Australian Journal of Emergency Management | AJEM

Anniversaries invite reflection about where we began and how far we have progressed. The research and analysis contained in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM) since its inception in 1995 (and earlier as The Macedon Digest), reflect significant advances in emergency and disaster scholarship.

AJEM has increased our attention on gender, diversity and inclusion. This trajectory has early roots. In Volume 8 of The Macedon Digest, contributions by 3 women raised important questions about the specific needs of women in emergencies. While these early papers were shaped by the prevailing binary and heteronormative understandings of gender, they represent an important foundation and remain relevant to current debates on equity, safety and disasters.

The AJEM body of work has evolved into a broader and sustained engagement with gender, diversity and intersectionality across multiple editions, including volumes 8, 21, 22, 28, 37 and 39. Recent editions deepen this focus. Volume 37, Issue 1 (2022) included the Gender Justice in Disaster conference proceedings, explored gendered dimensions of long-term resilience, violence against women post-disaster, masculinity and power structures and broader questions of gender inequality in disaster contexts. Volume 39, Issue 3 (2024) further expanded this scope, with contributions examining gender and sexual diversity, caregiving responsibilities, menstrual health, women in firefighting, leadership stereotypes and gender justice.

Dr Margaret Moreton
CEO, Gender and Disaster Australia