The recent humanitarian emergencies like the Tsunami in South Asia and the Pakistan earthquake underlined how far women and men - dependent on the given social roles and power distribution- have different needs, interests and experiences. Recent human-made and natural disasters have also stressed the aggravating effects of neglecting gender-specific dimensions on the social and gender relations. 

For more than a decade, international  and local actors have recognized the importance of gender-sensitive disaster relief and shared relevant publications, different lessons learned, tool kits and trainings manuals.

Guidelines and Lessons Learned

Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu and Maithree Wickramasinghe 2003: Gender Dimensions in Disaster Management: a Guide for South Asia. ITDG South Asia Publication.

Sarah Bradshaw 2004: Socio-economic Impacts of Natural Disaster: A Gender Analysis. link

BRIDGE Reports on Gender and Health 1995: Integrating Gender into Emergency Responses, and Gender, Emergencies and Humanitarian Assistance. link

Bridget Byrne with Sally Baden 1995: Gender, Emergencies and Humanitarian Assistance. Report commissioned by the WID desk, European Commission, Directorate General for Development. link

CIDA 2003: Gender Equality and Humanitarian Assistance: A Guide to the Issues. link

Elaine Enarson 2000: Gender and Natural Disasters. ILO Infocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction. link

Elaine Enarson 2001: Promoting Social Justice in Disaster Reconstruction: Guidelines for Gender-sensitive and Community-based Planning. link

FAO/WFP 2003: Passport to Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Emergency Programmes. link

M. Fordham 1999: The Intersection of Gender and Social Class in Disaster: Balancing Resilience and Vulnerability. In: International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 17 (1). 15-36.

2005: Gender and Disaster Network. Gender Equality in Disasters. Six Principles for Engendered Relief and Reconstruction. link

Global Fund for Women: Caught in the Storm: The Impact of Natural Desasters on Women. link

Hard Lessons Learned: Gender notes for Tsunami Responders. Gender Note 1: Response. link

R. Houghton 2005: Tsunami Emergency Lessons from Previous Natural Disasters. link

IASC 2006: Women, Girls, Boys and Men Different Needs - Equal Opportunities. Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings. link

ICRC 2004: Addressing the Needs of Women Affected by Armed Conflict. An ICRC Guidance Document. link

Inter-Agency Standing Committee 2005: Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings - Focusing on Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence in Emergencies. link

International Women's Development Agency 2005: Recommendations for Integrating Gender Considerations into Emergency Operations. link

Oxfam 2004: A Little Gender Handbook for Emergencies Or Just Plain Common Sense. download

Oxfam 2005: The tsunami's impact on women. Oxfam Briefing Note. download

Pan American Health Organization's Women, Health and Development Program: Gender and Natural Disasters Fact Sheet. link

reliefweb: Gender and Humanitarian Assistance Resource Kit. link

Y. Saito, 2009. Gender Mainstreaming Into Community-Based Disaster Management in the Context of Regional Development. In: Regional Development Dialogue, 30(1), Spring 2009, pp 37-46. download

southasiadisasters.net 2005: Tsunami, Gender, and Recovery. download

UNDP Pakistan 2006: Gender Mainstreaming in Recovery Phase - Post Earthquake Pakistan. link

WHO 2005: Gender Considerations in Disaster Assessment. link

Aise Yonder, Sengul Akcar and Prema Gopalan 2005: Women's participation in disaster relief and recovery. link

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