International consultant, policy brief on the role of women in Asia-Pacific and disaster risk reduction

Background

Disaster risk reduction is the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters—be it physical, social, economical and environmental factors. Reducing exposure to hazards, lessening vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improving preparedness for adverse events are all examples of disaster risk reduction. Disaster risk reduction encompasses disaster management, disaster mitigation and disaster preparedness, and is part of sustainable development.

Gender equality refers to equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for women and men in policy making and programs where interests, concerns and needs of all are equally considered and met. Women and men have different capacities and vulnerabilities in situations of disasters, as socially constructed by their gender roles. Accordingly, women and men have different skills and knowledge in disaster risk reduction. Good practices of gender-inclusive disaster risk reduction worldwide provide strong evidence that a gender-balanced approach to disaster risk reduction do not only benefit individuals, but also families and communities. Addressing gender sensitive practical and strategic concerns is, therefore, a pre-requisite to achieving success in disaster risk reduction.

In 2005, 168 governments endorsed the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction. They acknowledge that “gender perspective should be integrated into all disaster risk management policies, plans and decision making processes, including those related to risk assessment, early warning, information management, and education and training”

In 2006, national governments recognized the neglect of women’s needs, concerns and contributions to disaster risk reduction at the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations and adopted a resolutionconcerning the need to speed up the promotion of gender mainstreaming and women’s participation in decision making in all disaster risk reduction initiatives.

The Asian Ministerial Conferences on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) have recognized gender mainstreaming as a tool to effective disaster risk reduction and building resilience of nations and communities. The 2nd AMCDRR Declaration in 2007 encourages “the national governments to make special efforts to mainstream gender issues in disaster risk reduction so as to reduce their vulnerability of women and to recognize the important role women can play in disaster risk reduction. The 4th AMCDRR Declaration in 2010 recognizes “the need to protect women, children and other vulnerable groups from the disproportionate impacts of disaster and to empower them to promote resiliency within their communities and workplaces” and urges all actors to implement the HFA in line with the five priorities for action.

In 2012, the theme of the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDRR) (13 October) will be “Women and Girls: A Force for Community, Country and Regional Resilience to Disasters”. A number of key events will be organized around this theme. The theme will be adopted for the commemoration of the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management (ADDM), to be jointly celebrated with the IDRR on Friday 12 October 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand. This will be followed up by the 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (Yogyakarta, Indonesia 22-25 October 2012) will be held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, under the theme of “Strengthening Local Capacity for Disaster Risk Reduction”.

Consultancy

To highlight the role of women in disaster risk reduction from a gender perspective, UN Women is seeking an international consultant to produce a policy brief on the Role of Women in Asia Pacific in Disaster Risk Reduction, taking the review and analysis from the gender perspective. The Policy Brief will help guide the discussion and advocacy around the roles of women and girls in disaster risk reduction during the upcoming IDRR in Bangkok, Thailand and the 5th AMCDRR in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In addition, the Policy Brief will serve to guide policy formulation and programming work by national governments, civil society and UN Women in the Asia Pacific region on the issue.

The Policy Brief will outline normative frameworks and commitments, review good practices, identify existing gaps, and provide policy and programming recommendations to highlight and enhance the role of women and girls in disaster risk reduction.

Specifically, the consultant will:

1. Review global and regional inter-governmental frameworks and outcome documents from global and regional inter-governmental conferences on disaster risk reduction, and extract implicit and explicit references on women and girls and disaster risk reduction;
2. Review other normative and inter-governmental frameworks in relation to women’s human rights;
3. Review current research, evidence, good practices and lessons learnt regarding the role of women and girls in disaster risk reduction, including women’s contribution and leadership indisaster risk reduction, as well as their specific needs and vulnerabilities and the required support and protection;
4. Identify gaps and challenges in the promotion of women’s roles and participation in disaster risk reduction and in provision of protection and support services in the context of disaster risk reduction;
5. Provide policy and programming recommendations on how to enhance the roles of women in disaster risk reduction and to mitigate negative impact on women in the context of disaster risk reduction in Asia and the Pacific, with elements of advocacy to policy makers;
6. Write a policy brief (18 - 20 pages, Callibri body, font 11) on the role of women and girl in disaster risk reduction, with an analysis from the gender perspective, encompassing the above. The policy brief will pay special attention to the empowerment of women—social, political and economic, and the enabling environment for such empowerment. The policy brief will contain selected case studies, in consultation with the UN Women Asia Pacific Regional Center.

Expected outputs

1. A Brief on the Role of Women in Disaster Risk Reduction: Analysis from the Gender Perspective; that includes:

a. Analysis of best practices of Women’s role in Disaster Risk Reduction from a policy perspective;
b. Analysis of women as a group affected by disasters as well as a group that can contribute significantly and resiliently to disaster risk reduction, disaster response and rebuilding.
c. Recommendations on the empowerment of women to maximize their contribution to disaster response, disaster risk reduction and rebuilding at different levels.

Required qualifications

1. Post Graduate degree in development studies/ social studies with focus on gender
2. At least 7 years of work experiences in the field of gender and disaster risk reduction
3. Good knowledge and understanding of the current discourse and discussions on disaster risk reduction from a gender perspective.
4. Experiences in working in the Asia Pacific Region
5. Excellent analytical and research skills.
6. Excellent writing skills in English