Introduction

Disasters are occurring more frequently globally, primarily due to climate change and other man-made factors, leading to an increase in the number of emergencies. Somalia is confronted with a number of recurring climate variability disasters such as droughts and floods. Conflicts, poverty, political instability and lack of basic social services are other threats that the country faces, compounding the vulnerability of Somalian women who face enormous challenges. It is believed that much of government and non-government humanitarian interventions are not well integrated and do not consider the specific challenges faced by women. This Policy Brief highlights the gender specific gaps and opportunities for gender mainstreaming in disaster-related national and local-level policies, institutions and programmes in order to give equal weight to the rights and capacities of both men and women.

Disaster events have a significant impact on people’s lives, livelihoods, and socioeconomic infrastructure in the affected areas, pushing many into poverty and food insecurity. Somalia is at risk from several natural hazards, including drought, floods, cyclones, and climate-related diseases and epidemics. Women, men, girls, and boys are affected differently due to pre-existing gender norms, roles, and power imbalances. The gender-based vulnerabilities to disasters reflect historical and culturally specific patterns of discriminatory social institutions, culture, and personal lives. These discriminatory structures and systems limit women’s equal access to education and information, economic and productive resources, skills, and employment, thereby affecting their capacities to prepare, respond and recover from disasters. The same obstacles prevent women from actively contributing to decision-making. Unfortunately, while evidently, gender is a major factor to consider in DRM, very little is being done to mainstream gender in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery in Somalia.

Somalia is a signatory to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030), a successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005- 2015). The Sendai Framework works hand in hand with the other 2030 Agenda Agreements, including the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals. Somalia is also signatory of the Sustainable development goals which shows the virtuous circle between gender equity and DRM (Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)in Goal 11 and in Goal 13). Moreover, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) technically validated a Regional Strategy for DRM in February 2019. The Regional Strategy considers issues of gender equality, outlining the need for a gender sensitive approach in its strategic priorities, addressing gender, age and disability driven vulnerability in policy, strategy, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation ; and provisions for building the capacity to address gender and DRM issues at IGAD and member state levels.

The Somalia Constitution stresses women’s equality with men and emphasises women’s effective participation in all spheres of life, including in public offices and in decision-making. Somalia’s current National Development Plan recognises that “Peace, stability and development can only be efficiently achieved by addressing the obstacles women face in fully contributing to their country’s development.” In this context, the NDP aims to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, both as key development objectives in their own right, and as a critical ingredient for sustainable development. In 2016, Somalia adopted a National Gender Policy with the aim to further gender mainstreaming in its peace and state-building processes. The policy promotes gender equality in DRR. The policy instructs that gendered aspects of disaster management be mainstreamed across the board.

Key Gender Issues in Somalia DRM

Policy, legal and institutional framework

The current legal frameworks and policies are generally gender neutral and require further development of laws and policies specifically tailored to gender and DRM. Key DRM policies and laws in Somalia are gender blind and not aligned to the National Gender Policy, and can therefore not support gender mainstreaming in DRM. The National Disaster Management Policy, the Somali Disaster Management.
Establishment Act, and the Disaster Preparedness Policies are all gender blind. Overall, limited gender sensitivity in the existing DRM policy infrastructure has affected the extent to which women and youth participation is prioritised, and the extent to which they are supported and empowered in disaster prevention and preparedness, and the extent to which their capacities are built to ensure resilience and adaptation.

Participation and leadership in decision-making

Women and other vulnerable groups are clearly underrepresented in leadership and decision-making at federal, state and local levels, including in DRM structures which tend to be male dominated. This is compounded by pre-existing structural gender inequalities in societies. The lack of gender training in DRM structures further exacerbates the challenge, implying that the specific needs and capacities of women, youth, the elderly, and people living with disabilities are rarely prioritised and considered. Strategic partnerships with community-based women’s and youth organisations to support grassroots-led advocacy for women inclusion in DRM decision making structures is critical for progress.

Although there are some women-led positions within disaster management institutions, women’s participation and visibility in the emergence response and recovery is generally low. Women and other vulnerable groups should be included in local committees and leadership of the disaster management towards having their voices heard and their contributions are considered in planning and execution.

Gender and DRM capacity building gap

There is limited capacity in the combined skills on DRM and Gender in all the structures of DRM at national, state, and local levels. There is also limited awareness on the part of general public on the role women can play in the DRM sector because education and awareness on gender matters is not prioritised.

