Knowledgebase - Practical Guides, Manuals and Checklists

This page contains practical guidelines, manuals, training materials and checklists on gender and disaster risk reduction. Visit the Gender and Disaster Sourcebook for a more comprehensive list (2005 and earlier).

Brief overview of Mentawai people, Indonesia for those who plan to go to Mentawai to take part in emergency response (Mia Fitriyah) download

Gender Sensitive Disaster Management: A Toolkit for Practitioners. This Toolkit authored by Chaman Pincha is the outcome of a research study undertaken to understand gender mainstreaming strategies used by NGOs and the Government in the context of their responses to and management of the Tsunami aftermath in Tamil Nadu. The field outcomes were analyzed through a gender perspective to understand the differential impact of disasters and coping strategies on women/girls, men/boys, and other marginalized groups, including Aravanis. Download the toolkit here or from Think Beyond Boundaries website.

Training Materials for Gender Mainstreaming in Disaster Risk Reduction. This set of materials was designed and collated by Maureen Fordham (with help from colleagues in UNDP, UNISDR, Oxfam, AIDMI) for a Training of Trainers for UNDP. It was first delivered in Colombo, Sri Lanka in December 2007. It is currently being revised and will be delivered again for UNDP in Nepal in December 2008. Users are invited to take whatever individual elements seem useful to them, bearing in mind it was developed for a specific purpose and context. Please forward to GDN adaptations, other examples, case studies, tools and resources so that we can continue to build this Gendered Disaster Risk Reduction (GDRR) resource. http://gdnonline.org/wot_keyresources.php

UNDP's Practical, Positive Outcomes for Girls and Women in Crisis. 1) Strengthen women’s security in crisis: Stop violence against women; 2) Advance gender justice:  Provide justice and security for women; 3) Expand women’s citizenship, participation and leadership: Advance women as decision-makers; 4) Build peace with and for women:  Involve women in all peace processes; 5) Promote gender equality in disaster risk reduction: Support women and men to build back better; 6) Ensure gender-responsive recovery: Promote women as leaders of recovery; 7) Transform government to deliver for women: Include women’s issues on the national agenda; 8) Develop capacities for social change: Work together to transform society. Full text available from the UNDP website: http://www.undp.org/cpr/we_do/8_pa.shtml

UNISDR's Gender Perspectives: Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction into Climate Change Adaptation. This publication points out the vital nexus between women’s experiences of natural resource management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and how they can come together to make whole communities strong and sustainable. It also provides inspirational case studies of rassroots women’s leadership, and of ways to support and encourage women’s full participation as citizens in risk reduction, climate change adaptation, development, and disaster preparedness. The case studies also point to practical tools for implementing gender equality and mainstreaming gender perspectives. Download document: http://www.gdnonline.org/resources/UNISDR_DRR-CC-good-practices.pdf or from the UNISDR website: http://www.unisdr.org

UNISDR's Gender Perspectives: Working Together for Disaster Risk Reduction. Good Practices and Lessons Learned. This publication presents a collection of 15 practices that advance gendered resilience building--a key principle that informs the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action. The examples shared describe the different roles played by women from disaster prone communities. These roles involve constructing disaster resistant housing; improving community access to services; upgrading livelihoods; increasing food security; collecting and disseminating information; and negotiating claims to rights and resources. Download document: http://www.gdnonline.org/resources/UNISDR_gender-good-practices.pdf or from the UNISDR website: http://www.unisdr.org

UNHCR's Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls. This document replaces the UNHCR's 1991 Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women and was launched during the celebration of International Women's Day last March. The handbook was designed to "promote gender equality by using a rights- and community-based approach, by mainstreaming age, gender and diversity, and through targeted actions to empower women and girls in the civil, political and economic sectors." January 2008. To view the document online, visit: http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/47cfae612.html or download the PDF (4.7MB): http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/47cfa9fe2.pdf.

Fact sheet on Gender and Climate Change. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 2008. Download PDF, 1.3MB

Fact sheet on Gender Equality and Adaptation. Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and IUCN, 2008. Download PDF, 969KB

Oxfam International Policy Compendium Note on Gender Issues in Conflict and Humanitarian Crises. (PDF, 179KB)

 Child-Oriented Participatory Risk Assessment and Planning (COPRAP): A Toolkit. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and Center for Disaster Preparedness. 2007. (PDF, 710KB)

Checklist to Facilitate Gender Sensitivity of Relief and Reconstruction Efforts for Survivors of the Earthquake in Pakistan. It aims to facilitate gender integration in all aspects of disaster management with specific reference to six major clusters: Education; Water and sanitation; Protection; Shelter and camp management; Health and nutrition; and Early recovery and reconstruction. Gender Task Force. January 2006. From the UN Pakistan website. (PDF, 840KB)

Guidelines for Gender Sensitive Disaster Management. Practical steps to ensure women's needs are met and women's human rights are respected and protected during disasters. Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD). 2006. (PDF, 712KB)