Rethinking our approach to gender and disasters: Needs, responsibilities, and solutions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2016.0285Keywords:
gender, women, emergency management, VulnerabilityAbstract
Objective: To explore how the existing literature has discussed the vulnerability and needs of women in a disaster context. It will consider the literature's suggestions of how to minimize vulnerability and address the needs of women, including who involved in emergency management should be responsible for such efforts.
Design: Empirical journal articles and book chapters from disaster literature were collected that focused on “women” or “gender,” and their results and recommendations were analyzed.
Results: This review found existing empirical research on women during disasters focuses on their vulnerabilities more than their needs. Second, when researchers do suggest solutions, they tend not to be comprehensive or supported by empirical evidence. Finally, it is not clear from existing research who is responsible for addressing these needs and implementing solutions.
Conclusions: Future research should study the intersection of gender and disasters in terms of needs and solutions including who is responsible for implementing solutions.
References
Jensen J: Report of the Disciplinary Purview Focus Group: Scholarship and Research to Ground the Emerging Discipline of Emergency Management for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Higher Education Project. 2013. Available at http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Federal Emergency Management Agency: Principles of Emergency Management. 2007. Available at http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary-data/20130726-1822-25045-7625/principles_of_emergency_management.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Jensen J, Bundy S, Thomas B, et al.: The county emergency manager's role in recovery. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2014; 32(1): 157-193.
Canton L: Emergency Management: Strategies and Concepts for Effective Programs. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2007.
Kailes J, Enders A: Moving beyond “special needs.” J Disabil Policy Stud. 2007; 17(4): 230-237.
Penner SJ, Wachsmuth C: Disaster management and populations with special needs. In Pinkowski J (ed.): Disaster Management Handbook. Fort Lauderdale, FL: CRC Press, 2008: 425-441.
Federal Emergency Management Agency: Interim Emergency Management Planning Guide for Special Needs Populations. 2008. Available at http://www.apic.org/Resource_/TinyMceFileManager/Practice_Guidance/Emergency_Preparedness/Special_Needs.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Federal Emergency Management Agency: Guidance on Planning for Integration of Functional Needs Support Services in General Population Shelters. 2010. Available at https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/odic/fnss_guidance.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
National Council on Disability: Saving Lives: Including People with Disabilities in Emergency Planning. 2005. Available at https://www.ncd.gov/publications/2005/06132005. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Woodward JR: Time to get rid of “special.” Disabil Rag. 1991. Available at http://www.jik.com/ilclang.html. Accessed January 12, 2016.
National Organization on Disabilities: Functional Needs of People with Disabilities. 2009. Available at http://nod.org/assets/downloads/Guide-Emergency-Planners.html. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Executive Order No. 13347: Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness. 2004. Available at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/nims_executive_order_13347.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Department of Homeland Security: National Response Framework. 2013. Available at https://www.fema.gov/media-librarydata/20130726-1914-25045-1246/final_national_response_framework_20130501.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Federal Emergency Management Agency: National Preparedness Report. 2013. Available at https://www.llis.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/npr2013_final.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Bateman J, Edwards R: Gender and evacuation: A closer look at why women are more likely to evacuate for hurricanes. Nat Hazards Rev. 2002; 3(3): 107-117.
Callaghan WM, Rasmussen SA, Jamieson DJ, et al.: Health concerns of women and infants in times of natural disasters: Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Matern Child Health J. 2007; 11: 307-311.
Rivers JPW. Women and children last: An essay on sex discrimination in disasters. Disasters. 1982; 6(4): 256-267.
Enarson E, Scanlon J: Gender patterns in a flood evacuation: A case study of couples in Canada's Red River Valley. Appl Behav Sci Rev. 1999; 7(2): 103-124.
Fordham M: The intersection of gender and social class in disaster: Balancing resilience and vulnerability. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1999; 17(1): 15-36.
