Introduction
Large-scale disasters threaten the livelihood of all people,
but women, children, and vulnerable groups are
disproportionately affected. Women’s difficulties in times ofdisasters are based on the stereotypical perception ofgender roles, indicating that gender issues during normal
times become more apparent during disasters. For
instance, care responsibilities such as housework, childcare,and nursing care are often concentrated on women, andviolence against women and children, including DV(domestic violence) and sexual violence, tends to be more
serious during disasters. Therefore, it is essential toincorporate the perspective of gender equality into allpolicies related to disaster management, not only during
times of disaster but also during normal times.

Society specifies disaster management as one of the priority
areas. The latest Basic Disaster Management Plan under the
Basic Act on Disaster Management also clarifies the need topromote a gender perspective in all phases of disaster
response, from prevention to recovery and reconstruction.
In 2020, the government formulated the “Guidelines fordisaster prevention and reconstruction from the perspectiveof gender equality.” These guidelines provide basic policies
and points for local governments taking charge of disaster
response to tackle each stage of disaster preparedness,initial response, life in a shelter, and recovery andreconstruction from the perspective of gender equality.
This document is an overview of the guidelines. We hopethat this document is beneficial to other countries facing
similar disaster response challenges.

Japan has strived to incorporate a gender perspective in its
disaster management policies. The 5th Basic Plan for
Gender Equality under the Basic Act for Gender Equal

Part 1

Basic policies

1

Promoting gender equality during
normal times is the foundation ofdisaster management

Since existing gender issues become more pronounced in times of disaster, creatinga gender-equal society during normal times serves as a foundation for the smooth
implementation of disaster response efforts.

2

Assigning women to leadershiproles

In order to reflect a gender perspective in disaster response, it is necessary to
promote women’s participation in decision-making processes and on-site activities.

3

Realizing how men and women areaffected differently by disasters

It is important to understand that women and men are affected by disasters
differently, and to give due consideration to the different needs of women and men indisaster response. The participation of women is also important in the operation of
shelters, for example in providing support to affected people.

4

Respecting the human rights ofmen and women and ensuring
their safety and security

Evacuees must have access to safe, secure facilities. These shelters are required tohave partitions to ensure adequate privacy, maintain security measures to prevent
violence against women and children (such as domestic and sexual violence), andensure that women survivors feel safe to seek help.

5

Establishing a necessary
cooperation system with theprivate sector that incorporates agender perspective

In times of disaster, cooperation between the private and public sectors is even more
important than in normal times. Establishing a relationship of mutual trust andconcluding necessary agreements during normal times will enable rapid disaster
responses including information sharing.

6

Clarifying the roles of Gender
Equality Departments and Gender
Equality Promotion Centers*

The gender equality departments of local governments and Gender Equality
Promotion Centers play a major role in promoting disaster response activities from agender perspective. As required by the national Basic Disaster Management Plan,
local governments need to clarify what roles gender equality departments andcenters should play and how they should cooperate in their disaster management
plans and shelter management manuals.

7

Considering women’s needs whenaddressing persons requiring
special care

Persons requiring special care, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, babies andinfants, pregnant women and nursing mothers, and foreigners, and include both
women and men. In addition, experts in helping persons requiring special carebecome able to participate in decision-making during normal times.

*	Gender Equality Promotion Centers are comprehensive facilities for gender equality and women that conduct activities including awareness raising, lectures andconsultation services, as well as information collection and provision. Each prefecture or municipality sets up such a center on a voluntary basis. They also play a majorrole in facilitating disaster response from a gender perspective. For this reason, the government is encouraging the establishment of a mutual support network among
these centers so that they can become a base for promoting disaster management from the perspective of gender equality in communities.

2

Part 2
1

Necessary initiatives at each phase of disaster response

Preparations during normal times
For disaster response from a gender perspective, it is important that women participate in the decisionmaking process and on-site activities during normal times.
1. More women should be appointed to disaster management departments of local governments, and to local disastermanagement councils that formulate local disaster management plans.
2. The role of gender equality departments of local governments and Gender Equality Promotion Centers should be positioned inlocal disaster management plans and shelter management manuals.
3. When stockpiling supplies, necessary and sufficient supplies should be selected, taking into account the needs of pregnant
women and nursing mothers, babies and infants, and child-rearing families as well as gender differences, by using the “Stockpile
Checklist (p. 8)”.
4. The participation of women in voluntary disaster management organizations, which is operated by local residents, should bepromoted. It is also necessary to develop female leaders and provide a place where leaders can collaborate with each other andengage in disaster prevention activities during normal times.
5. In disaster education and drills, male leaders should be encouraged to understand the different needs and impacts of womenand men during disasters, and the importance of disaster response from the perspective of gender equality.
6. In the survey of disaster situation, gender-disaggregated data should be collected and analyzed to understand how women andmen are affected differently by the disaster.

Case StudyCity’s Efforts in Disaster Prevention from a Gender Perspective and Activities ofLocal Female Leaders
In 2012, Kochi City council discussed how to promotedisaster prevention efforts from a gender perspective andthe assignment of female officials to the disastermanagement department. The city council also partiallyrevised the Kochi City Disaster Management Council
Ordinance, increasing the number of the members ofmunicipal disaster management council by 10 andappointing three female members, who had previously not
been included.

workshop and created a list of supplies necessary for womenas an appendix to the manual.
Kochi City trains female leaders and actively uses themfor its disaster prevention efforts with an understanding thatreflecting a gender perspective in disaster response will
improve local disaster preparedness.

