Prevention of violence against women and girls is a critical strategy for disaster management

• The problem: During and after disasters or emergencies, women and girls are at greater risk of experiencing violence.

• Why it matters: Violence has devastating short and long-term consequences on women's physical and mental health, as well as sexual reproductive health and wellbeing, not to mention the ripple effect for families, communities, wider society and the economy.

• The solution: It is critical that disaster preparedness, response and recovery plans integrate VAWG prevention and response — and place women at the centre of policy change, solutions and recovery.

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports have shown that all types of violence against women and girls has intensified.”

Disasters and emergencies disproportionately affect women and girls

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti on Aug. 14, 2021 that left at least 2,200 people dead, more than 12,200 injured and tens of thousands displaced, concerns are rising around the potential for an increase in violence against women and girls (VAWG). Reports indicate an increase in violent crimes against women and children in Haiti between September 2020 and February 2021. This disaster, paired with the COVID-19 pandemic, will only worsen existing vulnerabilities. Violence has devastating short- and long-term consequences on women's physical and mental health, as well as sexual reproductive health and wellbeing, not to mention the ripple effect for families, communities, wider society and the economy. Haiti and various countries around the world are still grappling with the increased levels of violence following previous disasters and the current pandemic.

Increases in the prevalence of various forms of violence, such as rape and other sexual assault, physical assault, psychological and emotional abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking, have been documented across the globe, particularly post disasters. When Haiti previously experienced an earthquake in 2010, the unsafe living conditions contributed to VAWG in resettlement camps. Increased intimate partner violence (IPV) levels have also been reported following the Gizo tsunami in the Solomon Islands, Hurricane Katrina in the USA, and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami affecting Sri Lanka and other countries. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports have shown that all types of violence against women and girls has intensified. This Shadow Pandemic is growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

Drivers and risk factors for violence are heightened in crisis settings. This uptick in violence in the wake of disasters is typically a result of increased stress and feelings of powerlessness due to financial concerns, bereavement, mental health issues related to trauma and breakdown of law enforcement, and disruptions to services and support, among others. Resources that may have been used on violence prevention interventions and other social support programmes are diverted to injuries, infectious diseases and the provision of basic needs.

“Including women in recovery efforts has been proven to help reduce stereotypes, gender inequalities and discrimination related to women’s roles and unequal power dynamics between men and women.”

How to implement VAWG prevention in disaster response

There should be zero tolerance for VAWG before, during and after disasters, and preventing and responding to increased incidents of VAWG should be given high priority by all key institutions in the context of disasters. While many countries have disaster preparedness plans in place, these often lack VAWG prevention and response strategies. Women can help identify disaster risks that may not be understood by male policymakers. Therefore, countries should ensure that women and girls are at the centre of disaster preparedness and recovery policy change and solution design, especially grassroots women’s and community-based organizations that provide essential services to hard-to-reach, remote and vulnerable populations.

Disasters and emergencies can reinforce or intensify existing inequitable gender norms and practices, which are underlying factors for violence. However, disasters can also disrupt previous ways of life, which provides a small window of opportunity to shift community norms to promote equitable attitudes and behaviours. Including women in recovery efforts has been proven to help reduce stereotypes, gender inequalities and discrimination related to women’s roles and unequal power dynamics between men and women. After the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador, UN-supported programmes that targeted increasing women’s involvement in running resettlement camps, a typically male-dominated role, reported a reduction in VAWG, believed to be due to women being more financially empowered, as well as more emboldened to control the spaces they occupied. UN Women works with governments and humanitarian groups in the Pacific to integrate gender and protection concerns into disaster preparedness and response to ensure that humanitarian assistance promotes women’s safety, dignity, equality and empowerment.

It is critical that disaster risk management and recovery plans, at a minimum, include measures to comprehensively address VAWG through policy and legislation before, during and after disasters. Plans must ensure the participation of various sectors and stakeholders and include guidelines for prevention and response to VAWG in emergencies. Adequate funding should be allocated for the implementation of the plans and to support specialist services, including services offered by women’s rights and community-based organizations— especially for the most marginalized and vulnerable populations — to prevent violence from reoccurring.

VAWG as a preventable disaster: Hurricane Mitch

Community mobilisation and awareness-raising campaigns are equally useful to address discriminatory norms and practices. They can inform residents about how to report acts of violence, what services are available and where they can go for care. In 1998, after Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua, the women’s rights organization, Puntos de Encuentro Foundation, designed and promoted a nationwide campaign; Violence Against Women: A Disaster Men CAN Prevent. The campaign addressed IPV, educated the community on the negative impacts of VAWG, and provided men with anger management strategies and tips for peaceful conflict resolution. An evaluation of the campaign reported a change in men’s perception towards VAWG, specifically an increase in their belief that they could avoid violence, as well as their belief that VAWG is as destructive as disasters and can hinder progress at the community level.

Finally, there is still an absence of data on the impact of disasters on VAWG, particularly in less developed parts of the globe. In addition to prevention and response efforts, it is critical to collect sex-disaggregated data to better inform response, while ensuring that any efforts to collect this data do not put women and girls at greater risk of violence.

Conclusion

VAWG tends to increase after disasters and in emergencies. Programmes and initiatives to address VAWG before, during and after disasters must be comprehensive, encompassing response efforts, and prevention programmes. Prevention is most effective when addressing the root causes of VAWG, such as gender inequality and gender-based discrimination, and the discriminatory social norms and harmful stereotypes that perpetuate such violence.

Interventions to prevent or respond to VAWG, particularly as part of disaster responses, should include precautions above and beyond routine risk assessment to guarantee no harm is caused.

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