Evacuation
Temporary
Housing

Working together to plan projects

Decreasing the burden of people who receive assistanceReinforcement of local organization

In affected areas, there are manyorganizations undertaking various types ofactivities. However, it is sometimes observedthat relief supplies and events areconcentrated on particular areas, evacuation
centers and temporary housing community,
and a lot of “researches and interviews”
became a burden on affected people.

Local governments and funding organizations
provide money for disaster reconstruction.
They receive applications from local privategroups, however, these groups, which lackthe experience of grant application, found theprocedure difficult. During the emergency
r el i ef p er i o d , as s i s t an ce o r g an i z at i o n s
implement projects by the funding they haveobtained, but for reconstruction, localorganizations are expected to be the main
actor. In the reconstruction process, it is more
important to strengthen the capacity of localorganizations than to implement projects.

Recovery andReconstruction

In order to avoid overlapping of assistance,
many attempts are made. There was an areathat held local coordination meetings ofdisaster response organizations that worked
in the same community, in order to share theinformation of activities and future plans ofeach organization to avoid an overlap, andsometimes it promoted cooperation among
them. Another area had a meeting for
information-sharing among not only voluntaryorganizations from outside but also with thelocal social welfare council and the local
government officials.

Preparedness

Once the life in temporary housing started,
many activities were held using a community
room in the temporary housing site and again
an overlap and concentration of assistancewas observed. One local government inMiyagi prefecture utilizes a calendar on theInternet to share schedules of assistanceevents in each temporary housing community
among assistance organizations. It mitigatedthe biased assistance contents amongtemporary housing communities.

There is an example where one assistanceorganization continued patiently advising a
local organization, which did not have NPO
experience of the administrative procedures,from opening a bank account toestablishment of an organization. It built up
trust and helped the local organization toinitiate a reconstruction project. The localorganizations know the community well, but
do not have experience in grant application ororganization management. What the outside
support organization can do is to be a
consultant in the process and give advice
upon request.
An organization, which supports NPOs in
disaster reconstruction, introduces a way to
conduct a participatory workshop to reflect
the opinions of various people while paying
respects to the way that local organizations
operate. A staff member at an assistanceorganization who was dispatched to a local
social welfare council tried to voice certain
opinions, because some opinions are easier
to surface with the help of outsiders. Sheadvised placing women in a support center intemporary housing community. It would berare to listen to the outsiders’ opinions without

mutual trust, but sometimes outsiders’opinions will be received favourably if theoutsiders understand the local situations andestablish good relationships in thecommunity. It is therefore necessary to build
mutual trust before planning a project.

Emergency
Response

The importance of coordination meetings

Evacuation□ Voluntary Organization

Temporary
Housing

32

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

Recovery andReconstruction□ Voluntary Organization

Preparedness

Emergency
Response
42

31

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

43

Evacuation
Temporary
Housing
Recovery andReconstruction
Preparedness
44

A volunteer coordinator must place volunteers
who vary in terms of gender, age, techniques,
specialties, and experience into appropriate
places. There follows some examples to makea good environment not only for volunteers towork effectively but also for affected people towelcome volunteers:*Place men and women in the same team to go
and visit each house of evacuees staying athome, or to have interviews, so that it is easierfor the households, which have only women ormen to accept them and to talk.
*Place at least one woman into a team, whichhelps moving from evacuation centers to
temporary housing, so that female evacuees
can find it easier to ask for help in sorting her
belongings.
*Visit evacuees staying at home or people living
at temporary housing by a pair of one man and
one woman to hand out information magazines,
and to check up on their conditions.
As time passes, it is more difficult to form
pairs of men and women because of adecrease in volunteers. Temporary housingsites are scattered in remote locations so that
only one person has to visit them when there
are not enough volunteers available.
“Please come into the house to talk since it iscold at the front door,” “Would you mind
helping us inside?” When an individual
volunteer is asked to come inside, it isimportant not to accept the offer immediately
but to contact other volunteers who arearound through a two-way radio or telephone
and respond with more than two people,
including both men and women.

*Refer to tasks, not by sexual differences, suchas “heavy physical work for men, light ones for
women” but by respecting aptitude.
*Sometimes volunteers themselves do not know
their own aptitude. It is necessary to make them
use materials and tools in order to judge
whether they actually carry such materials andknow how to use these tools.
One female volunteer leader was looking forvolunteers who could do cleaning work using
a special machine. However, people whowanted to do that work were mostly women.
She worried as to whether they could
complete the work in the time available, andwondered if the recruitment for this work
should be limited to men since many men aresupposed to be able to handle machinerywell.

For the safety of volunteers*It is important to ensure a changing room forvolunteers. If there is no space available in thebuilding, set up a separate tent for men and for
women.
*Ensure separate toilets for men and women involunteer centers and/or workplaces.
*Ensure stocks of sanitary goods at female
toilets in volunteer centers, and it is better toinform female volunteers about it by posting
notices regarding this in a place where they will
see them.

Emergency
Response
Evacuation

Knack to assign tasks

Temporary
Housing

Placing volunteers in appropriate places

Recovery andReconstruction□ Voluntary Organization

It is possible to seek workers with a certain
proviso, such as, “a person who is good atdriving a stick-shift car and deals with engine
trouble,” not by gender in order to look forexperience similar to handling a car or dealing
with engine trouble by oneself for that work. It
is a part of the leaders’ qualifications toevaluate required techniques and experience,
aptitude for this work and properly write down
the recruiting terms.

