Gender sensitivity in disaster management
This study lies at the intersection of two major challenges in Cambodia today: disaster, experienced by many of the rural poor as drought, flood and storms; and the continuing issue of gender imbalances in many aspects of Cambodian society. Its objectives are to measure project successes, document best practices and provide recommendations to improve gender sensitivity, using Participation Action Research (PAR) methods.
Research shows that during time of disaster it is the most vulnerable who suffer the most, and worldwide women are one of the most vulnerable groups. Social factors such as age, ethnicity, mobility, access to information and access to resources contribute to differentiating impacts on various social groups, especially women. Effective planning for gender sensitivity in disaster management requires not only sex dis-aggregation of data but a deeper level of analysis.