Knowledgebase - Recent Additions

Recently added resources on gender and disaster and related themes. For a more comprehensive list of resources, visit the Gender and Disaster Sourcebook with materials until 2005 and earlier.

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Establishing the linkages between gender and climate change. Paper presented during the 52nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women-Gender and Climate Change Panel. Climate change and gender inequality are inextricably linked. Notably, they share a similar role of creating obstacles to achieving poverty reduction and development goals. Both climate change and gender inequality limit the ability of countries to fulfil their commitments to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. Lorena Aguilar, Senior Gender Advisor, IUCN. 28 February 2008. Download PDF, 79KB.

Women and Resilience workshop. Latin American Grassroots women’s practices for building resilient communities. More than 50 leaders representing 25 grassroots and indigenous organisations participated in a three day workshop entitled, “The Role and Power of Grassroots and Indigenous Women’s Groups in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).” Collectively representing more than 30,000 citizens living in disaster prone communities, the women’s groups from 10 Latin American and Caribbean countries shared their five to twenty-five years of work experience of responding to natural disasters and crises, explaining the effective practices they developed to reduce risks and vulnerabilities along with their efforts to secure food and livelihoods. Organised by GROOTS International, Huairou Commission and ProVention Consortium. Download the report in PDF, 1.2MB

The Situation of Refugee Women in the Arab Region. A review of 'The Dream of Return, the Fear of Trafficking and Discriminatory Laws' a report by the Karama Movement in the Arab Region. Displacement has in many cases caused a change in traditional gender roles. According to the report, sixty five per cent of Iraqi women and eighty per cent of married Iraqi women of reproductive age have become widows since the war began. Many of these women have subsequently become the primary breadwinners of their families and most have limited livelihood options. Review by Kathambi Kinoti from Resource Net, an online resource of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). Download the report in Word document, 36KB.

Report on Refugee and Stateless Women across the Arab region: The Dream of Return, the Fear of Trafficking and Discriminatory Laws. The suffering of refugee women is compounded by the daily violation of their human rights as a result of continued occupation (e.g., in the case of Palestinian women) and ongoing conflict (e.g., in the case of Iraqi and Sudanese women). Another factor compounding their suffering is the lack of a permanent solution after many years of displacement, which contravenes the right of female refugees to return to their homes. Other factors include the imposition of collective punishment polices, which lead to depriving women and their children from their basic needs such as food and medicines; the deteriorating situations inside camps, where refugees are deprived from the minimum requirements for a decent life; the bad sanitary and health conditions as a result of the low health services provided to refugees, not to mention to low or non-existent educational services. Download the full report in pdf from the Karama Movement website: http://elkarama.org/

Women's role in adapting to climate change and variability. Given that women are engaged in more climate related change activities than what is recognized and valued in the community, this article highlights their important role in the adaptation and search for safer communities, which leads them to understand better the causes and consequences of changes in climatic conditions. It is concluded that women have important knowledge and skills for orienting the adaptation processes, a product of their roles in society (productive, reproductive and community); and the importance of gender equity in these processes is recognized. The relationship among climate change, climate variability and the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals is considered. Y. Carvajal-Escobar, M. Quintero-Angel, and M. García-Vargas. 2008. Universidad del Valle Colombia. Download the document from: http://www.adv-geosci.net/14/277/2008/adgeo-14-277-2008.pdf. For comments and feedback, please contact M. Quintero Angel at: mangelqgmail.com. Documento en español: Mujeres en la Adaptacíon a la Variabilidad y el Cambio Climático (98KB)

Gender, HIV/AIDS and Emergencies. A short article which looks at HIV/AIDS in emergency and displaced situations in particular its impact on women and children who make up the largest proportion of refugee and displaced people. Elliott, Lyn. Save the Children UK. From the Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN) website. Read the article: http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?id=1055

Where are the Girls? Girls in Fighting Forces in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique: Their Lives During and After War. This book presents findings from a research study entitled “Girls in Militaries, Paramilitaries, Militias, and Armed Opposition Groups” for which the authors were co-investigators. Funded by CIDA’s Child Protection Research Fund and implemented in partnership with Rights & Democracy. The study examined the presence and experiences of girls in fighting forces and groups within the context of three African armed conflicts – Mozambique (1976-1992), Northern Uganda (1986-present) and Sierra Leone (1991-2002). It revealed that armed conflict and militarism intensify sexism and extreme violence perpetrated by boys and men against girls and women, especially sexual violence. The study also found out that children look at ‘joining’ the fighting forces as a response to violence against themselves or their community, a protection strategy or an opportunity to meet their basic needs. Read more findings: http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/_PDF/publications/women/girls_whereare.pdf

Recognizing Gender-Based Violence against Civilian Men and Boys in Conflict Situations.While gender-based violence has recently emerged as a salient topic in the human security community, it has been framed principally with respect to violence against women and girls, particularly sexual violence. In this article, I argue that gender-based violence against men (including sexual violence, forced conscription, and sex-selective massacre) must be recognized as such, condemned, and addressed by civilian protection agencies and proponents of a ‘human security’ agenda in international relations. Men deserve protection against these abuses in their own right; moreover, addressing gender-based violence against women and girls in conflict situations is inseparable from addressing the forms of violence to which civilian men are specifically vulnerable. Carpenter, R.C. Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Download the full article: http://sdi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/37/1/83 (Payment/subscription required)

“Financing for Gender Empowerment and Equality of Women." Outcome documents of the 52nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, 25 February - 7 March 2008. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/52sess.htm.

Report on the 5-day capacity-building workshops titled Conflict Resolution, Communication Skills & Organisational Management for Iraqi women leaders from 19 organisations, organised by the Women, Peace and Security Initiative of the Technical Support Division of UNFPA. The aim of the workshop is to train Iraqi women leaders in tools and procedures to enhance their effectiveness and that of their organisations, specifically with respect to ending the conflict and ensuring a lasting peace in Iraq. Some of the workshop titles include: Analysing and Resolving Deadly Conflicts; Preparing Strategies; Developing Communication Skills; and Setting up and Managing NGOs and Advocacy Groups. Click to download the report here.

Understanding Gender Differential Impacts of Tsunami and Gender Mainstreaming Strategies in Tsunami Response in Tamilnadu, India. Research conducted by Anawim Trust with support from Oxfam America. This study aims to probe deeper into and document the gender mainstreaming strategies of NGOs in their response to disaster. To contact the authors send an email to: pincha.chaman@gmail.com or hkrishna@oxfamamerica.org. Click to download the report here (4.6MB)