Preparedness

Emergency
Response

33

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

45

Evacuation
Temporary
Housing
Recovery andReconstruction

Training about sexual harassment

Create a safe working environment for disaster response workers

Necessary measures on a regular basis

Stress from communal living

Respecting individual ideas and feelings

It is sometimes necessary for disaster
response workers to prepare a tent forthemselves or to sleep in a car for a while due
to lack of available accommodation. Even
though an organization could arrange
accommodation for staff members at affectedareas, they could not prepare rooms forindividuals and had to continue communal
living, using shared rooms separated only by
men and women. One organization was able
to rent another building and proposed toaccommodate men and women in separatebuildings. However, it was women that
opposed the proposal, saying they were
worried about security if there were only
women. It is difficult to coordinate theaccommodation because each staff member
feels differently and it is also necessary toconsider various aspects including location,indoor equipment and the capacity of theaccommodation.

It is difficult for staff members at the site to
demand a better living environment forthemselves because they put more priority on
the affected people. Under the same
conditions, each individual feels differently.
Some feel that living in group is painful
whereas some find it fun. Hierarchicalrelations in the workplace sometimes make it
difficult to communicate their feelings. It isnecessary for disaster responseorganizations, which dispatch staff, to haveindividual hearings from each member of staff,
not from certain ones, in order that everyone
work comfortably, and to take certain
measures before particular persons feel theirworking conditions to be arduous.

The disaster response organizations, which
could improve the environment to ensure
security of staff members promptly at the site
during the emergency relief period, have had
an understanding of gender issues inside theorgan ization on a regular basis. These
organizations have women as operational
directors and in managerial positions so thatthey understand deeply sexual harassment
and gender issues, and set up anti-sexual
harassment committees and have dealt withthem in the workplace. A female field manager
felt it comfortable to work there because she
can consult her boss with full trust if sexual
harassment occurs.

Arduousness of staffs

Preparedness

Besides the fact that living with a group ofpeople causes stress, disaster response
workers who continued to live in a sharedhouse with a small number of people, such as
only one man and one woman, felt moremental constraint than living in larger groups.
A female staff member from one voluntaryorganization rented accommodation with amale member of staff. She felt there was no
choice during the emergency stage, but as it
continued, experienced more difficulty.
However, it took time to make herorganization understand the situation. She
laments the fact that the organizationconsidered the affected people, but did notunderstand the arduousness of the staff.

Emergency
Response

Concerns about staff residence

Evacuation□ Voluntary Organization

Temporary
Housing

35

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

Recovery andReconstruction□ Voluntary Organization

Preparedness

Emergency
Response
46

34

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

47

Responding to sexual harassment or stalking behaviour

Evacuation
Temporary
Housing

Information management as one of the
manager’s tasks

Preventing harassment and its
counter-measure

One of the enjoyments of participating involunteer activities is getting to know othervolunteers who they meet for the first timethrough activities. In some cases, it develops
into friendship and boyfriend/girlfriend
relationships. However, not all of them feel thesame way. Volunteer coordinators and leaders
have to pay attention to manage thevolunteers’ personal contacts andinformation.

Volunteer leaders have not only to coordinate
actual work but also to make the working
environment comfortable for volunteers. The
leader is expected to respond quickly to any
strange actions of volunteers and to avoid
trouble between them. Any acts, which areconsidered to be harassment in daily life, suchas asking for relationships with othervolunteers, repeatedly asking for dates, andslandering him/her when the offer is turned
down, are not tolerated among volunteers, or
between volunteers and affected people.

Recovery andReconstruction
Preparedness

One volunteer coordinator found a malevolunteer who acted weirdly during briefing
time in the mornings. He said he would like totake pictures of a briefing, but actually he wassecretly taking pictures of a particular female
volunteer with his mobile phone. The
coordinator soon warned him because he wastaking these pictures without her consent, but
was worried if there were other volunteers
who were breaching the correct code of
conduct during activities.
For purpose of searching a marriage
partner?
Most of the volunteers wanted to dosomething useful, but there were some people
who acted inconsiderately in such an
extraordinary environment. There was aperson who asked many other-sex peers fortheir phone numbers and email addresses,
and was thought to be there “for marriage
purposes”.
Photo above: A volunteer center; Photo below: Volunteers
exercising in the morning before heading to the site

When someone comes to consult about atrouble, it is a coordinator’s role to listen toeach party, and to take a severe attitude
against the harassment act. If harassment
acts or stalking behaviour continue even afterwarnings, it is better to respond without delay
by changing volunteer schedulingarrangements or temporarily removing that
person from the situation.

Respond carefully and strictly
One volunteer organization sent female
volunteers in response to a request from amale local leader at an evacuation center.
However, a male volunteer reported that theleader had repeatedly harassed female
volunteers sexually by touching their bodies
too much or hugging them. The organization
did not stop sending females but keep
sending both male and female volunteers, andchecked on the situation before it talked to
the leader to refrain from the reported
behaviour.

difficult to station a female staff member who
knew how to deal with it.” He added, “There
was no-one who had enough knowledge for
consultation of sexual harassment.”
It is important to cultivate people who are able
to be consulted about sexual harassment or
security issues inside of the organization andat the same time, to prepare a consulting
system through expert organizations outside.
It makes a difference if the organization isfamiliar with the measures to prevent
problems and the places to consult with whena problem arises.

