a pocket guide to gender and diversity in emergencies

A Pocket Guide To Gender and Diversity in Emergencies Quality, Impact and Accountability

2 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

• Disastersaffectpeoplefromallwalksoflife.

• Wearealldiverse.Weeachhavedifferent:status, languageabilities,age,abilities,andliteracylevels.Thesealsoimpactourneeds,strengthsandaccesstodecision-making.Afteradisaster,somepeoplecopebetterthanothers.

• Often(intheearlyphaseofanemergency)wenameanumberof “people” affected. But “people” comprisemen, women,boysandgirls–whoallexperiencedCyclonePamdifferently.

• Example:Experienceshowsusthatwomenarelesslikelytoreceiveearlywarningmessagespriortoadisaster,andarethereforemoreatriskofbeingkilledthanmeninemer-gencies.Why?Earlywarningmessagesmight not havebeendeliveredtowomenbecausethemeetingswereonwhenwomenwereengagedinchildcare.Byperformingagenderanddiversityanalysiswecanimproveourwork,bemoreaccountableandmakesurethatourmessagesaboutdisasterareaccountableandrelevant.

• Inorder to implementaquality,accountableemergency re-sponse–wemustallhaveabasicunderstandingofwhoisaffectedandwhy.

• ASK: what are the different needs of women, men, boys,girls,olderpeople,peoplewithdisabilities,pregnantwomen,womenwhohavesurvivedsexualviolence?

• Ifyouhaveasked thesequestions,youarealreadydoingagenderanddiversityanalysis.

• Genderanddiversityanalysis iseasy. It isalsoessential. Ithelpsus identify andaddressneedand inequalities, sowecanassistpeopletobuildtheirlivesbackbetter.

The basics of gender and diversity analysis

3A pocket guide to Gender, Age and Diversity in EmergenciesQuality, Impact and Accountability

A = ASSESSMENT TEAM

• GUARANTEEGENDERBALANCEinassessmentteams

• SPEAK DIRECTLY with affected women, men, boys andgirls (separately ifneeded)about theirneeds,andpriorities.Activelyseektoreachpeoplewithadisability,olderpeople,pregnantandlactatingwomen.

• PLANconsultsattimesandvenueswhenmen,andwomen,willbeabletoattend.

• RECORDwheremenandwomenanswerdifferently

• COLLECTANDRECORDdatabrokendownbyageandsex(avoidgenerictermslike“people”and“household”asthesedonotassistinanalysingvulnerabilitycriteria)

A = ASK

• WHOisaffected?(sex,age,location)

• WHATarethespecificneedsandprioritiesofmenandwom-en,boysandgirls?(listsome)

• HOWarepeoplecopingwiththesituation?WHOisnotcop-ingwell?(age,gender,geographiclocation)

• WHOowns,accessesandcontrolsresources?(gender,age,class,status)

• WHO participates in decision-making? (therefore list whodoesnotparticipate)

• HOWcanyoupromoteparticipation in leadership/decision-makingofthosewhoarelessrepresented?

Rapid gender and diversity assessment – ‘‘the triple A’’ approach


• WHICHlocalorganisations/associationsalreadyexisttohelppeople inneed (disabilitysupportgroups,domesticviolenceservices,men’scivilsocietygroups)?(Makecontact)

A = ANALYSE THE FINDINGS RAPIDLY

• REFLECTontheassessment(wasitdoneadequatelyandinaconsultativeway?)

• REVIEW and REASSESS your priorities based on theinformation

• DESIGNyourassistancebasedonthepriorities

• FEEDBACKassessmentoutcomestothecommunity

• SHAREdataonthespecificneeds,vulnerabilities,capacitiesofmen,women,boysandgirls


• ENSUREanequalbalanceofmaleand femalestafforvol-unteers are helping in emergency shelters (or recruit morevolunteerstomeetthegenderbalanceneeds)

• CONSULT women, men, boys and girls (including peoplewith disability and the elderly) in shelter design. Ask abouttheirdistinctneedsforsafetyandprivacy.

• USEtheassessmentapproachinthisbookletforshelterpro-grammingandprojectdesignandmonitoring

• APPOINT evacuation centre committee or a shelter designcommitteethatincludesbothwomenandmen.Thiscommit-teewillassisttomonitorsafety,privacyconcerns,protectionconcernsandcommunityfeedback.

• APPOINT a gender balanced shelter design team. Consultmen,womenandchildrenaboutwhattheyneedinashelter.

• ASKaboutwhoownsthe landandensure thatyouarenotaskingwomen to return to the landsof their ex-partners inordertoliveinashelter

• LIAISE with protection actors regarding whether discrimi-natory landownershippoliciesexist – suchasexclusionofwomenfromallocationofplotsofland

• MAKEarrangementsforlighting,locksandprivacypartitionsandotherphysicalsecuritymeasures.

• LIAISEwithWASHandProtectionteamstoensurethatsani-tarymaterialsareprovidedtowomenandgirlsbasedonwhattheyneed(askasamplegroup)andinshelter/latrinedesignPROVIDEsomewhereprivatefordisposalofsanitarywaste.

Shelter


• CONSIDER vulnerability in distributions – consider how toreach not only male headed households, but also women,elderlypeople,peoplewhomayhavetroubleaccessingdistri-bution.Alsoidentifywhomightneedadditionaltrainingtousetools and sheltermaterials (e.g. tailor assistance towomenheadsofhousehold,topeoplewithdisabilitiesoranyonewhoisnotnormallyengagedinconstructionroles).

• IMPLEMENT a confidential complaints mechanism whichallowsALLpeople to registercomplainsaboutexistingser-vices/staff,andtorequestadditionalortargetedassistance


• ENSURE a gender balancedWASH team. Include at leastone woman in any team that is in regular contact withcommunities.

