WUNRN
WOMEN & NATURAL DISASTERS -
GENDER ISSUES - SUFFERING - RESILIENCE
Women, Natural Disasters, & Reconstruction
Natural
disasters devastate entire communities. During and after these disasters, women
and children suffer the most.
Natural
disasters and the ensuing relocation and reconstruction efforts present unique
challenges to women in developing countries. Successful relief and rebuilding
strategies must anticipate these obstacles in order to minimize danger to
women’s safety and leverage their potential to contribute to the redevelopment
of their communities and countries.
In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, threats to women’s physical safety
increase exponentially.
Violence Against Women - The
trauma of a natural disaster exposes the strengths and weaknesses in
relationships, and a dramatic rise in violence against women consistently
follows the advent of natural disasters. In Nicaragua 27% of female survivors
and 21% of male survivors of Hurricane Mitch reported increased violence within
the family. Similar trends were reported in the Philippines after the eruption
of Mt. Pinatubo. Even in developed countries, violence against women increases
in the wake of a natural disaster. Following the Loma Prieta earthquake in
California, reported sexual assault rose by 300%. Inability to meet basic needsWomen
are the majority of the world’s poor, and even in good times, many rely upon
assistance to supplement their below-subsistence incomes. Disaster disrupts the
flow of regular assistance threatening women’s ability to care for themselves
and their children. In Gujurat, India for example, many women depended on the
provision of shakti packets to help meet their basic daily nutritional needs.
Distribution stopped temporarily after the earthquake cutting women off from
one of their sources of subsistence. Similarly, women in several Gujarati
villages reported that the earthquake abruptly terminated their healthcare.
The gendered nature of disaster continues into the
reconstruction phase as women and families seek out new ways to make ends meet.
Women Heading Households - Natural disasters
leave many women in charge of both household duties and supporting their
families. In addition to widows who become wholly responsible for their
children and elderly family members, wives head their households when their
husbands migrate to find employment.
Caring for More with Less - As the primary
caretakers in most developing countries, women experience an expansion of their
household responsibilities after a disaster. Displaced family members seek
refuge with those who have already resettled, and women face the challenge of
providing for their growing families while access to resources dwindles. In
particular, women struggle to provide water. Disasters tend to damage water
systems, and women, who are chiefly responsible for transporting water, tend to
spend more time gathering water.
Job Loss and Poverty - Women’s
livelihoods tend to be very resource dependent. Therefore, when disaster
destroys natural resources, women loose their source of income. For example, in
Gujarat, India, many women found employment in the agricultural sector. When
the earthquake hit in 2001, underground hydrological systems shifted resulting
in contamination of the soil. Agriculture became less profitable, driving down
the demand for workers with the types of skills that women had developed.
No Social Safety Nets - While women often find
ways to cope with poverty prior to disasters, their solutions cannot withstand
intensified poverty and reintegration into new communities. For example, women
in Gujarat, India began savings groups that would provide small loans to
members. However, after the earthquake, women reported that the availability of
loans decreased.
The Cycle of Poverty - Disasters intensify
women’s poverty and increase their workload making it harder for them to access
the types of resources and training they need to transition into sustainable
livelihoods.
Homelessness and Property Rights - The right to own property helps women, and especially widows and
girl orphans, endure natural disasters and reestablish lives for themselves and
their families. If women do not have the right to own property, they can loose
their homes and fields. In Pakistan, a researcher documents a case in which a
male family invoked Sharia Law so that he could inherit his deceased relative’s
land. The widow and her two daughters found themselves homeless.
Trafficking and the Sale of Girl Children - Faced with the possibility of starvation, impoverished families
have made choices that trade girls’ futures for immediate survival. A Pakistani
newspaper reported that in Baluchistan, Pakistan, a man sold his 15-year old
daughter for a few hundred rupees to feed the rest of his family.
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