Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Guide on gender and disaster launched at conference

Posted at 22:51 on 23 September, 2012 UTC

A new guide for disaster managers outlines how to take into account the different needs of women and men.

The guide, called ’Integrating Gender in Disaster Management in Small Island Development States’, was launched during the annual Pacific Platform in Noumea.

One of the authors, Jacinda Fairholm says it is intended for use in both the Pacific and the Caribbean and includes a series of checklists covering five areas.

“It looks at risk reduction, mitigation, response, relief and recovery, so the different phases of the disaster management cycle, and it asks a series of questions. So it asks, for example, have the shelters of vulnerable groups, have they taken into consideration that there might be unaccompanied children of female-headed households.”