European Commission: Research on Gender, the Environment and Sustainable Development. 2003. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/isoe_gender.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women: Environmental Management and the Mitigation of Natural Disasters: A Gender Perspective. 2001. Available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/env_manage/documents/EGMTurkey-final-report.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Enarson E, Marrow BH: Women will rebuild Miami: A case study of feminist response to disaster. In Enarson E, Morrow BH (eds.): The Gendered Terrain of Disaster: Through Women’s Eyes. Miami, FL: Praeget, 1998: 185-199.
Enarson E, Fothergill A, Peek L: Gender and disaster: Foundations and directions. In Rodriguez H, Quarantelli EL, Dynes RR (eds.): The Handbook of Disaster Research. New York, NY: Springer, 2006: 130-146.
Fothergill A: Gender, risk, and disaster. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1996; 14(1): 33-56.
Richter R, Flowers T: Gender-aware disaster care: Issues and interventions in supplies, services, triage and treatment. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2010; 28(2): 207-225.
Selected resources on gender and disaster. The Gender and Disaster Sourcebook Web site. 2005. Available at http://www.gdnonline.org/sourcebook/. Accessed August 31, 2014.
Neumayer E, Plumper T: The gendered nature of natural disasters: Impact of catastrophic events on the gender gap in life expectancy, 1981-2002. Ann Assoc Am Geogr. 2007; 97(3): 551-566.
Enarson E: Women and housing issues in two US disasters: Hurricane Andrew and the Red River Valley Flood. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1999; 17(1): 39-63.
Fordham M: Making women visible in disasters: Problematising the private domain. Disasters. 1998; 22(2): 126-143.
Ollenburger JC, Tobin GA: Women, aging, and post-disaster stress: risk factors. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1999; 17(1): 65-78.
Roberto KA, Henderson TL, Kamo Y, et al.: Challenges to older women’s sense of self in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Health Care Women Int. 2010; 31(11): 981-996.
Bokszczanin A: PTSD symptoms in children and adolescents 28 months after a flood: Age and gender differences. J Trauma Stress. 2007; 20(3): 347-351.
Irshd H: Long-term gendered consequences of permanent disabilities caused by the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. Disasters. 2012; 36(3): 452-464.
Ollenburger J, Tobin G: Women and postdisaster stress. In Enarson E, Morrow BH (eds.): The Gendered Terrain of Disaster: Through Women’s Eyes. Miami, FL: Praeget, 1998: 95-108.
Palinkas LA, Downs MA, Petterson JS, et al.: Social, cultural, and psychological impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Hum Organ. 1993; 52(1): 1-13.
Shore JH, Tatum EL, Vollmer WM: Evaluation of mental effects of disaster, Mount St. Helens eruption. Am J Public Health. 1986; 76: 76-83.
Van Willigen M: Do disasters affect individuals’ psychological well-being?. An over-time analysis of the effect of Hurricane Floyd on men and women in eastern North Carolina. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2001; 19(1): 59-83.
Morrow BH, Enarson E: Hurricane Andrew through women’s eyes: Issues and recommendations. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1996; 14(1): 5-22.
Clemens P, Hietala JR, Rytter MJ, et al.: Risk of domestic violence after flood impact: Effects of social support, age, and history of domestic violence. Appl Behav Sci Rev. 1999; 7(2): 199-206.
Fothergill A: An exploratory study of woman battering in the Grand Forks flood disaster: Implications for community responses and policies. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1999; 17(1): 79-98.
Wilson J, Phillips B, Neal D: Domestic violence after disaster. In Enarson E, Morrow BH (eds.): The Gendered Terrain of Disaster: Through Women’s Eyes. Miami, FL: Praeget, 1998: 115-122.
Houghton R, Wilson T, Smith W, et al.: “If there was a dire emergency, we never would have been able to get in there”: Domestic violence reporting and disasters. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2010; 28(2): 270-293.
