Purpose
This study was undertaken to assess the outcomes of the ‘Building Disaster Resilient Communities II’ project in Cambodia, funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Office (ECHO) and co-funded by Disaster Risk Reduction consortium members between April 2014 and December 2015.
The study focuses on disaster management in Cambodia through a gender lens using Participation Action Research (PAR) methods to engage with local actors. It also includes a gender audit of key disaster risk reduction (DRR) guidelines, relevant policies and other key materials.
The study also examines the degree to which gender sensitivity is mainstreamed into current DRR guidelines, models and materials at both the government and the NGO levels. It considers the integration of the needs and concerns of women and men, in addition to any specific focus on redressing gender inequities.
Overview
- ‘Building Disaster Resilient Communities II’ has made a good start towards achieving a key indicator: Women’s involvement in DRR planning and Disaster Recovery increased by the end of the project. It is particularly valuable to improve the resilience of the poorest and most vulnerable, who are often women and girls. Overall progress is slow, however.
- As a result of structural and systemic challenges arising from Cambodia’s patriarchal bias, gender imbalances in favour of men persist. Disaster management operates within government structures where women’s opportunity for participation and leadership is limited and there are no quotas for women’s inclusion on disaster management (DM) committees or in leadership roles.
- Gender aspects of disaster can be found on pp. 30-33.
Usage: Learning from experience
Reference: Actionaid, Christianaid, DanChurchAid/Christian Aid, Oxfam, People in Need, Save the Children (2015). Gender Sensitivity in Disaster Management (pp. 1-92). Available at: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/cambodia/document/gender-sensitivity-disaster-management [Accessed 8 January 2016]
