Women rebuilding lives post-disaster: innovative community practices for building resilience and promoting sustainable development
Summary (2 min read)
Introduction
- Disasters such as floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and hurricanes result in devastating effects on people, economies, and the environment.
- Climate change, population growth, patterns of economic development, pollution, increased urbanisation, unsustainable development, andwidening social andeconomicdisparities have contributed toa recentdramatic increase in global disaster events.
- Altruistic humanitarian impulses are also stymied through national self-interest, as has occurred in climate change discussions.
- The article then presents key points from the research into women’s experience from the two study contexts.
Understanding resilience
- The authors research partnership is contributing to a more nuanced understanding of resilience in post-disaster contexts designed to better understand human society–environment interactions, primarily based on social action and social justice approaches.
- According to Ungar, resilience is both the capacity of individuals to navigate their way to the psychological, social, cultural and physical resources that build and sustain their well-being, and their individual Julie Drolet et al.
- Gender & Development Vol. 23, No. 3, 2015 435 and collective capacity to negotiate for these resources to be provided in culturally meaningful ways.
- The role of ‘social capital’ (that is, relations of mutual support between neighbours, friends, community groups, and other social networks) is considered by Robin Ersing (2012) as a means to enhance community resilience.
- Recent social work approaches to disasters also highlight the importance of environmental justice, arguing that this is integral to social justice, and the realisation of human rights and sustainable development (Dominelli 2012).
Linking DRR to sustainable development
- Under the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, governments have sought to increase resilience capacity by focusing on community-based disaster risk reduction , and linking this to the Sustainable Development Goals that have replaced the Millennium Development Goals.
- Critically, when the authors examined the common factors arising from their research in the case-study sites, they noted that life-stage and structural factors, including taken-forgranted gendered patterns and practices, shape particular vulnerabilities for women.
- From their role in maintaining the home environment to rebuilding the community, the study shows the vulnerability and capability of women in post-disaster activities.
- And the difficulties involved in conforming to norms of seclusion, women attempted to adhere to these norms wherever possible.
Case study 2: Hurricanes in Volusia County, Florida, USA
- As suggested at the start of the article, resilience has individual and collective dimensions, and individuals respond to, and recover from, disasters within an environmental and social context.
- A focus group session was held with affected women who spoke limited English, and Julie Drolet et al.
- During the focus group, members of the migrant labourer community spoke of the strength found within their collective actions to unite and support each other during the early stages of disaster recovery.
Notes
- 2 The Australian bushfires occurred in the state of Victoria on 7 February 2009 and is the single largest disaster to occur in Australia during peacetime since Federation.
- Thousands of people were deeply affected by the traumatic experience of the Black Saturday bushfires that resulted in 173 people losing their lives, over 2,000 homes lost, and 78 towns impacted.
- The Australian country team conducted research in partnership with affected communities in 2013–14 to learn about their experiences.
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Cites background from "Women rebuilding lives post-disaste..."
...Most researchers would identify gender as a universal variable affecting resilience, with the status and empowerment of women seen as an indicator of vulnerability (low female status) or resilience (higher female status) (see for example Drolet et al., 2015; Smyth & Sweetman, 2015)....
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...The study also found that women’s workloads increased after flooding as they took on ‘men’s’ work in the fields as well as their traditional activities in the home (Drolet et al., 2015)....
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...Drolet et al. (2015) noted that the specific role and status of women is context-specific and cannot be assumed....
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...For example, in a study of migrant farm workers in a rural community in Florida, researchers found that non-English-speaking migrant workers were overlooked by official agencies, and that migrant women in particular were isolated (Drolet et al., 2015)....
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...Drolet et al. (2015) noted that the specific role and status of women is context-specific and cannot be assumed. They also highlight that gender is intertwined with other variables such as age, education, disability, poverty and language, meaning that the resilience of women in any situation will be nuanced. For example, in a study of migrant farm workers in a rural community in Florida, researchers found that non-English-speaking migrant workers were overlooked by official agencies, and that migrant women in particular were isolated (Drolet et al., 2015). Morchain et al. (2015) also point out that researchers and aid workers can meet resistance when working with local communities....
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References
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"Women rebuilding lives post-disaste..." refers background in this paper
...(Ungar 2013, 17) This understanding of resilience goes beyond an individual notion, to a more relational and holistic approach....
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