GBA+ and Emergency Preparedness

Domestic & caring duties

Socially constructed gender roles continue to assign domestic and care-giving duties to women.

During an emergency, women are often expected to assume the resulting increased domestic duties.

First responders

Gender norms place both women and men at high risk as first responders in an emergency.

Men dominate the firefighting profession and thus are at greater risk of work-related injuries caused by hazardous materials and fires.

Women dominate the nursing profession and thus are at greater risk in the event of a pandemic such as the SARS outbreak in 2005.

Violence

Violence against women is known to increase during and after emergency situations and disasters, when fewer safety options are available.

Response to Warnings

Gender norms in society – such as men's reduced risk perception and heightened sense of independence – can also compromise men and their families.

Shelter

In an emergency, where people have been displaced or houses have been destroyed, shelter is especially important for providing safety and protection and for sustaining family and community life.

Shelters are often not set up to provide the full range of services required by a variety of groups such as women, men, children, the elderly, those from different ethnic groups or people with disabilities.

Isolation

Unless mechanisms are in place to respond to diverse, often invisible, needs, some women and men can become isolated and more at risk during an emergency.