Gender and Climate Sensitive Disaster Risk Management

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction calls for reducing risks to disasters rather than focusing only on the process of management of disasters. The tenet accentuates the philosophy that we need to shift our thinking towards addressing the source of a problem rather than focussing on the outcome of a problem. There is a growing realization that Climate Change is also one of the sources for increase in hydro-meteorological disasters like floods, cyclones, droughts, heat waves, cold waves etc. The impact of climate induced disasters is different for both men and women. Various case studies of climate induced disasters clearly highlight that women tend to be more vulnerable to these disasters due to their pre-existing vulnerabilities. Gender limits both men and women in their abilities to perform various tasks and it leads to the creation of vulnerabilities. Along with this, the biological role of reproduction played by women leads to social discrimination for the rest of their lives. The society needs to be sensitized towards the process in which social norms and stereotypes contribute towards gendered vulnerabilities and overlooking of their capacities in non-disaster as well as disaster times. Research has also shown that given an opportunity to develop skills, women have shown their role as effective contributors to the process of disaster preparedness as well as management. The potential contributions that women have offered to Disaster Risk Reduction around the world need to be highlighted and their leadership in building community resilience to disasters should be acknowledged. Such an empowering process needs to be strengthened in all developmental initiatives to reduce pre-existing vulnerabilities which get augmented in disaster settings. Moreover, there should be a platform for women in disaster management organizations for sharing their needs, experiences, and expertise which would provide impetus to a gender-sensitive approach in the operational aspects of disaster management. A gender-sensitive approach to Disaster Risk Reduction would ensure that the efficacy of our interventions is enhanced and reach every member of the community.