Rethinking our approach to gender and disasters: Needs, responsibilities, and solutions

Abstract

Objective: To explore how the existing literature has discussed the vulnerability and needs of women in a disaster context. It will consider the literature's suggestions of how to minimize vulnerability and address the needs of women, including who involved in emergency management should be responsible for such efforts.

Design: Empirical journal articles and book chapters from disaster literature were collected that focused on "women" or "gender," and their results and recommendations were analyzed.

Results: This review found existing empirical research on women during disasters focuses on their vulnerabilities more than their needs. Second, when researchers do suggest solutions, they tend not to be comprehensive or supported by empirical evidence. Finally, it is not clear from existing research who is responsible for addressing these needs and implementing solutions.

Conclusions: Future research should study the intersection of gender and disasters in terms of needs and solutions including who is responsible for implementing solutions.