Gender & Social Equity in

Humanitarian Response

As a Culture and Conscious

Practice
Need for a Paradigm Shift

 Disasters are not merely extreme natural hazards-they are

reflection of gender and class based vulnerabilities.
 Disaster Vulnerability reduction Should become a culture and
conscious practices
 Response to a Natural Hazard must come from where it strikes so
as to reduce the time gap between a natural hazard and the
Response
 NGOs must implement development programs with Disaster risk
perspective with a focus on special needs of different sections of
communities.
 Civil society (indirect victims) must debate the issue of gender
and class insensitivities in disaster response so as to ensure
appropriate policies and practices.
 International Development Agencies must reach out to local
social, secular and spiritual organizations for sensitizing families
on special needs of specific groups in disaster response and
preparedness.
 DEVELOPING A CULTURE OF
PREPAREDNESS
 Identifying and Integrating Gender and class differential
vulnerabilities in Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and in
development policies and practices.
 Creating mass awareness on disaster risk and vulnerability and
special needs of different sections.
 Ensuring Participation and accountability of key stakeholders-
Communities, NGOs, Government, Media & Academics
 Disaster risk reduction as a life style than as a project
 Risk perception, risk assessment and risk mitigation plans and
practices need be educated on gender and class differential
vulnerabilities.
 Policy decisions need to take such risk perceptions should be
recognized as an issue of governance and performance.
Key Issues In Tsunami Response
in India, Indonesia & Srilanka
 Lack of Gender Dis-aggregated data collected after disaster
and general failure to identify needs of different genders and
classes.
 Pre Tsunami risk assessments and post Tsunami need
assessments have insufficient analysis of gender and class
differential vulnerabilities and needs.
 Adequate efforts were not made by response agencies to
understand differential livelihood roles and strategies of men
and women.
 Governments failure to upgrade enumeration systems despite
repeated disasters-which focus on numbers and ignore
qualitative issues such as specific ration and health needs of
individuals.
 Shelter designs in most cases were gender blind-causing
security and privacy issues for women.
Key Issues In Tsunami Response in India,
Indonesia & Srilanka
 Post Tsunami assistance and land titles have been allocated to
male heads of households.
 Lack of grievance mechanisms in Government and NGO
managed relief camps.
 Excess relief in terms of Cash distribution –generally given to
men-increased violence and injustice against women.
 No attempt made to understand the risk of trafficking women
and children from Tsunami affected areas.
 Many women reported increase in domestic violence and prefer
to treat them as intra-house issues.
 General lack of awareness on human rights and legal
instruments and institutions that safe guard their rights.
Key Issues In Tsunami Response in India,
Indonesia & Srilanka
Oxfam study in India post Tsunami highlighted:
 Inequitable distribution of relief for women
and marginalized.
 Total neglect of sexual minorities
 Delayed relief supply to lowers strata of
society especially to labor class and tribals
 Marginalization of widows and single women
living with the parental/husband.
 Specific needs of religious groups ignored:
e.g. Weil for muslim women
Key Issues In Tsunami Response in India,
Indonesia & Srilanka
 Blind compensation strategies increased the pressure on
women to remarry, younger girls to marry aged men and single
parents marrying off young girls to avoid difficult parenting.
 Psycho-social problems are prevalent affecting all segments of
the population and have been largely un- or inadequately
treated
 In the conflict situations of Banda Aceh and Sri Lanka military
involvement in aid delivery generated abuses.
 Widowed women are socially excluded and looked down upon –
less family support from husband’s family)
Gender Mainstreaming in Thinking and
practice
 Create effective mechanism to ensure gender mainstreaming in
government planning and response to disasters-specify clear
roles and responsibilities for gender integration and strengthen
National Women’s commission (in India) to play such role.
 National legal instruments should specify provisions and
empower oppressed sections of the society to assert their rights
in disaster assistance.
 Gender and class based vulnerability reduction should be
factored in disaster response planning and practices.
 Adequate measures should be taken to help women protect the
assistance given to them after disasters and help them use the
assistance for long term gains.
Role of Media and Academics

 Review existing policies and practices, highlight

grey areas and suggest improvements
 Highlight main causes of vulnerability
 Question if the government and civil society is
adequately prepared to deal with a sudden
disaster-be it cyclone, floods, earthquake or a
terrorist attack?
 Disseminate Preparedness guidelines and Tips
 Convert studies and research outputs in to
usable tools for practitioners.
LESSONS FROM CUBA
 Self Help, social cohesion, citizen based social
protection with equal involvement of men & women.
 Trust between government authorities and civil
society
 Political commitment to risk reduction of all sections
of society.
 Concrete plans to save lives, evacuation plans, etc.
 Investment in human & economic development
 An effective risk communication system
 INVESTMENT IN SOCIAL CAPITAL
 Investment in institutional capital (transparent,
accountable and capable institutions for disaster
mitigation)
LESSONS FROM CUBA
Developing a Culture of Safety:
 Awareness of procedures & measures known by
all members of family in case of Hurricanes (key
disaster threat)
 Knowledge of stages of emergency warning,
where to get information, how to secure houses,
where to go for shelter
 Cuban men and women from all walks of life
people are active in several types of social
organizations, women organizations, youth
organizations, particularly local mitigation
committees.
LESSONS FROM CUBA
Development Model for Vulnerability Reduction

 Universal Access –men, women and all classes and

communities-to Services: Health, Education, Physical
Infrastructure
 Policies to reduce social and economic disparities:
 Considerable Investment in Human Development: 45
years of investment in human capital provided
country with the well trained men and women.
 Investment in Infrastructure: Both in rural and urban
areas reduced urban density and range of resources
available in the rural areas that are used for disaster
mitigation
 Social and Economic Organization: Promoting
solidarity, cohesion, cooperation, and creates social
capital that can be applied for risk reduction
Oxfam’s TASK FORCE GROUPS
In India
 Early Warning & Communication Group
 Shelter Management Group
 Evacuation & Rescue Group
 First Aid & Health Group
 Water & Sanitation Groups
 Damage Assessment Group
 Counseling Group
 Carcass disposal
 Relief distribution
10 Members in each group out of which minimum five are
women.
THANK YOU
N Hari Krishna
Oxfam America
hkrishna@oxfamamerica.org

hkrishna@oxfamamerica.org
Hari_2068@yahoo.com
+91 93810 27549