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<br />ROO-3
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<br />Elaine Enarson, Ph.D.
<br />Independent Sociologist
<br />33174 Bergen Mt. Road
<br />Evergreen, CO 80439
<br />Tel: 303-670-1834
<br />Fax: 303-679-0938
<br />(enarson@uswest.net)
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<br />WOMEN IN DISASTERS: PLANNING AND POLICY ISSUES
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<br />This presentation is based on original research undertaken by the author in the US and Canada on
<br />hurricane Andrew and the 1997 Red River Valley flood, review of the growing gender and
<br />disaster literature, and a recent international conference on "Reaching women and children in
<br />disaster" (Miami, June 2000). A brief photo essay on US women in disasters demonstrates how
<br />women were impacted by recent floods and hurricanes and how they responded, Far from
<br />passive victims, they were often proactive household preparers and emergency communicators,
<br />resourceful informal first-responders, workplace responders to impacted populations, long-term
<br />caregivers to dependents, knowledgeable community actors, and informal political leaders during
<br />the lengthy recovery period,
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<br />As a central organizing principle in society, gender naturally shapes the worlds within which
<br />disasters unfold, from symbolic interpretations of risk and interpersonal interaction to household
<br />structures and decision-making, organizational practices, and emergency management policy.
<br />Gender is also the basis on which social power is distributed. In disaster contexts, many women
<br />and girls are disadvantaged by their relative lack of access to key social, economic, political, and
<br />cultural resources as they prepare for and recover from the effects of disaster. Women's
<br />vulnerability is powerfully shaped by gender but also by racelethnicity, social class, age, physical
<br />ability and other axes of social power which place some women more than others at risk. Among
<br />those most hard-hit are poor women and women heading households, widows and the frail
<br />elderly, those living with disabilities or severe illness, immigrants, undocumented women, and
<br />migrant women, those subject to violence and homeless women, and women in marginalized
<br />racial/ethnic groups, They face a range of practical needs through the disaster cycle regarding
<br />housing, transportation, work and income, dependent care, physical and mental health, violence,
<br />access to relief resources, and participation in decision-making. A number of gender-based issues
<br />arising for men and boys in disaster contexts are also identified.
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<br />To meet immediate needs but also build on women's strengths, the juncture of vulnerability and
<br />capacity must be addressed in gender-aware planning and practice, Guidelines are offered to help
<br />practitioners integrate gender into social vulnerability analysis. Practical action steps based on
<br />knowledge about women's needs and capacities during disasters are recommended in the areas of
<br />communications and preparedness, emergency relief, temporary accommodation, long-term
<br />recovery, and nonstructural or social mitigation. More gender-inclusive planning is urged at the
<br />local level to draw on the resources of women's groups and organizations knowledgeable about
<br />the lives of highly vulnerable women. Finally, strategies are recommended for mainstreaming
<br />these gender concerns into research, practice, and policy,
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