Disaster do not discriminate, but unequal and discriminatory practices play a significant role in determining an individual’s level of risk and the exposure they face before, during and after disaster. Characteristics such as a person’s age, ethnicity, religion, physical and mental ability, location, social status, education, gender identity, and sexual orientation all influence an individual’s experience of disaster.
Frequently gender equality is considered a value add, rather than a central goal of disaster risk reduction policy and practice. The consequences of which can amplify existing vulnerabilities gender and sexual minorities experience during disaster. Alternatively, working to a broader definition of gender has the potential to benefit all.
The Gender Responsive Resilience and Intersectionality in Policy and Practice (GRRIPP) team, at the University College London (UCL) Centre for Gender and Disaster, are working to disseminate and promote knowledge on the challenges gender and sexual minorities experience during disaster through the Gender and Sexual Minorities in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Reference Guide. The primary aim of which is to compel disaster risk reduction action to address these challenges.
Here in Australia, Gender and Disaster Australia (GADAus) are also working to incorporate consideration of all genders before, during and after disaster. They are doing this by offering evidence-based education, training and resources aimed at addressing and minimising the harmful effects of gender stereotypes during disaster. GADAus’s offerings are grounded in research such as that being conducted by Professor Dale Dominey-Howes and Dr Tegan Larin.
The Gender and Sexuality in Disaster Risk Reduction Webinar brought the UCL's GRRIPP team, GADAus, Dale and Tegan together to discuss work that is being progressed on this important issue, both internationally and here in Australia.
Webinar host: Dr Margaret Moreton, Executive Director, AIDR
Guest Speakers:
- Maureen Fordham (she/her) - Director, IRDR Centre for Gender and Disaster
- Kevin Blanchard MSc FRGS (he/him) - Founder, DRR Dynamics
- Dejan Greenhalgh-Tomasovic (he/him) - Trainer, Gender and Disaster Australia
- Dale Dominey-Howes BSc (Hons), PhD, FGS, FRGS (he/him/they/them) - Professor, Hazard and Disaster Risk Sciences, The University of Sydney
- Dr Tegan Larin - Research Fellow, Monash University XYX Lab
Webinar Slides: Gender and Sexuality in Disaster Risk Reduction (PDF 1.53MB)
