This document discusses gender issues related to climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and management. It emphasizes the need for gender mainstreaming in policies and programs to address these issues. Specifically, it highlights how climate-related hazards and disasters disproportionately impact women. It also recognizes women's important roles and skills in disaster management. The document calls for addressing gender inequality through actions like collecting gender-disaggregated data and ensuring women's participation in leadership and decision-making. It provides information on relevant international and national policies, including the Sustainable Development Goals and Philippines laws on gender mainstreaming.
8. GENDER ISSUES IN DRRM
4) Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery
Limitations of lack of gender-
disaggregated national data on
climate-related hazards and disastersMultiple burden of women is
intensified
11. SDGs
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and
empower all women and girls
Target 5.1. End all forms of discrimination against all
women and girls everywhere
Target 5.2. Eliminate all forms of violence against all
women and girls
Target 5.3. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child,
early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
12. SDGs
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and
empower all women and girls
Target 5.4. Recognize and value unpaid care and
domestic work
Target 5.5. Ensure women’s full and effective
participation in leadership and decision-making
Target 5.6. Ensure universal access to sexual and
reproductive health and reproductive rights
14. Chapter VI: Institutional Mechanisms
Chapter VI: Institutional Mechanisms
Gender Mainstreaming as a strategy
to implement the MCW (Sec. 37)
- All government agencies, offices, bureaus,
instrumentalities, SUCs, GOCCs, and LGUs
shall pursue the ADOPTION OF GENDER
MAINSTREAMING AS A STRATEGY to
promote and fulfill women's human rights
and eliminate gender discrimination in their
systems, structures, policies, programs,
processes, and procedures
16. “Let us challenge the
common image of
women as victims in
disasters and focus on
women’s management
capacities and skills (in
disaster management).”
-Remedios I. Rikken
18. ThankThank
you!you!
Philippine Commission on
Women (PCW)
1145 J. P. Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila
1005
Telephone Numbers: +632.7354955,
735.1654 local 125-6
Fax Number: +632.7364449
Email Addresses: edo@pcw.gov.ph,
exec.dir@pcw.gov.ph
Website: www.pcw.gov.ph
18
Notas del editor
Women are more likely than men to be affected by climate change and disasters.
Global Context
Globally, 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women (UN, 2018).
While both men and women suffer from hazards and the impacts of environmental change, girls and women continue to be more negatively affected as evidenced by high mortality and morbidity rate among this vulnerable group:
In a study sample of 141 countries from 1981-2002, it was found that female life expectancy is systematically more adversely affected by natural disasters than that of men (Neumeyer and Plümper, 2007);
During natural disasters, women and children are 14 times more likely to die than are men (Peterson, 1997);
The mortality rate of women increased five times and accounted for 90 percent of the 140, 000 people killed compared to that of men in the Bangladesh cyclone and flood in 1991 (Rohr, 2006);
In the same disaster, women aged 20-44 years had the mortality rate of 71 per 1000 whereas men within the same age range had the rate of only 15 per 1000 (Aguilar, 2006 as cited by Rahman, 2013);
61 percent of the deaths in Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar; 55-70 percent of Banda Aceh tsunami deaths, including in Kuala Cangoy, which was one of the most affected districts in the North Aceh, Indonesia, with an 80 percent female fatality rate (WEDO, 2008);
and more than 70 percent Asian tsunami female deaths in 2004 (Soroptomist International of the Americas, 2008).
Water and Poverty
- Uneven distribution of income, control over property or income and access to productive inputs (such as credit), decision-making resources and water resources, rights and entitlements that often favor men in opposition to women.
Sanitation and Hygiene
-Absence of sanitary latrines affects women such as the following:
Women are sexually assaulted or attacked when they go into the open to defecate and urinate.
When women have to wait until dark to defecate and urinate in the open they tend to drink less during the day, resulting in all kinds of health problems such as urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Water and Agriculture
Technologies used in the irrigation are not gender-sensitive that many women farmers found the water pumps in use too costly and not easy to operate or manage
Other Water-Related Gender Issues
During drought periods limited water available for personal hygiene affects women’s ability to bath regularly, particularly during menstruation
Limited access to sanitation after floods compels many women, especially the elderly, to eat and drink less to avoid going through the arduous task of finding a safe place for defecation or urination, leading to an increased incidence of UTI related diseases
Marginalized rural women, face additional sexual harassment, when fetching water
UN Habitat (2015) noted that “early warning systems, where these exist, are most often designed by men, often without consideration of whether they are effective for transmitting warnings to women” (p. 4).
