Gender & Disaster Pod

Diversity in Disaster Conference Resources

Find information on how gender is implicated in the human experience of disaster and its aftermath.  This collection of films, articles, reports, literature reviews, conference presentations and podcasts will interest disaster-prone community members, those in the emergency management field, and anyone curious about human behaviour.

Research confirms that increased rates of violence against women are part of, and additional to the ‘hidden disaster’ that follows acute environmental events like floods, fires, earthquakes and cyclones. This is a phenomenon that has long been evident to many professionals involved in post-disaster recovery.

International research tells us that whatever is happening in a community before a disaster is magnified and heightened in its wake. The way gender roles are socially constructed creates different risks for men and women during and after disasters.

Gendered expectations, such as perceived roles of men as ‘protectors’ and women as ‘carers’, increase vulnerability for women and men in complex and interrelated ways. Knowing how and why gender is implicated in disaster will increase the effectiveness of planning, response and recovery in disasters. Understanding this will save lives.