The difficulty of this problem

Measures before suffering damage

This leader has worked vigorously on
managing the evacuation center and had nofurther problems. It is not possible for disaster
response organizations and volunteer
dispatch organizations from outside to
conduct activities unless they have built up
relations with local leaders. They face a
difficult situation to respond to such incidents
relating to these local leaders. It is difficult toarrange the intervention of police or
government, and sometimes they have failed
to make a charge, just like sexual harassment
cases in daily life.

One organization explained to student
volunteers about a situation and distributed a
card to raise awareness of safety for womenand children. The organization made an
inquiry as to whether there were students who
suffered damage after the activities finished,
and asked for cooperation from female
student leaders if a follow-up was necessary.

Consulting system for disaster responseorganizations
A male staff member at this organization, who
was in charge of this case, looked back andsaid, “We sent mixed volunteers of both men
and women, but this case could have been
discovered earlier if women had had an
opportunity to talk by themselves.” “It was

Burdened with affection
Disaster response workers and volunteers
from outside look compassionate and reliabletowards affected people. It might be naturalfor those affected to have favourable feelings
toward them if it is considered to be an
extension of their appreciation. However, insome cases, the special affection from aparticular person disturbed the activities ofthe staff and volunteers.

Emergency
Response

Behavior between volunteers

Evacuation

Difficulty in relationships with affected
peopleTemporary
Housing□ Voluntary Organization

Recovery andReconstruction

37

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

Be aware of sharing personal informationand photo shots

Take pictures after consent

48□ Voluntary Organization

Preparedness

Emergency
Response

36

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

49Temporary
Housing

One male volunteer leader was favoured bymany affected women and female volunteers
for his devoted attitude to work. He was afraidof having too much attention. Having
one-sided affection makes it uncomfortable
for men as well as women.
Make an environment for consultation

Recovery andReconstruction

People who told us of their experiences haddifficulty finding a person to consult withinside of the organization or were worried ofbeing teased if they told someone. In the fieldof emergency relief or disaster reconstruction,
both affected people and those who provide
assistance felt mentally elevated. It is possiblethat people are more conscious of the
opposite sex than in ordinary times.

Preparedness

It is necessary to have a system to consult
about these concerns or to receive
appropriate advice within the organization. It
is also useful to be informed about available
services on the outside when people think it isdifficult to consult inside of the organization,
by posting relevant telephone numbers ofconsultation services in the neighbourhood.

Emergency
Response

Care for disaster response workers
and volunteers after finishing activities
Pain of volunteer work
Inexperienced volunteers are sometimes
dispatched without enough explanation of thework, such as removing debris that does not
require direct contact with affected people
because they are thought to be less burdened
mentally. However, everyone must feel
reluctance when entering buildings damaged
by a disaster and a space where toys andfurniture are left. It is natural to ache for thedead.
Help recovery from damage
Volunteers often find corpses or body parts
during the removal of debris in the affectedarea where many people are missing. A
volunteer who helped remove debris for the
first time found a corpse and felt shocked.
Since even professionals experience pain
when seeing a severely damaged body, it
must be a shocking event for an ordinary
volunteer. The organization which thisvolunteer belonged made sure that thevolunteers who had painful experiences
during operation were protected from mental
damage by making regular phone calls.
In the field, care for affected people takes
priority and care for staff at organizations andvolunteers is deferred. When staff andvolunteers are in the field, they might not
notice because they are tensed up, but once
away from the field, the damage might
appear. It is necessary to check on staff andvolunteers who have finished activities asregards their condition regularly.

Evacuation

Care for volunteers who encountered tough situations

Temporary
Housing

Men’s burden□ Voluntary Organization

Recovery andReconstruction

Evacuation

One female volunteer leader became friends
with residents in temporary housing
community and worked on supporting
activities. However, when she realized that
one man was watching her from behind thebuilding, she was not sure how to react. The
man started stalking her, and then she went
to consult with staff at the local social welfare
council. She was advised not to go to thatarea and moved into another area to continue
her assistance work.

38

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

Preparedness

Emergency
Response
50

Consult when in doubt

51

Difficulty in visiting individual houses

Evacuation
Temporary
Housing

One organization sent two male staff to anaffected area in Miyagi prefecture, and started
supporting activities by visiting individual
houses. However, only women tended to beat home during the daytime and these women
hesitated to talk. The male staff themselves
could not easily imagine the issues withwomen, so that they felt the limitation of theirvisit being by males only.
Placing staff according to those who
receive assistance

Recovery andReconstruction

Another organization formed teams including
both men and women for visiting and talking
to affected people. In addition, there is anorganization which not only sends both men
and women but also sends staff that haveclose attributes to affected people, forexample, placing staff members who havechildren for the support of mother and babies.
Security of staff

Preparedness

Having multiple staff is also useful for
ensuring the security of staff when visiting
houses in the community. A female member
staff at an assistance organization felt
insecure when a man, who was involved inmanagement in the evacuation center whereshe visited for distribution of supplies, called
her by her first name (the practice which is
uncommon in this situation in Japan) and took
her picture with a mobile phone. Since staff
members were told to act in pairs and she
was not alone, she did not get into moredanger.
However, there is an incident that a malemember of staff touched a female member of52

staff’s lap when the two of them moved
around by themselves. Later, a team wasformed of over three people. It may decrease
the efficiency of the work, but it is necessary
to place priority on the security of staff.

