As temperatures rise rapidly in the approach to summer and wild winds hit the east coast, emergency management services and first responders are meeting at Sydney's International Convention Centre from 3-6 September for AFAC24, Australasia's biggest emergency management conference and exhibition.
Amongst exhibitors and speakers will be GADAus, Australia's leading national organisation providing evidence-based education, training, and resources to address the harmful impacts of gendered expectations in disasters.
GADAus trains people and organisations to help prevent and control violence, abuse and discrimination against women, children and LGBTIQA+ people, and men's self-harm and suicide, before, during, and after emergencies and disasters.
"Domestic violence, and men's mental ill-health increase after catastrophic disaster," says GADAus Executive Director Dr Debra Parkinson, and the needs of LGBTIQA+ people are often neglected.
"Our research over 15 years indicates that disaster impacts can be severe and long-lasting for women, men, and non-binary people."
GADAus trainer and firefighter with 30 years' experience, Steve O'Malley, says firefighters don't want to be heroes, they want communities to prepare better next time and heed warnings to leave.
"One of the best ways to prepare is to know how individuals respond to pressure, regardless of their gender, and let people play to their strengths.
"Not all men want to be the protector, and it doesn't serve everyone's best interests if women are expected to put their needs last.
"Our GADAus training can help communities and first responders free themselves and others from gendered expectations so they can more effectively respond to disasters and to take care of each other in the aftermath," O'Malley says.
GADAus offers its online and in-person Lessons in Disaster (LIDs) training across Australia to first responders, emergency management responders, health and community services, and disaster-prone communities, to develop greater understanding of how gendered stereotypes and expectations are exacerbated in disasters and harmful, to help improve disaster management and survival outcomes.
GADAus received a Commonwealth grant under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and their Children 2022-2032 to train 1000 responders over four years, and has exceeded that target already in two years.
GADAus also advises Councils on how to plan safer Evacuation and Relief Centres, recently received additional funding through the Commonwealth Disaster Ready Grants, announced last week, to work with every council in Victoria, and disaster high-risk councils in NSW, to help make evacuation centres safer for everyone.
Steve O'Malley will speak on a panel about Masculinities, Culture and Disaster resilience at the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference at AFAC24 on Wednesday 4 September at 4.25 pm.
GADAus has a stall adjacent to 'Resilience Lane' at AFAC24. Resilience Lane features not-for-profit and community-focused organisations showcasing the work and services they provide to strengthen community resilience during and after disasters. GADAus' stall features their First Nations Arts Project.
Key Facts:
Disasters reveal what lies beneath • women expected to put their needs last; • men expected to be 'heroes'; • LGBTIQA+ people marginalised and neglected in the urgency of disaster.
About us:
Gender & Disaster Australia (GADAus) is the leading national organisation providing evidence-based education, training, and resources to address the harmful impacts of gendered expectations in disasters.
GADAus trains people and organisations to help prevent and control violence, abuse and discrimination against women, children and LGBTIQA+ people, and men's self-harm and suicide, before, during, and after emergencies and disasters.
