MSW 521 Module 4: Application Assignment
Module 4: Application Paper: NOTES Gender Vulnerability Applied to Other Populations Chapter 10 (p. 190) Polices programs and practices that are introduced to address disaster or to undertake the
processes of reconstruction are almost universally what Enarson refers to as stubbornly gender-
blind. For example, Australia's emergency recovery plans are described as having a pervasive
gender-blindness demonstrated in statements on diversity within these plans that focused on
factors such as ethnicity and age but disregarded gender (Hazeleeger 2013b: 41).
This benign neglect of the gender implications of disaster policies can have a number of unforeseen consequences, including the re-establishment and reinforcement of gender
inequalities and gender normative behaviors and a failure to adequately sanction hypermasculine
responses such as violence against women. In fact, Enarson 2012) notes the striking disregard for
gender in the context of disasters despite the evident differences in impacts and outcomes.
Yet international research confirms that women's engagement in post-disaster restoration
significantly increased positive outcomes. The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(2007:9) notes that 'attention and resources directed to local, women… tradition cultural
knowledge and expertise produced more efficient, relevant and cost-effective projects.
Social Works Actions
Critical to social work effectiveness in the need to :
Address gender equality:
*Acknowledge and address gendered vulnerability;
*Prioritize gender equality and gender sensitivity in all actions and strategies before, during, and after a
disaster;
*Incorporate women and men in all committees and decision-making bodies in equal numbers; and
*Advocate against policies that discriminate and ensure that resources are equitably distributed.
Social workers can use the IAPPA framework to strengthen gender equality-informed, consult, involve,
collaborate, and empower when acting in disaster sites. This will assist workers to understand who is
included and excluded and act to ensure that marginalized groups are incorporated into practice
actions.
SUMMARY
In this chapter, we have introduced the notion of gender as a critical factor sharpening
vulnerability before, during, and after disasters. Women are far more vulnerable than men in
the context of disasters, a fact that has been reinforced in disaster sites across the world in
both developed and developing countries. Across the world, gender inequalities that are
embedded in diverse cultural contexts lie at the heart of womens disadvantage. Social workers
must be aware of cultural and social practices in the context of disasters to enhance gender
sensitivity in disaster responses and reimagine post-disaster sites as critical spaces to address
gender equality. We can do this through action and practices that acknowledge the rights of
women and girls and destabilise traditional customs that disempower them.
As Enarson 2012: 197) ao notes aptly, without paying attention to gender relations, as one of
the defining characteristics of private and public life, we will not build an exclusive and gender-
responsive approach to emergency management and disaster risk reduction. Attention to
gender in disaster policies and actions is critical to achieving gender equality.
Chapter 11. Vulnerability
Vulnerability is influenced by factors that shape one’s place in the world-gender, education,
employment, access to resources, family structure, sexuality ( Framed by circumstances)
Vulnerability is embedded in complex social relations and processes and is situated squarely at
the human-environment intersection requiring social solutions if successful risk reduction occurs.
This requires an understanding of the complex social and power relation that previously existed
in the affective area,ands the personal factors and life circumstances that will lead to some
people being more vulnerable than others. a vulnerable person might find it difficult to receive
understand or act on information before during or af,ter an emergency. There will be people who
do not receive, understand or work on the information for several of reasons!! Example:
language difficulties, mobility issues,s resources to access information sites.
Particularly vulnerable in a disaster are the homeless. Homeless people may lose their existing
shelter and be overlooked or given a very low priority when displaced people are housed. Before
the disaster, homeless people may not receive early warnings or know where shelters are being
established. In some circumstances, however, homeless people may have benefited from post-
disaster support services. For example, in our research following the Black Saturday fires, a
young person who had left the foster care welfare system with little or no financial support was
now able to access a ready pool of resources, including clothes, food, and accommodation. As he
explained
For the first time, I was not the only person who looked like a dreg, and people didn't look at me
weird when you were in town. People wanted my help because I could carry stuff, I could lift
stuff, and I could drive stuff, and there was always food around, and you could get any clothes
and toiletries that you needed all the time, and no one made you fill out forms or anything for it.
Nonetheless, it is important to address the needs of the homeless and to ensure they are receiving
adequate support.
INTERSECTIONALITY
Intersectionality is the complex cumulative manner in which the effects of different forms of
discrimination combine, overlap, or intersect. Discrimination does not exist in a bubble- different
kinds of prejudice can be amplified in different ways when put together. Certain categories such
as gender, ethnicity, and class will facilitate systems of power that shappeople’se's lives,
advantaging some groups and disadvantaging others, leading to discrimination and oppression.
Intersectionality describes the multiple positions and identities that people can adopt allowing
them to move between different identity markers. (EXAMPLE: from mother to professional
worker; from the old person to a local government representative.)
Intersectionality explains how people prioritize different aspects of their identities and how they
negotiate these identities across time and space and respond to environmental cues.
Intersectionality reminds us to be aware of the many factors that shape vulnerability, both
singularly any contact with each other. At the same time, it reminds us that these categories are
not definitively people’s capacity to adapt and that a strength-based approach will assist people
in moving beyond the disaster experience.