Emergency
Response

Establishing a code of conduct for
staff and volunteers
Usage of a pledge form
In order to ensure that disaster response issensitive to gender and diversity, it isimportant to inform and implement it at, (1)the project level, such as content ofassistance; (2), the organizational level, suchas forming teams of staff and volunteers who
engage in assistance; and (3), the individuallevel, such as attitude and behaviour of those
who engage in assistance. There areorganizations, which asked staff members
and volunteers to sign a pledge form for theprotection of the person concerned,
observance of confidentiality, andpreservation of neutrality.

not to rely on individual judgment about theiractions and behaviour. With the code, it ispossible to warn those who deviate and to beaccountable to victims.

Evacuation

Responses to needs of affected people and prevention of sexual harassment□ Voluntary Organization

Temporary
Housing

Disaster response teams with mixed gender40

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

In the case of protection of children
One organization has “a code of conduct forthe protection of children” and prepares awritten pledge which stipulates important
points when having contact with children andappropriate behaviours. The behaviours thatare not allowed are: “To commit obscene
acts, or to make children do obscene acts,”
and “to have physical contacts that areuncomfortable or unnatural for child(ren).”Standards for common understanding
A relationship of trust is easily broken in a
power imbalance between affected people
and those who provide assistance. It is
important to be careful about relationships
with affected people. It is better that eachorganization develop a code of conduct inorder to avoid denying the diversity ofaffected people, to treat them discriminatively,
and to avoid overlooking sexual violence andinfringement of human rights. It makes it
possible to call for observance of the code;

Recovery andReconstruction□ Voluntary Organization

Preparedness

Emergency
Response

39

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

53Temporary
Housing
Recovery andReconstruction
Preparedness

Any party relating to the Disaster Response Center should consider the following when having
contact with affected people with various needs.
*To collect data which reflect the diversity of affected people in order to grasp the situation ofaffected people who have unique needs.
*To create an environment in which the proposals and claims of affected people made against
staff and volunteers are reported without hesitation.
*Each staff member should be aware not to overlook any infringement of human rights andviolence on the both sides, whether affected people or disaster response workers and/or
volunteers.
*To report without delay when infringement of human rights and violence occurring at the site ofdisaster response activities.
*Each staff member must understand in advance how to deal with any infringement of humanrights and violence at the site of disaster response activities in order to protect the human rights ofaffected people.

Emergency
Response

Innovations within Women’s Centers
Evacuation life is expected to be prolonged
due to the nuclear power plant accident. In
Nagoya City, Kawasaki City and Saitama
Prefecture, the activity that connects affected
people has begun based on centers forpromoting gender equality. At the connecting
places, residents from the designatedevacuation area, mothers and children who
spontaneously evacuated from outside ofdesignated areas and local supporters gather.
Preventing isolation
Many of the evacuees from the designatedevacuation area moved into individual
residences from the group living environment.
They tend to be isolated from both the originaland new communities. A gathering placeprovides a chance for them to avoid isolationand to connect affected people with eachother as well as with local residents who arewilling to support them. Relief supplies arealso provided through these places.
Many of the spontaneous evacuees are little
children and their mothers, so that theseplaces offered a good opportunity for them tomeet other women with young children in thesame area, to connect with them, and toshare concerns over bringing up theirchildren.

Evacuation

Evacuation<Code of Conduct for Gender and Diversity Sensitivity>
For all people concerned, any acts below are not allowed:*To deny various needs that have stemmed from the differences of age, gender, gender identity,
sexual orientation, disabilities, ethnicity, nationality, family relationship, employment situation,
religion, political affiliation, and social status of affected people.
*To treat particular affected people discriminatively due to the differences above.
*To exclude particular affected people from being a target of assistance due to the differences
above.
*Not to give information to particular affected people due to the differences above.
*Not to give a chance for an affected person to relate an individual situation.
*To avoid implementation of peer group (group of people concerned) gatherings, counselling andconsultation sessions according to individual circumstances.
*To impose sexual relations based on the power imbalance between affected people and disaster
response workers and/or volunteers or between them.
*To have sexual relations with affected people. Sexual acts based on the power imbalance
between disaster response workers and/or volunteers and affected people can result in a loss oftrust around disaster response activities.
*To retain humanitarian assistance or give priority to certain people in order to receive money, job
opportunities, goods or sexual services, i.e. making use of the position of disaster relief workers
and/or volunteers.
*To be involved in harassment, or sexual violence, by making use of his/her position.
*To perform obscene acts, or make others perform obscene acts, by making use of his/her
position.
*To buy sexual services or make a profit from sexual services, regardless of whether during
working hours or out of work; this applies at any time.
*To have sexual relations with children under 18 years of age, with or without consent. The
defence that they did not know the age of the child is not considered acceptable.
*To ignore, or take a part in, sexual violence and infringement of human rights among disaster
response workers and/or volunteers.

