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Gender and CC Research. Margaret Alston Professor of Social Work Director of GLASS Monash University. Summary. Research projects Health and welfare impacts Gendered impacts Focus groups leading into forum Focus group findings. Albury Border Mail Thursday May 26th 2005.
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Gender and CC Research Margaret Alston Professor of Social Work Director of GLASS Monash University
Summary • Research projects • Health and welfare impacts • Gendered impacts • Focus groups leading into forum • Focus group findings
Albury Border Mail Thursday May 26th 2005 Research over several years and motivated by social hardships and dislocation
International Research – gender and CC in India • To investigate links between gender, climate change and adaptive behaviours in Indian farm households
Over 50% of Indian women do not have enough to eat and over a third described the food they have as lacking nutrition.
Indian women’s options • Work on and off farm • Some migrate for work – often the younger • Increased debt • Eat less • More reliant on access to fuel and water gathering • Worried about the health of their family • Loss of gardens
World Health Summit October 2009 • Sponsored by Angela Mirkel and Nicholas Sarkovsky
On to Africa October 2009 • UN-Habitat • Our mission is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. • October meeting – CC and global cities • Gender expert advisor
Australian studies • Several years and across Australia • Social impacts of drought 2003-4 • Rural women’s access to services study - 2004 • Impact of drought on rural and remote young people’s access to education 2006 • Rural maternity services study 2007 • Declining water availability M-DB 2008 • Declining water in Murray River communities 2009 • Rural women and CC 2009
Social impacts of CC – national and international Food and water security Poverty and rising debt Health impacts To stay in farming or go? Need for alternative income Lack of work opportunities Migration Involuntary separation of families Stress, health and welfare issues Relationship conflict Community decline Loss of social capital Depopulation – particularly young people Declining resilience
Gender and CC International evidence from developing countries – Women: More food insecure H’hold work Experience differential poverty More constrained by cultural norms More vulnerable in disasters Work off-farm Low levels of decision making Lack of information
Gender and CC - Australia Women- Off-farm income generation On-farm work, community work, h’hold work Monitoring health of family and others Ignoring own health Low levels of decision making positions Low acknowledgement of efforts
Men – Physically demanding tasks – feeding and watering livestock Working daily in barren landscape More socially isolated Mental health and welfare issues
Murray-Darling Basin – Australia’s food bowl – site of current research
Focus groups – women along the Murray River • Climate change • Water • Women in decision making • Impact on families • Women working • Health • Women’s issues • Impact on communities • Young people • Ideas
CC • Lack of information • Distrust of government • Policy on the run - flawed • Lack of vision • Industry differences • Vested interests • Federal and local govt need to work together • Carbon emissions trading a ‘lost opportunity’
Water • Water complexities – buy back, state differences, general vs high security • Uncertainty over allocations • Decoupling land and water • Capping of sales – causing hardship • Stranded assets and worthless land • ‘Willing sellers’ or ‘forced sellers’? • Debt • Loss of gardens • People are getting more water efficient
Women in decision making • Not enough • LG processes prohibit women who are time poor – barriers to participation in time taken • Not enough focus on women’s issues • Need more women’s events
Impact on families • Adopting different strategies – on and off farm work • Aging • Making difficult and complex decisions • Debt increasing • Decline in other work options – feeling ‘trapped’ • ‘hanging in’ – leads to increasing debt • Dropping EC? – what then? • No holidays
Women and work • High priority adaptation • More likely women off-farm work • Complicated by loss of jobs • Some have to move away for work
Work conditions • Lack of workplace flexibility • No account for other pressures on women – eg community work and extracurricular activities • Flexibility needed because ‘working two jobs’ • When workplaces not flexible women leave
Pressures surrounding off-farm work • Lack of child care • Two jobs • Commuting – ‘live on the road’ • Lack of telecommunications • Distance • Lack of transport • Break down of social networking and volunteering • Not as available for on-farm work and men alone more • Young women know they must work
Positives re work • Brings positive exposure for women • Women bring income and expertise to the farm • Money spent on groceries, education, bills, incidentals
Health • Complex social issues exacerbate health issues • Domestic violence – seems to peak with water announcements, produce cheques and three month bill cycle
Women’s other issues • ‘wonder wife’ syndrome • Too busy to do more • Less time and ‘tired’ • Low self esteem • Want more focus on ‘social issues’ and ‘human issues’ • Difficult to cope with men’s depression • Need coping strategies • ‘You marry a farmer its not about the money!’
Impact on community • Depopulation • Empty houses • Breakdown of networks • Reduced quality of life • Less able to volunteer – volunteer culture breaking down • People ‘bbqed out’ • Community ‘grieving’ • People falling through the welfare cracks
Young people • Disadvantaged • Country – city divide • YA, YA, YA • Education access declining • Poverty • School numbers down • Some children have ‘never been to Melbourne’ • Difficulties accessing extracurricular
Needs • Vision for rural • Rural policy • Community development • Child care • Federal and local govt working together • Break down govt siloes • Consultation fatigue • Resilience and leadership training • Social workers in communities • Telecommunications centres • Mobile coverage • Teleworking opportunities • Group facilitators to build women’s networking • ‘Find a way to bring joy’
Good ideas • Carbon market – rural • Solar energy developments in rural areas • Renewable energy sites • Tourism • Indigenous heritage valued • Stewardship and Green Corps type jobs
If I could tell one thing to Tony Burke I would say remember it’s about image, about farmers’ image, it’s about self-esteem, it’s about our kids, it’s about being proud of who we are and what we do and not having to apologise for it or justify it … the glaring difference I’ve seen between rural communities here and overseas is that the whole country is supporting and proud of their rural communities. And we’ve lost that somewhere along the way … somewhere in the last two generations … and because we’ve never been hungry, and because we’ve never had any political unrest, and because Australia is the most highly urbanised country in the world, we’ve lost that connectiveness … so please we’re important – connect us back in – give us relevance.
