Women are up to 14 times more likely to die than men in climate-related disasters. When displaced by disasters, they are more vulnerable to trafficking, forced marriage, rape and other forms of sexual assault or violence. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, at least 242 cases of rape against women were recorded in relief camps during the first 150 days following the earthquake. Women in the camps also had to cope with male dominated committees who controlled the distribution of aid. They were often forced to negotiate for supplies through the use of sexual favours.

Women and girls face discrimination on many levels. In patriarchal societies, restrictions may prevent them from leaving the house and they may be excluded from playing any role in developing disaster risk plans for their own communities. Yet women are care-providers, they know their communities intimately and should play leadership roles in designing gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction plans that address their needs.

People with disabilities are too often overlooked in disaster management planning. A 2014 UNDRR report highlighted that only 15 per cent of people with disabilities had actually been consulted in the development of their own community resilience plans. While people with disabilities are not a homogenous group, they should be engaged in determining DRR priorities that relate to their needs, abilities and skills.

Disaster risks increase when poverty comes into the mix and where people are forced to live in hazard prone areas, with insecure livelihoods and poor access to basic services. Many are invisible and unheard. Around 2.4 billion of the world’s poorest lack formal identification records such as identity cards or birth certificates, making it even more difficult for them to access vital services or emergency aid in disaster situations, particularly when they might be displaced from their homes.

Disasters and their impacts worsen social inequalities and increase vulnerability. To break the vicious circle of poverty, inequality and disasters - inclusion of marginalised people in disaster risk reduction processes is essential. Inclusion builds community-wide resilience but it cannot be achieved without challenging societal and institutional discrimination.

Hazards

Cyclone

Themes

Inclusion

Country & Region

Antigua and Barbuda