Women are often not aware of early warning messages that could protect their lives.
Women have less access to resources including money, social networks and influence, transportation, information, education (including literacy), skills, control over land and other economic resources, personal mobility, secure housing and employment, freedom from violence and control over decision-making.
Most DRR policies, plans and projects make no reference to gender issues and have limited gender databases.
Gender-Based Violence
The Norwegian Refugee Council, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre conducted a survey on the impacts of Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in 2012. The study revealed that women and girls were at risk of gender-based violence (GBV), engaging in transactional sex, and being trafficked.
According to Bhandari (2013, as cited by The Brookings Institution, 2013), following Tropical Storm Bopha, reports came to light on the presence of “recruiters” in some typhoon-stricken villages promising women work as domestic help in the Middle East, and a reported rise in some instances in the number of women taking up this offer.
Although specific questions on sexual violence were not included in the conducted Norwegian Refugee Council and Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre survey, the issue on gender-based violence was raised by women themselves during the FGD stating that these have occurred and still occurring in the emergency shelters (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
Oxfam (2014) reported that despite the lack of comprehensive data, there are actual cases and anecdotal data gathered on the occurrence of gender-based violence, human trafficking and prostitution after typhoon Haiyan in Western, Eastern and Central Visayas.
Gender Division of Labor
During disasters, multiple burden of women is intensified and unpaid working hours are lengthened. Supporting this, Abarquez and Parreño (2014, p. 51) noted that compared with men, it is the women who are more burdened by multiple concerns – from their household needs to mobilizing whatever resources available so that her family could eat.
In a study conducted by Oxfam (2014), the women interviewed from Leyte, Eastern Samar and Northern Cebu who were all victims of typhoon Haiyan shared that the housework has intensified and it takes longer, more complicated and difficult after the typhoon.
Women are less able to access jobs available in the aftermath of disasters because they need to look after their children and there is no access to safe or reliable childcare. In a study conducted by Oxfam (2014), it was reported that when the EFSVL Team Leader in Daanbantayan shared a discussion with women on improving fish vending business to cope economically with the aftermaths of Haiyan, the women preferred to retain their stalls at home or through vending within their communities than having a stall in the market due to their roles at home that cannot be left undone.
productive work as an option for women to reestablish the family’s livelihood is limited by the lack of available employment for them and that men, being the heads of households, are more prioritized by many disaster aid agencies (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
If there are available paid work opportunities for women, these are “usually extensions of their reproductive roles and low-paying such as cooking and laundry work or inaccessible to many women because of their lack of skills” and would not be participated in by women due to violence against them and cultural limitations (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014, p.51).
Gender-Based Discrimination in Access to Aid, Shelters and other Resources
Since husbands are assigned by social norms as heads of the families, relief aid, cash assistance or credit and other resources are often extended only in their names and can result to female headed households being overlooked or relief goods not reaching the target beneficiaries thereby increasing women’s vulnerability and reinforcing their already low status (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014; Schwoebel and Menon, 2004).
The neglect of gender and different-ability dimension when distributing relief goods and commodities which, favors men, as they have greater physical ability to have first access to these commodities (for instance, in the scramble for relief goods dropped by air), adversely affecting women heads of households, the elderly and differently-abled
Gender-blind relief efforts result to neglect of women and girls survivors’ gender-specific needs such as reproductive health services, privacy and protection from gender-based violence in temporary shelters and refugee camps, separate latrines for women and men in public buildings, women and children-friendly water pumps, sanitation and hygiene supplies, child-care support to allow mothers to reach relief centers, among others, making them more negatively affected by the distressing health and hygienic conditions in temporary shelters.
Health
Breastfeeding, menstruating and pregnant women (especially those in the final stages of pregnancy as they are less mobile) are at an increased risk of compromising their health in refugee camps and temporary shelters.
