Gender and sexual minorities and disaster: balancing structural and agentic perspectives

Abstract

There is a notable shift in gender and disaster research towards addressing gender and sexual minorities, with a growing body of literature arguing for the need to go ‘beyond the binary’. While critiquing the traditional gender dichotomy remains essential, discarding fundamental concepts such as the binary way in which gender is constructed at the societal level, may undermine efforts to address those marginalised by it. The violence and sexual assaults women are often subjected to in the immediate aftermath of disaster, highlights the critical need to expose the entrenched power dynamics that perpetuate inequality and oppression based on gender. The emerging tension between structural and more individualised, agentic perspectives underscores the need for a comprehensive approach that emphasises the structural as well as the personal dimensions of gender and sexuality in the context of disasters. By recognising and addressing these complexities, gender and disaster research can contribute to an inclusive and equitable disaster management and response framework. This paper provides an overview of gender and disaster research conducted over 10 years and presents findings about the experiences of women, men and people with diverse gender and sexual identities in disaster contexts.