Strengthening mainstreaming of gender in disaster preparedness, relief, and reconstruction: Non-discrimination lens

1. Strengthening mainstreaming of gender in disaster preparedness, relief, and reconstruction:Non-discrimination lens Ranjani K.Murthy, Independent Researcher Jesu Rathinam Christy, SNEHA

2. Objectives • To set out a conceptual framework on gender, gender mainstreaming, and non discrimination in the context of disaster • To review the strengths and weaknesses of government policies in mainstreaming gender in disaster preparedness, relief, and reconstruction • To draw out lessons from what has worked, and what has not • To draw recommendations for strengthening gender mainstreaming in government responses

3. Premises on gender • Gender relations refer to unequal power relations between men and women, • Closely tied with other social relations and institutions, • Gender relations also refer to power relations between women and between men where gender has a role to play, • Women occupy a secondary position vis-a-vis men, but at times men also disadvantaged by masculinities, • Recent attention to (inter-sex and) transgenders as subordinate groups

4. Gender mainstreaming Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the action of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies and programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the planning, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and social spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality (UNESC, 1997) Our focus will be on marginalised women and men

5. Rao and Kelleher Infrastructural Organisational Institutional Jahan: Integrationist Agenda setting Approaches to mainstreaming gender

6. Gender discrimination • Article 2, CEDAW (1981): Any distinction- exclusion or restriction- international or unintentional- made on the basis of sex is discrimination

7. Gender discrimination in disaster: in what?

8. Forms of gender discrimination in the context of disaster • Sex specific forms (e.g. ignoring sanitary pads, vaginal fungus, clotting of breasts) and where gender mainly operates (e.g. girl dropping out for additional reproductive work) • Pre existing forms (e.g. inequalities in food) and new forms of discrimination in the context of disaster. New forms: survival, relief, ex-gratia, resurfacing of child marriage • Forms specific to particular disasters (e.g. water related- whom to save) vs. forms common to all disasters (e.g ex-gratia to MHH). • Forms and intensity varying with socio economic, political and cultural context (e.g. son preference, purdah varies, compulsion to marry husband’s borther) and common forms of discrimination (e.g. workload of women). • Exclusion form of discrimination (from ex gratia, from education) vs. unwanted inclusion form in disaster (into girl child labour, into commercial sexual exploitation) (Adapted Murthy and Sagayam, 2005)

9. Sources of gender discrimination: in the context of disaster • Socio-cultural and policy induced discrimination • Identities (see diagram- 3 categories) • Household, community markets, state, inter-state

10. What does gender mainstreaming then mean in disaster preparedness, relief andreconstruction? 1: Map existing forms and sources of gender discrimination in each context (3 categories) while making disaster preparedness plans 2: Look out for new forms of discrimination arising in the context of the particular disaster 3: Address strategic gender interests of women and girls in relief, reconstruction and protection, in addition to meeting PGNs • Address strategic interests arising out of other identities • Address practical gender needs of men and boys as well • Involve community based women’s organisations of marginalised groups in preparedness, relief and reconstruction planning, and pressing for accountability in implementation. 7. Evolve gender specific indicators for base line data, monitoring and evaluation

11. Government policies to address PGNs and SGIs

12. Government policies to address PGNs and SGIs

13. Other gender specific policies • Govt’s social/gender audit immediately after Hurricane Mitch to assess differentiated impact (Nicaragua) • Govt’s social/gender audit 6 months afterwards to assess who was included and excluded from relief (Nicaragua) • Government and women’s groups coming together to arrive at a plan for disaster relief and reconstruction (El Savador) • Tsunami resource center – gender focal point (India-tsunami)

14. Factors that facilitated good practices Govt-NGO joint plan (El Savador), joint review (India)

15. Limitations of government policies • Women’s productive role and productive assets rarely recognised • Reproductive assets and social assets not compensated for – grinders, mixers, washing machines, jewels • Undervaluation of women’s work and role: greater compensation when HH dies than other adults. • Household as nuclear (male HH, without adults, polygamous relation, unwed mothers-Latin America) • Strategic gender interests of women not recognised (e.g. violence redressal, decision making –India, Sri Lanka, El Savador) • Practical gender needs of men not recognised like de-addiction, child care - single fathers • Sex specific needs of adolescent girls ignored, breast feeding women whose infants had died. • Women assumed to be uniform (other than widows)- diversity due to other individual and community identities ignored. • Invisibility of villages where no loss of life was reported (TN, India), earthquake vs. tsunami (A and N) • Well meaning policies backfired- increase in tsunami marriages, abandoned husbands came back to claim ex gratia and went off, recanalisation and complications

16. Limitations of govt. policies and practices Policies: • Opportunities for decreasing inequalities between men and women missed, as well as between different un-equal groups • Disaster bill-India no mention of gender concerns in disaster management (other than special provision for widows), • National/State/District Disaster Authority or Executive Committee no provision of representatives of DWCD or women’s rights NGOs (India) Practice • Calculation of GDP losses did not estimate loss of women’s productive work, extra time into reproductive and community work, as well as loss of women’s reproductive and social assets (all over) • State itself unleashed gender based violence- (Army in Sri Lanka) • The practice of locating different services in different places not convenient in camps for WHH (Somalia-drought)

17. Reasons for gaps • Little attention to ‘institutional’ gender/equity mainstreaming before disaster • Little attention to strengthening ‘gender infrastructure’ for mainstreaming in a disaster context • Gender and equity unaccountable organisational structure • Not agenda-setting mainstreaming.

18. Strategies for strengthening gender mainstreaming in government preparedness, relief and reconstruction Enabling pre-disaster policy condition: • Rights to livelihood and resources • Gender aware property laws – any asset joint after marriage • Violence legislation, • Women in grass roots decision making • Gender/equity aware disaster bills and plans, and gender advocacy groups in authority structures Enabling organisational/gender infrastructure: • Increasing proportion of women staff in health, education, child care/gender training • Creation of pool of gender and disaster experts within bureaucracy • Gender, sectors and disaster manuals for government staff (different levels, contexts) • Gender and disaster planning tools, monitoring indicators (different levels, contexts) • Gender/equity aware disaster budget • Accountability structures to women Enabling environment: • Survival skills- women and girls • Women in labour force and breaking gender division of tasks • Women’s grassroots organisation and women in producer’s groups and unions • Women in traditional/indegeneous decision making institutions • Radio, TV and media messages on gender