Dr. Bagonza said that he found that high value resources were controlled by men and that women’s productive and reproductive roles left them more vulnerable to floods, landslides and other disasters.

Women were more likely to have traditional knowledge of early warning signs and men are usually more reluctant to evacuate ahead of a disaster. 

UNISDR Director, Ms. Kirsi Madi, who moderated the session, observed that his findings showed that the issue of parity and inclusion went beyond gender and also affected other groups whose needs were neglected in disasters including older persons and people living with disabilities.

Research by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, found that there was not enough data or qualitative information to say if disaster law and legal frameworks work adequately to prevent sexual and gender-based violence during disasters.

IFRC inclusion expert, Mr. Amjad Saleem, said that women are generally absent from the formulation of disaster risk reduction policies and government departments for Women’s Affairs are not well integrated into disaster risk management activities.

Date:

12 Oct 2018

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Arab States (UNISDR ROAS)

Themes:

Gender