Place for communication between
evacuees and local people

Temporary
HousingI, as a staff member of the Disaster Response Center, pledge to comply with this “code of
conduct for gender and diversity sensitivity” and to act upon it in the field of disaster relief.

□ Voluntary Organization

Recovery andReconstruction

Pledge Form

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer

Preparedness

Emergency
Response

41

Example of a pledge form

I fully understand the above “Code of Conduct for Gender and Diversity Sensitivity.”
Signature

Date:

/

/

Made by: Women’s Network for East Japan Disaster
54

55

Emergency
Response

42

Target Audience□ the Administration □ Community-based Organization□ Funding Organization □ Volunteer□ Voluntary Organization

Importance of taking over work from apredecessor
Making the best use of human resources offered by local governments outside the affected areas

Evacuation
Temporary
Housing
Recovery andReconstruction
Preparedness
56

Gender and Diversity Sensitivity Check
List Based on “The Sphere Project:
Humanitarian Charter and MinimumStandards in Humanitarian Response”
The original document is The Sphere Project 2011, The Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter andMinimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (2011 Edition). (Available at www.sphereproject.org)

Problems of short-term dispatch
Many local government officers weredispatched to the affected area from all overJapan. Some said, “It was appreciated, but
we would like a person who was dispatchedto stay at least a month. An inadequate
takeover of the work or a weekly replacementof support staff made affected people feelanxious. This gap of takeover of the work
rebound upon the local government officers or
the leaders at the evacuation centers.”
It might not be easy, but if local governments
outside the affected areas can dispatch atleast some officers for a long term, which
improves the takeover of the work andinformation sharing¸ they are able to support
the affected local governments in a better
way.
Information sharing from the community
In one local government in Miyagi Prefecture,
district nurses from all over Japan held ameeting to inform local district nurses about
difficult points and serious cases which were
understood during visits to the local area. On
the other hand, local nurses explained asummary of each district and the situation
during the disaster in order to make nurses
from outside understand the feelings of local
residents. In fact, local district nurses would
not have enough time to share the information
because they were very busy, but it is very
important to share information about
beneficiaries and damage situations to
support staff to produce results.

1. Are there any international standards forgender and diversity sensitivity in disaster
response and recovery?
Even if you understand the importance ofgender and diversity sensitivity in disaster
response and recovery, you might not be surewhat and how to act. There are internationallyaccorded guidance and it has been used in
the overseas post-disaster fields. We would
like to introduce the widely used international
standard, “The Sphere Project: Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in
Humanitarian Response.”
The Sphere Project was started in 1997 byinternational NGOs, the International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement in orderto stipulate minimum standards (hereafter, theSphere Standards) that should be met in relief
activities after disasters or conflicts. Genderand diversity sensitivity is stipulated as across-cutting theme that is necessary in any
humanitarian response. The SphereStandards can be referred to by thematic
sectors or by sections. It is useful for many
people in different positions: officers ofgovernments, staff of private voluntaryorganizations, volunteers, and people whowork on disaster prevention at the local level.
2. Affected people have “a right to life with
dignity” and “a right to assistance.”
The biggest reason why the minimum
standards were created and gender anddiversity sensitivity was prioritized within it isthat people who need support most and whoare in the most vulnerable position are unlikely
to receive assistance. In the confusion,
assistance may continue without knowing if itis provided to people in the most vulnerable

position and people who are discriminatedagainst. If assistance is provided without
being aware of various unfairness anddiscrimination embedded in society, certain
affected people might be further damaged
without intention.
The Sphere Standards stipulate two core
beliefs; 1) that those affected by disaster orconflict have a right to life with dignity and,
therefore, a right to assistance; and 2) that all
possible steps should be taken to alleviate
human suffering arising out of disaster orconflict. The ethical and legal backdrop tothese beliefs is “the Humanitarian Charter”
and “the Protection Principles”. “The
Humanitarian Charter” contains international
legal instruments relating to international
human rights and humanitarian action: The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women, Convention on the Rights of
the Child, and Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, etc. The Protection
Principles set out principles of actions toensure individual rights in accordance with“the Humanitarian Charter”; that inform all
humanitarian action: 1) Avoid exposing people
to further harm as a result of your actions, 2)
Ensure people’s access to impartial
assistance – in proportion to need and without
discrimination, 3) Protect people fromphysical and psychological harm arising fromviolence and coercion, and 4) Assist people toclaim their rights, access available remedies
and recover from the effects of abuse.

57

<What is the Sphere Standards?>
Two Core Beliefs
1. Those affected by disaster or conflict have a right to life with dignity and, therefore, a right toassistance.
2. All possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of disaster or conflict.
Makin of the Sphere Standards
Principles andCore Standards(=Standards relating
to aid process)Protection Principles

Core Standards
Minimum Standards(=Principles put into
practice)
Key actions
Key indicators
Guidance notes

Ethical and legal backdrop
International Humanitarian Law,
International Human Rights Law
and Refugee Law, etc.

