WUNRN
Direct Link to Call for Papers:
The July 2012 issue of the international journal Gender & Development, (published for Oxfam GB by Routledge/Taylor and Francis) will look at Gender and Humanitarian Work.
Disasters, whether due to human activity
(such as conflict) or the result of uncontrollable natural hazards, whether
sudden or with a long gestation, are becoming ever more frequent, extreme, and
of larger scale. With increased frequency – particularly of natural hazards –
the capacity of people to recover from disaster is being eroded. In addition, the distinctions between
disasters brought about by armed conflict and other human activity, and those
brought about by natural events are increasingly blurred, complicating efforts
on the part of agencies providing humanitarian aid to respond. Those who live in poverty, those who are
least able to prepare for and recover quickly from disasters, and often those
who are often least responsible for their causes, pay the price of such
upheavals and tragedies. Disasters and their impact represent critical barriers
to the transformation of gender relations and the achievement of women‘s
rights, and to the achievement of development goals more generally.
It is now commonly acknowledged that men
and women contribute differently and are affected differently by such
events. In addition, other factors such
as age, class, (dis)ability, marital status, estrangement from the wider
community, and membership of a marginalized ethnic, religious, or economic
group also shape the way women and men experience disaster, and how easily they
are able to rebuild their lives in its aftermath. In the ten years that have passed since Gender & Development last looked at
gender and humanitarian work, humanitarian responses have increasingly come to
recognise this, and how women and men bring different resources, capacities,
and life experience to a disaster situation, as well as different needs and
priorities in terms of the assistance that they feel they need.
Guidelines, toolkits, and comprehensive
indicators to integrate a gender perspective have been developed by
international agencies involved in humanitarian response. In addition, UN SCR 1325 and other
initiatives have brought attention to the role that women do – and should –
play in longer term post-conflict reconciliation and peace-building. Finally,
there has been an acceptance that in some cases, staff working for agencies in
emergency situations have abused their position by engaging in sexual
exploitation of women and children, and some action taken on this front.
Despite all these positive developments, gender has remained an under-addressed area in the humanitarian responses to many recent disasters, often seen as something to be dealt with ‘later’, that is irrelevant to the immediate, post-disaster response. In addition, gender-based and sexual violence remain prevalent in post-disaster settings. This issue of Gender & Development seeks to explore some of the reasons behind this lack of progress, as well as how humanitarian work has changed over the past ten years, in regard to meeting the different needs of women and men in disaster situations, and promoting gender equality.
Humanitarian and development policymakers and
practitioners, and researchers, are all invited to share insights in this issue
of Gender & Development. The
journal is essential reading for all concerned with gender-fair development. It
is currently read in over 90 countries, and our content is published as an
online and print journal at www.tandfonline.com/gad. We also publish materials
from the journal on our free access website at
www.genderanddevelopment.org
All articles need to be based on first-hand
experience, case studies, or research on-the-ground in particular country
contexts. We particularly welcome contributions from practitioners with first-hand
experience to share. Don’t worry if you think you are not a writer
for a journal or have never written for publication before – we will help you
with style and language, and support you to develop your article! For full guidelines
and more information on the journal visit www.genderanddevelopment.org
Please
send a paragraph outlining your proposed idea for an article to this issue to
jhoare@oxfam.org.uk, as soon as possible, and before the commissioning deadline:
21 October 2011. If we are able to offer space for your contribution, we will
write to you by 26 October to say so. Commissioned articles will need to be
completed for a deadline of 7 January
2012