2021 Gender Justice in Disaster conference proceedings

The conference built on the 2018 Diversity in Disaster Conference and brought together international speakers across the critical issues of disaster and emergency management. Applying a gender lens, the conference explored the topics of Aboriginal land management, climate change activism, emergency service organisations in 2021, government initiative, the representation of women in leadership, understanding the LGBTIQA+ community, and violence against women.

AIDR Executive Director, Amanda Leck, participated in the closing panel discussion on Government initiatives for reimagining gender in emergency management. Amanda highlighted the high-level strategic guidance that informs the Australian policy context and the need for that top-down strategy to guide bottom-up, community-led strategies to build disaster resilient communities. The key international framework is the UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction of which Australia is a signatory. One of its guiding principles is that disaster risk reduction requires an all-of-society engagement and partnership. Women and their participation are critical to effectively managing disaster risk and diverse ways of understanding and reducing disaster risk are needed to address disaster risk in all of its components.

Amanda also highlighted the gender elements of the recent Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, noting the role of women, particularly with regard to family violence, the health needs of women and pregnant women in evacuation centres, and the role of Indigenous women in land management.

The Conference placed gender justice at the centre of emergency management and current and emerging environmental and social challenges, while provoking, challenging and engaging attendees to change and incorporate gender justice in their emergency planning and response.

Click here to read more about the conference proceedings.