Humanitarian Charter

Protection of Rights to disasteraffected people
1. Avoid exposing to further harm
2. Access to impartial assistance
3. Protect from violence and coercion
4. Assist recovery from abuse

Water Supply, Sanitation andHygiene Promotion

Food Security andNutrition

Shelter, Settlement and
Non-Food items

Health Action (including
Reproductive Health)

Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief

Minimum standards are a practical expressionof these beliefs and principles and consist of“the Core Standards,” which are common to
any actions; and other minimum standards in“water supply, sanitation and hygiene
promotion”, “food security and nutrition”,“shelter, settlement and non-food items”, and“health action (including reproductive health)”.
3. Who are the vulnerable people?
The Sphere Standards use the term
“vulnerable people.” This term refers to those
who are especially susceptible to the effects
of disasters. Due to age, gender, disability,class, ethnicity, political affiliations or religion,
people have different experience in disasters.
The Sphere Standards focus on vulnerable
people, especially women, children, elderly
people, persons with disabilities and people
58

living with HIV, and also point out that people
who are displaced due to disaster into
unfamiliar places are likely to face difficulties.
However, it is not effective to grasp issues ofvulnerable people from the individual
perspectives of women, children or persons
with disabilities, or to understand difficult
situations as stable ones, which ignore
overlapping vulnerabilities (for example,
women with disabilities) and the changing
nature of vulnerabilities over time. Above all, it
may ignore the fact that vulnerable people
have various capacities to manage andrecover from disaster.
Therefore, the Sphere Standards emphasize
the fact that, “Humanitarian responses are
more effective when they are based on anunderstanding of the different needs,

vulnerabilities, interests, capacities andcoping strategies of women and men, girls
and boys of all ages and the differing impacts
of disaster or conflict upon them.”
4.Gender and diversity sensitivity in theSphere Standards
The following is the checklist prepared toconfirm the summary of excerpted points ongender and diversity sensitivity from theSphere Standards, and the comments.
1) The Core Standards which are essential
to all assistance*Discussions for people-centeredhumanitarian response
1. Ensure a balanced representation ofvulnerable people in discussions with thedisaster-affected population. If there is a groupfacing social difficulties in order to participate,understand the barriers and remove them.
*Assessment of necessary assistance2. Collect disaggregated data by gender andage
3. Provide the disaggregated data by genderand age in a report
4. Listen to an inclusive range of people in theassessment – women and men of all ages andother vulnerable people affected by the disaster5. Conduct the assessment in a space where
women and girls are able to speak comfortably
when listening to their needs. If necessary,
prepare a separate space, and staffs that havethe skills to deal with sexual violence should
attend.
6. Conduct a separate and detailed analysis ofgroups, which might be more vulnerable
because they are discriminated against or do
not have a voice after disaster.
7. Assessment teams should be composed ofa mix of women and men, including those withskills in collecting gender-sensitive data andcommunicating with children.
*Design and implement the program
8. Using disaggregated assessment data,
analyse the ways in which the disaster has
affected different individuals and populations,and design the programme to meet their
particular needs.
9. Promote the participation of women, men,
girls and boys of all ages in the design of the
programme in order to ensure that vulnerable

people have full access to assistance andprotection services.
10. Analyse all contextual factors that increase
people’s vulnerability, designing the programme
to progressively reduce their vulnerability.
*Aid worker performance
11. Recruit teams with a balance of women andmen, age and social background so that the
team’s diversity is appropriate to the local
culture and context.
12. Publicize among aid workers and local
people relating to supporting codes of conductthat protect disaster affected people fromsexual abuse, exploitation and other violationsof people’s human rights.
13. Publicize that aid worker should be aware of
the power that those who give assistance have,and avoid abusing power and any engagementof sexual activity or other acts in exchange forassistance.
<Comments>
Leaders who have the power ofdecision-making in the management ofevacuation centers and temporary housing
communities were mostly men. Women andpersons with disabilities were few (1). Under thissituation, it is difficult to assess the needs forassistance of women and persons withdisabilities ((8) and (9)). Observe and decide
what makes them afraid of voicing their opinions
and what make it easy for them to participate.
Devices for places or a system for assessment
make it easy for those who have not had achance to speak out ((5) (7) (11); also refer tothe cases of 01 and 07). Including both men
and women into disaster response workers
especially shows great improvement.
It is difficult to understand the real situation ofvarious affected people when only able to listen
to local leaders or the heads of households andconsider them as opinion of the wholecommunity or all the family members. It isnecessary to assess individual situations. It iseasy to give up because they do not want tocome out or speak out, but it contributes todiscrimination and exclusion behind the reasonof being unable to do so (not complying with“the Protection Principles”). It is also important
to make the way acceptable to the local culture
and society.

