Gender

Gender and DRR

Disasters highlight and accentuate the vulnerabilities of women while they reinforce, perpetuate and increases gender inequality.

Women are often considered as victims and the most vulnerable group for resource mobilization, rather than as sources of strength and resilience in their own right.

Existing approaches in disaster risk reduction are not only unable to address gender-based vulnerabilities, but also mask the skills and capabilities of women as individuals and as a group.

UNISDR, as part of the ongoing effort to promote gender equality in social, cultural and economic development, is determined to increase its efforts to mainstream gender concerns and needs into disaster risk reduction. The Hyogo Framework clearly emphasizes that: "A gender perspective should be integrated into all disaster risk management policies, plans and decision-making processes, including those related to risk assessment, early warning, information management and education and training."

UNISDR advocates for gender to be mainstreamed into disaster risk reduction.

UNISDR addresses the gender-based gaps and imbalances by advocating the importance and necessity of the integrating gender perspectives in disaster risk reduction to achieve the overarching goal of the Hyogo Framework: building resilience of nations and communities to disasters, and builds partnerships for mainstreaming gender perspectives into disaster risk reduction. The organization also develops practical tools and provides good practices to increase women's voice and visibility of their roles and contributions in the disaster risk reduction process at global, national and local levels.

UNISDR's focal point for Gender is Ms. Ana Cristina Angulo-Thorlund (thorlund@un.org). The following are key initiatives we've worked on:

2012 International Day for Disaster Reduction

The theme of the 2012 International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) is "Women and Girls - the [in]Visible Force of Resilience". The Day seeks to highlight the need for women and girls to be at the forefront of reducing risk and managing the world's response to natural hazards.

Visit the IDDR 2012 website

Making disaster risk reduction gender-sensitive: policy and practical guidelines

This publication offers much-needed policy and practical guidelines for national and local governments to further implement the Hyogo Framework for Action. It includes a policy guideline on gender mainstreaming, and practical guidelines on how to institutionalize gender-sensitive risk assessments, implement gender-sensitive early warning systems, and use gender-sensitive indicators to monitor gender mainstreaming progress.

Download the publication

Gender News
Global Platform calls for immediate start on developing targets for risk reduction 23 May 2013
New HFA to ensure women involved in disaster risk management says UNISDR 8 Mar 2013
Thousands to attend Geneva platform on reducing disaster risk 5 Feb 2013

View more UNISDR Gender news

Gender Documents
Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action - Summary of reports 2007-2013 SOURCE: UNISDR 2013
Evidence, monthly UNISDR newsletter: issue 15, February 2013 SOURCE: UNISDR 2013
Building cities resilience to disasters: protecting cultural heritage and adapting to climate change SOURCE: UNISDR EUR; Venice Municipality, Italy - gov 2012