EMERGENCY SANITATION

• CONSULT representativesofthefollowinggroups:men(of-tenresponsibleformaintenanceandrepairs),women(needsdifferforpregnancyandmenstruatingwomen),childrenandtheircaretakers,disabled,elderly.Youmayneed toconsultseparatelyandidentifytimesandvenuesthatmenandwom-enwillbeabletoaccess.

• CONSIDER operation and maintenance from the start, in-cludinghandwashingfacilities.

• DESIGNemergencysanitation toensurebestdignity forallwomen,men,boysandgirls,andconsultaffectedpeopleon:location, segregationofmale/female facilities, signage indi-catingmale/femaletoilets,screeningnearlatrinedoors,num-beroffemalevsmalelatrines(SPHEREindicates3:1femaletomale ratio), existingpractices (squatting/sitting/cleaning),distance/access issues, internal locks (are they suitable forchildren, disabled?), lighting for safety, handrails inside la-trines,largerstructuresforwheelchairaccess,handwashingsuitableforall,disposalandcareofsanitarywaste.

• MONITORbyobservationandconsultationusingAssessmentandMonitoringsectionofthisthispocketguide.


Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)


EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY

• CONSULTwithwomen(theyareoftenresponsibleforman-agingwatersources)andwithmen(theyareoftenresponsibleformaintenanceandrepairofwatersupply).Itmaybeappro-priatetoconsultseparately.SeeAssessmentandMonitoringsectionofthispocketguide.

• DESIGNprogrambasedonconsultationwithwomen,men,boysandgirlsandconsider:distancetowaterpoint(isitac-cessible toelderly,disabled), securityatwaterpoint (not inanareadeemedunsafebyanymembersofthecommunity),access(arepathssuitableforallusers),lighting(andsafety),sizeandvolumeofwatercontainers(cantheybecarriedbyallusers).

• TAKEspecialmeasurestoadaptaccesstowaterbasedontheneedsofelderlyanddisabledheadsofhousehold.

• MONITORbyobservationandconsultationusingAssessmentandMonitoringsectionofthisthispocketguide.


HYGIENE PROMOTION IN EMERGENCIES

• DEVELOP gender sensitivehygienepromotionmessages –takingaccountofmenstrualhygieneforexample.

• MAKE hygiene promotion activities available to allwomen,men,boysandgirls,includingthroughdiscussionswithmenandwomenseparately.

• GENDERBALANCEinhygieneteamsisessential.


• RECRUITstaffandvolunteersinamannerthatwilldiscour-agesexualexploitationandabuse(suchaspolicechecks)

• ENSURE all staff and volunteers are briefed on (and havesigned and understood) the Code of Conduct. Sexual vio-lenceandassaultarecrimesundernationallaw.

• LINK with protection teams to establish how youwill refersurvivors/victims of gender based violence to healthcare,counsellingand/orlegalservices

• SENSITISEyourvolunteersandstafftoidentifysignsofsex-ualexploitationandabuse,andensurethattheyareawareofthecorrectproceduretorefervictimsofallformsofgender-basedviolence tohealthcare,psychological andsocial ser-vices(SEEreferralinformationinbackofthisbooklet)


• ENSURE thatsurvivorsofgenderbasedviolencehavesafeandconfidentialaccesstoshelter

• ENSURE that sexual violence related health services andcommunity based psychological and social support is pro-vided for survivors. Remember, you are not a counsellor,you should refer survivors of gender based violence to lo-calsupportnetworksratherthanprovideimprovisedsupportyourself.

• PROVIDEcommunitymemberswithinformationaboutavail-ablepsychologicalandsocialservicesforsurvivorsofgenderbased violence – including information about services thatsupportchildren,peoplewithdisabilities,theelderly.Youmayneedtoprovidesuchinformationtomenandwomensepa-rately,oftenconfidentially.

Gender Based Violence


ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

PresidentandBoardMembers(nationalandbranchlevel)

• AreresponsibleandBoardMembersatnationalandbranchleveltoput inplacepoliciesrelatedtogender,childprotec-tion,diversityinclusion,andacodesofconductagainstsex-ualexploitationandabuse.

SecretaryGeneral

• Isresponsibleforensuringthatthesepoliciesareimplement-ed inallprojects,programsandservices.As leadersof theRedCross, it is essential thatmembers and volunteers areawareandunderstand these issuesandactas rolemodelsfortheseprinciples.

Teamleader

• ItistheTeamLeader’sresponsibilitytolead,implementandmonitoronplannedgenderanddiversitysensitiveactivities

• Recruitbothmaleandfemalestaffandvolunteersandassignapersontobriefvolunteersonthe7FundamentalPrinciples,theCodeofConductandGender/Diversityanalysis

Staffandvolunteers

• EnsureyouhavesignedtheCodeofConduct(ifyouhavenotbeenpresentedwithit,youcanaskforit)

• Askforinformationaboutgenderanddiversityanalysis

• Knowthatyoucanreferpeopletootherservices-seebelowforlocalreferralinformation(ornoteit)


Referral information

Port Vila

Other areas


Forfurtherinformation,pleasecontact:

InternationalFederation ofRedCrossRedCrescentSocieties

AsiaPacificZoneoffice The Ampwalk, Suite 10.02 (North Block) 218 Jalan Ampang 50450, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: +60 3 9207 5700 Fax: +60 3 2161 0670

P.O. Box 372CH-1211 Geneva 19SwitzerlandTelephone: +41 22 730 4222Telefax: +41 22 733 0395E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.ifrc.org

a pocket guide to gender and diversity in emergencies

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