Limited collection and utilisation of disaggregated data

There is limited gender analysis and a lack data disaggregated by sex, age, marital status, and disability which is critical for designing inclusive gender responsive DRM policies and interventions. Unavailability of evidence on the specific needs, priorities, and capacities of women and youth affected by disasters reduces the effectiveness of designed DRM measures in responding to the contextualised needs of communities. Therefore, the lack of robust gender analysis to understand the gendered nature of disaster risk pose key challenges to inclusive DRM in the country.

Limited funding of Gender mainstreaming activities in DRM

Despite its importance in theory, SoDMA and the Ministry of Women do not have a specific budget line for mainstreaming gender in DRM. As a result, there is little progress in addressing the challenge of gender inequality due to limited resources. In addition, few resources that are made available by Non-Governmental Organisations are usually not controlled by the government DRM structures. To tackle this issue, Gender Responsive Budgeting should be an integral part of policy and programs implementation.

Recommendation

Below is the key recommendation of the policy brief :

1. Review and develop policies and institutions on DRM to be inclusive and gender transformative

• It is urgently recommended to develop a national DRM Act, the Civil Protection Act and a National DRR Plan which can be replicated at local level ;
• Budget for and develop a clear workplan to support gender mainstreaming within government towards fulfilling the mandate of Ministry of women and SoDMA to mainstream gender across ministries and sectors, it is imperative ;
• There is need for mapping and engagement of all stakeholders that technically and financially invest in DRM and gender ;
• Fast track review of the National Disaster Risk Management Policy to ensure alignment with the National Gender Policy and other related local and international frameworks that promote gender equality in DRM. In addition, particular attention should focus on the structural integration of the gender perspective across all focus areas of the policy ;
• Ensure intersectoral coordination in DRM policy formulation and actions where the Ministry responsible for Women, Women Rights Organisations, and individual women actively participate and contribute to outcomes.

1. Promote and advocate for women in leadership and decision-making in disaster risk reduction

• Support and promote women’s participation in decision-making processes in DRM at all levels ;
• Promote and nurture the leadership of diverse women, and women’s rights organisations and movements through collaboration with initiatives focused mentorship and capacity development programmes for women leaders at all levels ;
• Build innovative partnerships with community-based women’s and youth groups/organisations to help raise awareness for gender equality, and advocate for the inclusion of women and youth in leadership structures ;
• Ensure affirmative action in the involvement of women and the youth in the design, management, resourcing, and implementation of gender-responsive DRR policies, plans and programmes.
• Integrate gender equality and human rights perspectives in DRM, climate change, and environmental management interventions by adopting a differentiated and conscious approach, depending on contextual realities.

1. Build institutional and individual capacity to mainstream Gender into DRM

• Commit resources to build the capacity of government actors and other key stakeholders at different levels to mainstream gender in DRM ;
• Mobilise resources and create a Gender Transformative Fund dedicated to financing of gender mainstreaming activities and addressing underlying structural inequalities in DRR aligned to the disaster fund but implemented independently with the joint coordination of the Disaster Management agency (SoDMA) and the Ministry of Women ;
• Ensure that women, girls and all marginalised groups have equal access to training and skills- development programmes to promote their full participation and leadership in DRM initiatives ;
• Set up a Training of Trainers network at different levels to be responsible for training as and when required ;
• Prioritise gender equality in Disaster Risk Financing, with the participation of the Ministry of women in the development of national DRR strategies and reviews of risk informed public budgets and investment projects.

1. Institutionalise the collection and use of Disaggregated Data Address Continuing Barriers in Data Reporting

• Ensure women’s and youth participation in the collection and use of disaggregated disaster and climate data and prioritise the training of women and youth in the collection and use of disability, age, and sex disaggregated data while improving transparency by making relevant and current data accessible and usable to inform policy and guide decision making and investments ;
• Develop and institutionalise gender mainstreaming guidelines and assessment tools to help carry out gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk, and capacity assessments, collect gender specific data and statistics on the impact of disasters, and develop gender sensitive indicators to monitor and measure progress ;
• Integrate Rapid Gender Analysis in recovery assessments which should be inclusive, participatory, and rights-based so that identified recovery needs and priorities reflect contextual gendered realities ;
• Strengthen the capacity of all M&E personnel in gender mainstreaming and gender transformative approaches ;
• Ensure the collection of age, sex, and other intersectionality variables on DRM to inform policy, programming, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.