Kanchana Ginige

Mainstreaming gender in disaster reduction : why and how?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of gender mainstreaming into disaster reduction decision making as a way of reducing disaster vulnerabilities of women, a highly vulnerable group to disasters.Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds a discussion around disaster reduction, the importance of gender mainstreaming in disaster reduction and the ways of mainstreaming gender based on a literature review. It reviews academic literature as well as papers and reports produced by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and various other institutions.Findings – The paper highlights the importance of the role of gender mainstreaming in disaster reduction as a means of reducing disaster risk through considering womens needs and concerns in particular. Further, on the basis of the literature reviewed, the paper emphasises the need for enhancing gender balance in disaster reduction decision making in order to understand the possible effects of po...

Tackling Women's Vulnerabilities through Integrating a Gender Perspective into Disaster Risk Reduction in the Built Environment

Abstract The majority of human and direct economic losses from natural hazards occur as a result of damage to the built environment due to the vital role that the built environment performs in serving human endeavours. One of the key reasons for people in developing countries to be more vulnerable to natural disasters than their wealthier counterparts is the limited capacities in their construction industries. Among the people in developing countries, women are evidently even more vulnerable to natural disasters. Due to higher disaster vulnerability of women, recognising the different roles, capacities, vulnerabilities and needs of women, and considering them in disaster risk reduction in the built environment is significant to reduce womens disaster vulnerabilities. Gender mainstreaming as a way of bringing a gender perspective into disaster risk reduction can be applied to recognise the varying needs and capacities of women, and integrate them into disaster risk reduction in the built environment. The paper in this context aims to demonstrate how gender mainstreaming helps to bring a womens perspective into disaster risk reduction in the built environment. It identifies two main steps which involve in the process, identification of womens DRR knowledge and needs, and integration of the identified DRR knowledge and needs into DRR in the built environment. The paper provides an account of the process that the study established to incorporate a gender perspective into disaster risk reduction in the built environment based on a case study conducted in Sri Lanka. It further discusses how the social, economic, political and environmental context influences the process of gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction in the built environment.

Mainstreaming women in disaster risk reduction in the built environment

Natural disasters have long-term implications on sustainable development. They mainly destroy the built environment thereby hindering economic and social development, and causing environment degradation. Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the built environment is therefore critical for ensuring sustainable development. Improving the resilience of humans who live in the built environment, particularly the more vulnerable is a significant component of accomplishing overall disaster risk reduction in the built environment (DRR in the BE). Having observed women to be a group of humans more vulnerable to natural disasters due to social, economic, biological conditions and processes and their roles and responsibilities, it was recognised that it is important to mainstream them into disaster risk reduction within the context of the built environment. In this context, this doctoral research investigates the process of mainstreaming women, i.e. how the knowledge and needs of women, which help to reduce their disaster vulnerability, can be identified and integrated into the built environment. The research design of the study incorporates a social constructivism view point and associates with constructionism ontology and interpretivism epistemology. A literature review and a pilot round of interviews with experts in DRR in the BE were undertaken to improve the knowledge of the associated concepts pertaining to the research. Empirical investigation of the study incorporates a single case, mono method research which deploys qualitative, in-depth interviews for data collection. Sri Lanka is the case study for the research whilst the interview respondents are a group of professionals involved in DRR in the BE of the country. Data analysis for the study follows thematic analysis and combines inductive reasoning and abductive reasoning in order to build systematic, explanatory accounts from concepts and meanings embedded in the interview responses. The study reveals the importance of the process of mainstreaming women into DRR in the BE whilst demonstrating the various types of DRR knowledge and needs of women and, methods that facilitate identification of the needs and knowledge, and the ways of integrating them into the built environment. A set of guidelines is developed to inform the process of mainstreaming, identifying the existing barriers, ways of promoting the process, parties responsible, relevant protocols and suggestions for good practice in implementing the process. Improvements to the regulatory framework, enhancement of essential resources and awareness building of all relevant parties are considered to be the main ways towards process improvement.