59

It is important to assess the situation of affected
people by gender and age in order to provide
prompt and appropriate assistance and ensurethat no-one is excluded from assistance ((2) (3)(4) and (8)). Data disaggregation is rarely
possible initially, but disaggregate it by sex andage at the earliest opportunity, and utilize it. The
example of disaggregation is, 0-5 male/female,
6-12 male/female and 13-18 male/female, andthen in 10 year age brackets, e.g. 19-29,
male/female.
More assistance is needed to provide for“people in vulnerable positions = those who
require assistance the most” rather than“average assistance and equal for everyone.” Ifvulnerable people overcome their difficulties andbecome active agent of assistance, notremaining as beneficiaries of assistance, it
contributes to building disaster-resilient
communities.
2) Water supply, toilets and hygiene
promotion*Hygiene promotion
1. Consult all men and women of all ages on thepriority hygiene items they require. Especiallyconsult women and girls on appropriatematerials for menstrual hygiene.
2. Ensure that no one group (e.g. women) within
the affected population is overburdened withthe responsibility for hygiene-promoting
activities (e.g. cleaning or waste disposal).
*Water supply
3.The location, design andmaintenance/management of water collection
and bathing facilities should be decided inconsultation with the users, particularly women,
girls and persons with disabilities.
4. Provide separate bathing facilities for men
and women, and private laundry areas for
women to wash and dry undergarments.
5. Water collection and bathing facilities should
be located in central, accessible and well-lit
areas with good visibility, in order to ensure thesafety of users.
*Toilets
6. Separate toilets for men and women. The
ratio should be 1:3. (1 (men): 3(women))
7. Consult and secure the approval of all users(especially women, the elderly and people withlimited mobility such as older people andpersons with disabilities) on the siting and60

design of toilet facilities.
8. Toilets should be appropriately designed andlocated to ensure that they are used safely by all
disaster-affected people (children, elderly
people, pregnant women and persons withdisabilities).
9. Toilets are sited in such a way as to minimize
security threats to users, especially women andgirls, throughout the day and the night.
10. Toilets should allow for the disposal ofwomen’s menstrual hygiene materials andprovide women with the necessary privacy forwashing and drying menstrual hygienematerials. This point should be decided inconsultation with women and girls.
<Comments>
The siting and design of toilet and bathingfacilities, and washing and drying areas should
be decided in consultation with people withlimited mobility such as older people andpersons with disabilities, and women and girls
who are concerned with security. This is the
knack of making user-friendly facilities foreveryone ((1) (3) (7) and (10)).
Providing separate facilities for men and womenand ensuring that women and girls feel safe
when using the toilets provided are essential toa life with dignity in evacuation centers andreduces the risk of sexual violence ((5) (6) (8)and (9)). Facilitating unisex “multi-purpose
toilets” is useful as the gender of caregivers’
may be different from that person who needs
help.
Even when there is no option for the provisionof facilities due to space limitation or physicalstructure, it is very meaningful for women, older
people and persons living with disabilities toparticipate in the discussion regarding thedesign of facilities and rule-making for users.
When consulting women, it is necessary toconsult women of all ages; such as
middle-aged women, young girls, single
women, and junior-high and high school
students. Having both men and women in
charge of managing or supporting toilet andhygiene promotion activities makes it easier tolisten to various opinions and deal with any
problems.

3) Food security and nutrition;
Income-generation employment*Food security and nutrition
1. Ensure participation of both men and womenin the design of, and support for, food security
and its implementation. Women should
participate because women, in many cases,
have the role of preparing meals in thehousehold.
2. Give priority to pregnant and breastfeeding
women to access food.
3. Share the information on accessibility, safety
and hygiene management of cooking facilities
with the users. Especially consult the women.
4. Contents of meals and care for persons withdisabilities and older people who have difficultyin the intake of meals should be considered.
*Income generation and employment
5. Ensure that women and men have equal
access to appropriate income-earning
opportunities.
6. Give alternative opportunities to pregnant
women and persons with disabilities.
7. Provide care facilities for babies and family
members so that family responsibility should notincrease the workload of particular persons(usually women).
<Comments>
In many evacuation centers, only women werein charge of the preparation of meals. Some ofthem were exhausted by the all-day-longcooking. Some had to juggle taking care of thefamily, going to work, cleaning houses andworkplaces, and job-hunting, and were
suffering. If there had been a system to include
both men and women in the preparation ofmeals, it would have avoided putting such aburden just on women (1).
The unemployment ratio increased in women
more than in men in the disaster-affected area
compared with the pre-disaster period. Not only
job creation but also other assistance for
affected people often produces a gap between
men and women at the goal point even though
the assistance is designed for both genders tohave equal access at the starting point.
Consideration is needed for women andpersons with disabilities to have easy access tothe support offered ((5) (6) and (7)). There arecountries, which reserve a quota of new
employment for women in post disaster.

