud crab fishers’ vulnerability to natural disasters, the barriers to adaptation and how their livelihoods are affected is key to effective mitigation and adaptation.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, Pacific, mangroves, fisheries, Gender, natural disasters, climate change

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Livelihoods Regions: Oceania Countries: Fiji

Year: 2019

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services during Humanitarian Crises: A Systematic Review

Citation:

Singh, Neha S., James Smith, Sarindi Aryasinghe, Rajat Khosla, Lale Say, and Karl Blanchet. 2018.  “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services during Humanitarian Crises: A Systematic Review.” PLoS One 13 (7): 1-19.

Authors: Neha S. Singh, James Smith, Sarindi Aryasinghe, Rajat Khosla, Lale Say, Karl Blanchet

Abstract:

Background: An estimated 32 million women and girls of reproductive age living in emergency situations, all of whom require sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. This systematic review assessed the effect of SRH interventions, including the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) on a range of health outcomes from the onset of emergencies.
 
Methods and Findings: We searched EMBASE, Global Health, MEDLINE and PsychINFO databases from January 1, 1980 to April 10, 2017. This review was registered with the PROSPERO database with identifier number CRD42017082102. We found 29 studies meet the inclusion criteria. We found high quality evidence to support the effectiveness of specific SRH interventions, such as home visits and peer-led educational and counselling, training of lower-level health care providers, community health workers (CHWs) to promote SRH services, a three-tiered network of health workers providing reproductive and maternal health services, integration of HIV and SRH services, and men’s discussion groups for reducing intimate partner violence. We found moderate quality evidence to support transport-based referral systems, community-based SRH education, CHW delivery of injectable contraceptives, wider literacy programmes, and birth preparedness interventions. No studies reported interventions related to fistulae, and only one study focused on abortion services.
 
Conclusions: Despite increased attention to SRH in humanitarian crises, the sector has made little progress in advancing the evidence base for the effectiveness of SRH interventions, including the MISP, in crisis settings. A greater quantity and quality of more timely research is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of delivering SRH interventions in a variety of humanitarian crises.

 

Topics: Armed Conflict, Domestic Violence, Education, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Girls, Health, HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, Humanitarian Assistance Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries, Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Haiti, Pakistan, Philippines

Year: 2018

Masculinities and Environment

Citation:

Paulson, Susan, and William Boose. 2019. “Masculinities and Environment.” CAB Reviews 14 (30): 1-12.

Authors: Susan Paulson, William Boose

Abstract:

This review article supports researchers and practitioners to strengthen attention to variously positioned men and masculine identities in order to increase the rigour of empirical research and to enhance outcomes of work addressing environmental issues. Masculinities interact with other factors to shape patterns of environmental management and to influence responses to environmental challenges; at the same time, human-environment dynamics produce differing expressions and experiences of masculinity. Yet, environmental initiatives implemented in many contexts and scales have been hindered by lack of attention to gendered conditions, identities and expectations associated with diversely positioned men. Theoretically, studies gathered here strive to overcome these limitations by applying concepts of plural masculinities, intersectionality and hegemonic masculinity. Methodologically, this body of work challenges universalizing stereotypes about men by situating empirical studies in specific sociocultural, ethnoracial, ecological and geographical contexts around the world. The 160 publications reviewed here illuminate three realms: productive enterprises including logging, mining, petroleum exploitation, ranching and agroindustry; lifeways and attitudes involving care for health, families and nature; environmental crises, from disasters to refugees and climate change. Evidence in each realm suggests that some masculine-identified behaviours, attitudes and resources are intertwined with environmentally destructive processes, while others support, or can support, moves toward dynamics that are healthier for humans and non-human nature. After considering skills, tools and frameworks for further research and practice, die review ends with a look at challenges of developing more systemic approaches to gender and environment.

Keywords: agroindustrial sector, attitudes, climate change, crises, environment management, gender relations, human ecology, lifestyle, literature reviews, logging, mining, natural disasters, petroleum, ranching, refugees

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender Roles, Intersectionality, Livelihoods

Year: 2019

'There's always Winners and Losers': Traditional Masculinity, Resource Dependence, and Post-Disaster Environmental Complacency

Citation:

Milnes, Travis, and Timothy J. Haney. 2017. "'There's always Winners and Losers': Traditional Masculinity, Resource Dependence, and Post-Disaster Environmental Complacency." Environmental Sociology 3 (3): 260-73. 

Authors: Travis Milnes, Timothy J. Haney

Abstract:

The 2013 Southern Alberta flood was a costly and devastating event. The literature suggests that such disasters have the potential to spur greater environmentalism and environmental action, as residents make connections between global environmental change and local events. However, the literature also suggests that residents in communities dependent on fossil fuel extraction might see technological disasters, like oil spills, as threats to their economic well-being, thereby limiting environmental reflexivity. Given that Alberta is home of the tar sands, how might a flood disaster affect men’s environmental views, given both traditional notions of masculinity and men’s economic dependence on oil production? Using a survey of 407 flood-affected residents of Calgary and in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 men directly impacted by the flood, this article demonstrates men’s decreased tendency to change their environmental views after the flood. The qualitative data reveal that men justify this reluctance by shifting blame for climate change to the Global South, by arguing for the economic centrality of the tar sands for Alberta, and by discussing how a warming climate will largely be a positive outcome for Alberta. The article concludes with discussion of relevance for environmental sociology and for public policy.

Keywords: environmental views, disaster, fossil fuels, oil sands, masculinities

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Masculinity/ies Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Canada

Year: 2017

Rethinking Masculinity in Disaster Situations: Men's Reflections of the 2004 Tsunami in Southern Sri Lanka

Citation:

Dominelli, Lena. 2020. "Rethinking Masculinity in Disaster Situations: Men's Reflections of the 2004 Tsunami in Southern Sri Lanka." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 48: 1-9. 

Author: Lena Dominelli

Abstract:

The role of men in disasters is rarely discussed in depth and research on this topic is scarce. Yet, masculinity is an important dimension of disasters, whether considering men's active roles in disasters, their position within family relations pre- and post-disasters, or during reconstruction. The research project, International Institutional and Professional Practices conducted in 12 southern Sri Lankan villages sought to understand men's experiences of supporting their families after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. It highlighted the importance of patriarchal relations and men's roles as providers throughout the disaster cycle. However, the picture is complicated. While most humanitarian aid is aimed at the generic person, a man, men do not have their needs as men specifically addressed during the receipt of humanitarian aid. Men who receive nothing post-disaster can become desperate, and misuse substances such as alcohol and drugs. This creates situations where men fight each other and abuse women and children within intimate relationships because the tsunami has destroyed their livelihoods and nothing has replaced these. In this article, I examine the complexities men navigate to understand their position when seeking to re-establish their connections to family and community life. I conclude that their specific needs as men require targeted interventions throughout all stages of the disaster cycle, and especially during the delivery of humanitarian aid if they are to fulfil their provider and protector roles and be steered away from behaviour that is abusive of close members of their families: wives, children, and other men.

Keywords: men, masculinity(ies), breadwinner/provider, protector, humanitarian aid, disasters, differentiated disaster experiences, family relations, domestic violence, abusive relations

Topics: Domestic Violence, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Households, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2020

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