Inadequate services on sexual health, family planning and HIV/AIDS may result to unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections during disasters (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
Men being stereotyped as tough and possessing emotional strength can result to: 1) their denial of stress and trauma caused by losses of loved ones or material goods in a disaster, or 2) dissuade them from seeking psychosocial support, which may have an implication on their mental and/or their physical health (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
This has become a gender issue due to the absence or inadequacy of psychosocial services available for and accessible to men, whether in evacuation centers or outside (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
Multiple burden of women is intensified since women’s reproductive and community work is extended.
Dictated by gender roles, women also have to provide moral support to depressed family members following a disaster while being pressured to engage in productive work to help support the family’s needs and at the same time engaging in unpaid community work as they are the ones often mobilized to volunteer for DRRM activities, while men are more likely to be active if there is some compensation involved.
According to Abarquez and Parreño (2014), in the Philippines, there are limitations of lack of gender-disaggregated national data on disasters and that there is no gender-disaggregated data found on the number of lives lost or missing in the recent super typhoons in the country.
Based on the final national progress report of the Philippines on the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2013-2015) concerning the availability of gender disaggregated data and if these are being applied to decision-making for risk reduction and recovery activities, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (2015) revealed that “there are some gender disaggregated data but not consciously used in the planning process” (p.53).
When asked if gender concerns inform policy and program conceptualization and implementation in a meaningful and appropriate way, it was reported that, generally, there is low utilization of gender-disaggregated data in the country. As stated: “many regions report that there are attempts to disaggregate, following from national directive, but some difficulties are encountered” (NDRRMC, 2015, p. 53).
UN-CEDAW
The CEDAW does not have specific disaster-related provisions. However, it specifically addresses the rights of women and girls at the international level and imposes 185 state parties obligations to eliminate many forms of discrimination that women face and achieve substantive equality critical in reducing women’s vulnerabilities to disasters and increasing their capabilities (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA)
Similar with the CEDAW, the BPfA does not have a specific discussion on disasters, however, its specific section on Women and Environment can be significant relative to gender and DRRM. In this section, hazards and disasters were mentioned in relation to environmental degradation and disasters which affect all human lives. These often have a more direct impact on women’s livelihoods, health and overall security, thus, further investigation on the role of women and the environment was recommended (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
Sustainable Development Goal No. 5:
The SDGs does NOT have a specific action target that emphasizes strengthening the role of women and girls in the context of disaster risk reduction and management. However, gender mainstreaming in DRRM relates to Sustainable Development Goal No. 5, the stand-alone gender goal, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by including six targets that highlight the key issues hindering women and girls from achieving gender equality:
Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere;
Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation;
Target 5.3: Eliminate harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations;
Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate;
Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life; and
Target 5.6: ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.
LGU as frontline institution has the primary responsibility in the implementation of the SDG-responsive programs
LGUs are enjoined to realign their PPAs and increase budget allocation ; integrate SDGs in Local Development Plan
Paris Climate Agreement
Paris must deliver an ambitious and equitable agreement that keeps warming below the 1.5°C threshold, supports just climate action, respects the human rights of all people, and ensures gender equality at its core, as a guiding mandate.
Target 5.1. End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
Target 5.2. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
Target 5.3. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
Target 5.4. Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
Target 5.5. Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
Target 5.6. Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 (RA 10121)
The RA 10121, which draws from the standards of the Hyogo Framework for Action in its conceptualization of disasters and disaster risk reduction, explicitly mandates the promotion of principles of gender equality in all aspects of DRRM. operations.
Section 2 (Declaration of Policy) under the DRRM Law provides that the State shall “ensure that disaster risk reduction and climate change measures are gender responsive” (Section 2 (j)) and shall make mandatory that gender analysis should be part of post-disaster and early recovery needs assessments (Section 9 (m)) and practical needs of women addressed (Section 12 (c -16)).
In Section 5(w) and Section 11(a-7), respectively, the law mandates The Philippine Commission on Women to sit in the national and local councils for DRRM. Lastly, Section 12 outlines that part of the responsibilities of the local DRRM offices is to (p. 45):
(16) Respond to and manage the adverse effects of emergencies and carry out recovery activities in the affected area, ensuring that there is an efficient mechanism for immediate delivery of food, shelter and medical supplies for women and children, endeavor to create a special place where internally-displaced mothers can find help with breastfeeding, feed and care for their babies and give support to each other.
