Women, Gender & Disaster Risk Communication

"...Disaster communication must be creative, sensitive to culture and context, and also gender-targeted, based on knowledge of how particular groups of women and men create, receive, interpret and exchange knowledge about hazards and disasters. Women must speak for themselves and be heard."

This Gender Note written by Elaine Enarson for the Gender and Disaster Network (GDN) discusses the challenges presented to disaster risk communicators by gender differences coupled with cultural barriers. It covers talking points and opportunities for action and concludes with research questions, policy guidelines, and practical steps, accompanied by selected resources.

Challenges include the following:

1. Gender stereotyping, e.g., gearing messages toward men as earners with warnings and forecasts and toward women as homemakers with lessons on home preparedness
2. Over-reliance on sophisticated communications systems that fail to reach specific social groups at high risk
   
3. Overly general risk messaging not reflecting the cultural, age, or gender realities of everyday life
   
4. Culturally sensitive risk communication that fails to account for culturally specific gender roles; the dominance of literacy-based and internet-based communication strategies in risk communication when those might not reach both genders
5. Lack of monitoring and evaluation to ensure gender-responsive communication content and media
   
6. Neglect of gendered barriers to knowledge exchange, and women’s capacity to apply the knowledge conveyed
   
7. Lack of engagement of women’s networks in developing, trialling, promoting, and evaluating warnings and awareness systems

Talking points include details on the following:

• Use of men's and women's social networks, roles, and relationships - The gender-based division of labour positions women and men differently within work-related networks in terms of how they receive risk-related information. Women - in particular, senior women -  can be powerful communicators within women's social networks. Women of child-bearing age and pregnant women have specific needs for accurate information about hazards and risks related to reproductive health. Technical and professional skills and wide occupational associations make many men powerful risk communicators. Additionally, they may have decision-making power within families. Differences in media use may affect channels through which messages reach men and women (e.g., sports news may reach men; women's community radio may reach women.)

• Message adaptation for men’s higher tolerance of risk - A barrier to potentially life-saving information for boys, male youth, and adult men may be the gender norms shaping their risk perception and creating a different degree of tolerance for risk. Men's social networks and popular media choices rarely carry risk information, possibly because gender stereotyping deprives males of risk information, particularly on gender-based violence (GBV).

• Gender-based and cultural barriers limit women’s access to information - Media access may be a barrier to women. They have less access to digital resources, and men may control their access to television and radio. Gender norms, work demands, or safety concerns limit the ability of many women to participate in public meetings where information is disseminated. In particular, women at risk may not be reached by different media, e.g. the radio, newspapers, poster campaigns, websites, games, radio, and street theatre. Gender stereotyping can lead to the assumption that men will pass information to women in their households. "Risk communicators needing specific knowledge about gender and communication can partner with local women’s networks to become more informed in particular cultural and hazard contexts."

• Communicating with women can increase family and community resilience - "Women-run radio stations, self-help groups, unions and cooperatives, school newsletters, and women’s centers are under-utilized avenues of communication in disaster risk reduction though these may be vital support systems for women." Women’s roles in family and primary schools position them for two-way risk communication that can lead to effective action, according to this document.

The "Opportunities for Action" section includes cases of gender-focused risk communication. In Cuba, men 18-40 years and housewives were the focus of a campaign using posters, leaflets, radio spots, t-shirts, caps, etc. to change attitudes about swimming in flooded rivers. From Farm Radio International, a dialogue for radio is included in which residents of an area cut off by flooded rivers discuss a prior circumstance when a sports club organised emergency food distribution. This leads to a conversation about organising women and sending radio messages for safety. Also, "Feminist International Radio Endeavor (FIRE) used their networks after Hurricane Stan hit Guatemala to raise funds and increase awareness among women about 'natural' disasters. Women to Women with Affected Communities began [broadcasting] on October 13, 2005, International Day for the Reduction of Natural Disasters.”

Policy guidelines include:

• Include gender outreach and inclusivity in monitoring and evaluation of risk communication systems.
  
• Prioritise the use of non-traditional communication media, especially women-operated and community-based media.
  
• Utilise gender-budgeting in risk communication programmes to track outreach and benefits.
  
• Relate all risk communications to specific cultural groups based on sex- and age-specific data in risk assessments.
  
• Consult gender and communication experts in designing awareness campaigns.
  
• Promote gender awareness among local media professionals through networking and resource exchange.

Practical steps include:

• Identify and support local women and men as community risk educators.
  
• Develop or strengthen capacity in local women’s and community groups to capture and share indigenous knowledge.
  
• Identify and consult with local women from different social locations and language groups to trial risk messaging.
  
• Partner with local women’s/men’s groups to trial gender-focused messages.
  
• Materially support local women’s community radio stations, street theatre groups, and related activities.
  
• Support gender awareness through in-house trainings for local media representatives.