4) Shelter, settlement and non-food items
1. Include the opinion of vulnerable groups on
the usage of space in the evacuation facilities.
2. Ensure privacy by separating space withpartitions in the passage to the facilities andbetween family/individual units in the evacuation
centers.
3. All affected family members should be
involved in decisions of support relating toresidence.
4. Ensure participation of the wide range ofv ul ne r a b l e p e o p l e i nt o th e plan n in g an dconstruction process so as to avoid thedisadvantage and difficulties of female-headedhouseholds, persons with disabilities and older
people in evacuation facilities, temporary
housing and housing reconstruction.
5. Provide clothing and hygiene products,
according to the separate needs by gender andby age, appropriate to the season and culture.
6. People who have chronic disease andpregnant women need extra clothing andhygiene products. Infants and the elderly havedifficulty in controlling their body temperature.
For these people, distribution of clothing should
be considered carefully.
7. Especially consult women on the need forcooking tools and dishes.
<Comments>
It is necessary to include the opinions of womenand vulnerable people in the usage of spaceand management in evacuation centers andtemporary housing. Reflection of the opinions ofelderly people, persons with disabilities, womenand girls makes the evacuation centers
accessible to everyone ((1) and (4)). Protectionof privacy is a basis of evacuation life with
dignity (2).
Even when there is no option for the usage ofevacuation centers due to the limitation of spaceor its physical structure, it is meaningful to
include women, older people and persons withdisabilities into the discussion on the usage andthe rule of extra space in evacuation centers.
When consulting women, it is better to consult
women of all ages; such as middle-aged
w o m e n, yo ung g i rl s, s ingle women , andjunior-high and high school students ((3) – (7)).
Having both men and women in charge ofmanaging extra space and distributing supplies
in evacuation centers makes it easier to listen tovarious opinions and deal with any problems.
615) Health Action
1. Include women in medical staff to give healthservice to disaster-affected people (to ensure
women’s access).
2. Ensure medical service in response toreproductive health needs of affected people(e.g. provision of contraceptives for familyplanning and prevention of HIV, emergency
contraceptives for victims of sexual violence,and support for pregnant women.
3. All actors in disaster response must be awareof the risks of sexual violence and must work toprevent and respond to it.
4. The incidence of sexual violence should bereported anonymously and shared to informprevention and response efforts.
5. Ensure services for clinical management ofsexual violence, including access toconsultation with confidentiality, transportation
to appropriate treatment facilities and legal
assistance (based on the survivor’s will) as partof health services in disaster management.
<Comments>
Having a woman among medical staff who
conducts direct services to affected people
makes it easier for women to ask for a
consultation (1).
It is regrettable that sexual and domestic
violence have increased in the past during majordisasters including in Japan and othercountries. Survivors are reluctant to speak
about their damage from sexual violence even in
ordinary times; even more so during disasters.
Therefore, all actors in disaster relief andreconstruction should attend workshops andtraining, including prevention of sexual violenceand prepare for how to deal with it ((2) and (3)).
It is not tolerated to take an attitude that sexual
violence does not have anything to do with
one’s activity ((4) and (5); 3 and 4 in theProtection Principles). It is necessary to express
a stance that sexual violence is not tolerated indaily life. It is also important to research
consultant services at local government andwomen’s centers and support system of thelocal police, medical care and the judiciary.

62

5. Study the Sphere Standards and incorporate
them into disaster response activities

Organizations that cooperated with this collection(Japanese alphabetical order)

The Sphere Standards are used widely in thefield of humanitarian assistance abroad. It isregrettable that the standards were not fully
used in relief activities in the East Japan
Disaster. However, study sessions andworkshops about the Sphere Standards aregradually being held in many places in order
to use them as a reference in the longreconstruction process ahead or to prepare
for any future disasters.
Some say, “It is impossible to force local
people who struggle to run evacuation centers
to apply international standards.” “It may be
impossible to listen to every single person
when there are many evacuees, due to thetime constraint. There is no room to do it.”
The Sphere Standards and the checklists forgender and diversity sensitivity above can bereferred to in each point. They do not become
meaningless even when all standards or
sections are not complied with. It is possible
to start with a particular section which may beeasy to use and introduce it gradually. It isalso possible to make original standards inthe community, in accordance with Sphere’s
two core beliefs, “Those affected by disasteror conflict have a right to life with dignity and,
therefore, a right to assistance,” and “Allpossible steps should be taken to alleviate
human suffering arising out of disaster orconflict,” as well as the Protection Principles.
It is possible to review disaster prevention
drills, drills to set up evacuation centers andsupply stock, referring to this checklist. Thiscan be referred to when it is unclear what to
do for gender and diversity sensitivity.
It is impossible that local organizations, local
governments and voluntary organizations,which are supposed to start relief activities
first in the disaster field, practice gender anddiversity sensitive activities unless they
promote a better understanding in ordinary
time. The SphereStandards are usefulfor learning not only
a perspective ofgender and diversity,
but also humanrights in disasters.

RQ Citizens Disaster Relief Network Japan
Asian Japan Women’s Resource Center
Americares
Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer CenterWith You Saitama Saigai Tsunagari Cafe Jikkou Iinkai
Kawasaki City Gender Equality Center Scrum 21
The Nippon Foundation
Civic Force (Kinkyu Sokuo Team)
Save the Children Japan
Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCO)
Fukushima-ken Seishonen Ikusei Danjo Kyosei Suishin Kiko (Fukushima Gender Equality Center)
Sampaguita F.L.
National Federation of Regional Women’s Organization
DPI Women’s Network Japan
Asia Nippon Sougo Koryu Center ICAN
Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation
Sankaku Planet (Nagoya City Gender Equality Promotion Center)
Sanakaku Planning Iwate
ShaplaNeer=Citizens' Committee in Japan for Overseas Support
Single Mothers’ Forum
Japan National Assembly of Disabled Peoples' International (DPI-Japan)
Tono Magokoro Net
Japan Association for Refugees
Association for Aid and Relief, Japan
Japan International Volunteer Center
Japan First Aid Society
Mori no Dengon Yururu
Higashi Matsushima City OfficeMiyagi Jo-net (Miyagi Josei Fukko Shien Network)
Miyagi Tome Egao Net

Thanks also go to the officials from affected
and other local governments, and individuals
for their cooperation with this collection.
Editorial Assistance: Mika Okamoto
Design: Tamiko Nakamura
Production/Publication: Women’s Network forEast Japan Disaster63