Jenkins P, Phillips B: Battered women, catastrophe, and the context of safety after Hurricane Katrina. NWSA J. 2008; 20(3): 49-68.
Brown BL, Jenkins PJ, Wachtendorf T: Shelter in the storm: A battered women’s shelter and catastrophe. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2010; 28(2): 226-245.
Cox H: Women in Bushfire Territory. In Enarson E, Morrow BH (eds.): The Gendered Terrain of Disaster: Through Women’s Eyes. Miami, FL: Routledge, 1998: 133-142.
Tobin-Gurley J, Peek L, Loomis J: Displaced single mothers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Resource needs and resource acquisition. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2010; 28(2): 170-206.
Childers C: Elderly female-headed households in the disaster loan process. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1999; 17(1): 99-110.
Fothergill A: The stigma of charity: Gender, class, and disaster assistance. Socio Q. 2003; 44(4): 659-680.
Enarson E, Hearne BM: A gendered perspective. In Peacock WG (ed.): Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, Gender and the Sociology of Disasters. New York, NY: 1997: 52-74.
O’Brien PW, Atchison P: Gender differentiation and aftershock warning response. In Enarson E, Morrow BH (eds.): The Gendered Terrain of Disaster: Through Women’s Eyes. Miami, FL, 1998: 161-172.
Fagen JL, Sorensen W, Anderson PB: Why not the University of New Orleans?. Social disorganization and sexual violence among internally displaced women of Hurricane Katrina. J Commun Health. 2011; 36(5): 721-727.
Anastario MP, Larrance R, Lawry L: Using mental health indicators to identify postdisaster gender-based violence among women displaced by Hurricane Katrina. J Women’s Health. 2008; 17(9): 1437-1444.
Paolisso M, Ritchi A, Ramirez A: The significance of the gender division of labor in assessing disaster impacts: A case study of Hurricane Mitch and hillside farmers in Honduras. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2002; 20(2): 171-195.
David E: “Studying up” on women and disaster: An elite sustained women’s group following Hurricane Katrina. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2010; 28(2): 246-269.
Wisner B, Blaikie P, Cannon T, et al.: At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disasters. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004.
Cutter SL, Emrich CT: Moral hazard, social catastrophe: The changing face of vulnerability along the hurricane coasts. Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci. 2006; 604(1): 102-112.
Perry RW, Gillespie DF, Mileti DS: System stress and the persistence of emergent organizations. Sociol Inq. 1974; 44(2): 111-119.
Beggs J, Haines V, Hulbert J: The effects of personal network and local community contexts on the receipt of formal aid during disaster recovery. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1996; 14(1): 57-78.
Hori M, Schafer M: Social costs of displacement in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Popul Environ. 2010; 31: 64-86.
Zakour M, Harrell E: Access to disaster services. J Soc Serv Res. 2003; 30(2): 27-54.
Burby R: Making plans that matter: Citizen involvement and government action. J Am Plann Assoc. 2003; 69(1): 33-49.
Evans-Cowley J, Gough M: Citizen engagement in post-Hurricane Katrina planning in Harrison County, Mississippi. Cityscape: J Pol Devel Res. 2008; 10(1): 21-38.
Godschalk D, Brody S, Burby R: Public participation in natural hazard mitigation policy formation: Challenges for comprehensive planning. J Environ Plann Manag. 2003; 46(5): 733-754.
Frailing K, Harper DW, Picou SJ: Crime and hurricanes in New Orleans. In Brunsma DL, Overfelt D (eds.): The Sociology of Katrina: Perspectives on a Modern Catastrophe. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007: 51-68.
Davila M, Marquart JW, Mullings JL: Beyond mother nature: Contractor fraud in the wake of natural disasters. Deviant Behav. 2005; 26(3): 271-293.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright 2007-2023, Weston Medical Publishing, LLC and Journal of Emergency Management. All Rights Reserved