Climate Change Act of 2009 (RA 9729)
Signed in 2009, The Climate Change Act (RA 9729) created the Climate Change Commission, an agency “tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change.” Similar with RA 10121, it has gender-related provisions and stated that “the government shall take into consideration gender-sensitive, pro-children, and pro-poor perspective as an input to its climate change efforts, plans, and programs.”
The Climate Change Act also recognizes the vulnerability of women to the issues arising from climate change, including natural disasters, and promotes gender sensitivity in its approaches (Section 2 on the Declaration of Policy, para. 3).
Most importantly, the law identifies gender mainstreaming as one of the key components in framework strategy and program (Section 12), and plans (Section 13) (Abarquez and Parreño, 2014).
The National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) 2011-2028 also recognizes gender mainstreaming as a cross cutting strategy that shall be given attention.
Gender mainstreaming in the NCCAP is about ensuring that the concerns and experiences of women and men are an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated.
Magna Carta of Women
Also….
Magna Carta of Women’s Section 10 also provides that “women have the right to protection and security in times of disasters, calamities, and other crisis situations especially in all phases of relief, recovery, rehabilitation, and construction efforts…the State shall also address the particular needs of women from a gender perspective to ensure their full protection from sexual exploitation and other sexual and gender-based violence committed against them”.
Cross-cutting strategies which include gender mainstreaming on the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change will help achieve the key results areas in Climate Change Action.
The National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) 2011-2028 also recognizes gender mainstreaming as a cross cutting strategy that shall be given attention.
Gender mainstreaming in the NCCAP is about ensuring that the concerns and experiences of women and men are an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated.
Within the NCCAP, the gender is a cross-cutting issue and will be particularly highlighted in the following areas:
Research and Development
Planning and Policy Making
Knowledge and Capacity Development
Enhancing Women’s Participation in Climate Change Adaptation
Gender is also mainstreamed in the Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP).
However, based on the latest assessment of NCCAP done by Climate Change Commission, gender mainstreaming in the NCAAP is not properly implemented.
1) In the Municipality of San Francisco in Camotes Island, Cebu, 90% of officers in charge of environmental protection and disaster prevention programs in each and every purok are women, since most of the male residents are focused on making a living for their families.
The municipality is a 2011 UN Sasakawa Awardee for Disaster Reduction because of their Purok System, which focuses on addressing the vulnerability of every village in the municipality by mobilizing local resources in creating local and practical solutions based on the unique needs of every community.
2) The Sapinit Watershed Settlers Association, composed of women residents of the area, established a nursery filled with narra and mahogany seedlings, in coordination with the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation. The women members tilled the land, prepared the watershed, and planted the seedlings. This effort is aimed at helping to restore the devastated Marikina watershed (National Council on Disability Affairs, Retrieved from http://www.ncda.gov.ph/2012/03/ncda-joins-two-fold-womens-month-celebration-in-antipolo-rizal/)
3) In the coastal Barangay of Talokgangan in the Province of Iloilo, women are at the forefront of rehabilitation efforts covering 3.5 hectares of mangrove forests.
What initially started as a male-dominated organization in 1996, the Talokgangan Concerned Citizen Association has become, by 2010, a mostly-female organization with the mission of restoring, preserving and creating opportunities to save Banate-Barotac Bay from further deterioration.
The association was organized through the assistance of the Banate-Barotac Bay Resource Management Council Inc. (BBBRMCI), an inter-local government unit (LGU) alliance among the municipalities of Barotac Nuevo, Anilao, Banate and Barotac Viejo, in the Province of Iloilo. (University of the Philippines, Retrieved from IPA Awardees 2012, http://ovpaa.up.edu.ph/?page_id=550)
4) The Fellowship for Organizing Endeavors, Inc. (FORGE) initiated DRR projects in Cebu City.
These include a riprapping project in Brgy. Kalunasan, tree-planting initiative in Bulacao, and household based solid waste management in Brgy. Apas.
In all of these projects, women were not contented with just being supporters. They were also involved in the project management committee for the riprap construction.
The women outnumbered the men in the tree planting activities and women were more zealous in the planning workshops on waste management.