In these circumstances, from 2012 to 2013 female
officials in their 20s to 50s from the city formed a committee
to discuss Nankai Trough earthquakes from a gender
perspective (succeeded by a follow-up committee from 2014
to 2015) and proposed initiatives required from women’s
perspectives in the city’s disaster management measures.
In response to the committee’s proposals, the city’s
Gender Equality Promotion Center (Kochi Gender Equality
Center “Sole”) launched a disaster prevention course called
the Women’s Disaster Reduction Project. Those whocompleted the course started the Kochi women’s disaster
reduction group, training local female leaders, disseminating
information on their activities, and building a prefectural
network of disaster prevention activities.

Activities of the Kochi Women’sGroup for Disaster Reduction

In addition, the city held a workshop for women in theprocess of creating a supply distribution manual, which
describes what supplies are necessary and how to procure
them in times of disaster. Some members of the Kochi
women’s disaster reduction group participated in the

Donation of relief goods in thetime of the western Japan
torrential rains in 20183

Part 2

2

Necessary initiatives at each phase of disaster response

Initial response
In order to incorporate a gender perspective into initial response, it is important for local disastermanagement headquarters to have a system in place to provide information on and raise issues concerning
the necessary response to women’s needs and challenges.
1. Female officials and staff of gender equality departments should be assigned to local disaster management headquarters and its
subsidiary organizations.
2. There is a need to support local government officials who are taking care of children or family members so that they can keep
engaged in their disaster response duties.
3. In addition to mobile-phone networks and emergency public-address systems, email systems and social networks should be
developed in order to better provide evacuation recommendation to women who are indoors (engaged in caring for small children or
seniors, for example) when disaster strikes. Pregnant women and nursing mothers, parents with their babies or infants, and those
who are caring for their elderly or disabled family members at home need to be considered in evacuation guidance and assistance.
4. The policy on zero-tolerance for violence against women and children should be disseminated and enforced so that evacuees
and volunteers will become neither victims nor perpetrators of DV and sexual violence in designated shelters, temporary
housing, and volunteer activity places after disasters. To protect women and children from any form of violence and ensure theirsafety, the following actions should be undertaken:•	Put up posters to promote the prevention of DV and sexual violence•	Install toilets, changing rooms, and bathing facilities at appropriate places and ensure users’ safety with lighting and personal alarms•	Patrol shelters in male and female pairs•	Make sure that female staff patrol women’s toilets and changing rooms• Have female counselors and a women’s helpline in place

Case Study
Response of the City’s Disaster Management Headquarters to the WesternJapan Torrential Rains in 2018
Major activities

The torrential rain that began in western Japan in theearly hours of July 7, 2018 caused flooding in Kurashiki City,
Okayama Prefecture. In the initial response phase on thefollowing day, some officials of city’s gender equality
department were assigned to the secretariat of the local
disaster management headquarters since the disastermanagement department decided that women’s
perspectives were necessary for the operation of shelters.

• Ask evacuees about their needs in shelters• Raise public awareness on the prevention of sexual
violence and provide evacuees with hotline information• Procure and distribute supplies for women andvulnerable groups• Give consideration to sexual minorities

In the early stage of the disaster, shelters were in chaos.
Therefore, under the supervision of the Civil Affairs Bureau,
which was responsible for the operation of shelters at thattime, the officials of the gender equality department weredirectly able to provide support to evacuees from a gender
perspective in shelters based on the latest information about
the moves of the disaster management headquarters,
disaster damage and the conditions of shelters, and disaster
response.
The initiatives from a gender perspective early phase of
the disaster helped improve the living environments ofshelters. Since disaster management departments alone are
not capable of handling disasters, it is important for them towork with gender equality departments during normal times.

Conditions at the shelter

City officials (public health nurses)
asking evacuees about their needs

4Part 2

3

Necessary initiatives at each phase of disaster responseLife in shelters
In past disasters, women faced challenges such as little privacy and a shortage of toilets. To make mattersworse, many shelters were managed by men, which made it difficult to reflect women’s voices in theiroperation. To solve these problems and meet the needs of both women and men in shelters, more womenneed to be involved in the management and leadership of shelters.
1. Both women and men should be appointed in managing shelters.
2. Women should participate in evacuees’ voluntary operating bodies for shelters with the goal of increasing the ratio of women in
leadership positions to 30 percent or higher.
3. To improve the living environment of shelters, the following measures should be taken upon the opening of shelters:•	Install partitions that ensure sufficient privacy•	Install nursing rooms. Toilets, clothes-drying spaces, changing rooms, rest spaces, and bathing facilities should be separate
for men and women•	Install more toilets for women than those for men
4. For evacuees who stay at home or in their cars, necessary supplies and information should be provided, taking into consideration
the different needs of women and men.
5. The distribution of sanitary goods, underwear, and other women’s products should be handled by women, and always placed ineasily accessible places in women-only spaces and women’s toilets.
6. Measures should be taken to ensure that pregnant women and nursing mothers, babies and infants, and elderly women canmaintain their health and have necessary nutrition, as well as to secure clean environments, including preventive measuresagainst infectious diseases.
7. “Shelter Checklist (Annex)” should be used for local governments to continuously check whether they fully meet the different
needs of women and men.

Paper partitions(Photo courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects)

Clothes-drying space for women(Kumamoto City)

Changing/nursing room (dome tents)(Kumamoto City)

Changing room for women (using cardboard curtains)(Asakura City)

5

Part 2

Necessary initiatives at each phase of disaster response

Case Study
Activities of Kumamoto City Gender Equality Center Harmony in the 2016
Kumamoto Earthquake
In the aftermath of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake,
Kumamoto City Gender Equality Center Harmony consulted
with Kumamoto City on its response to disaster based on
information provided by Gender Equality Promotion Centersand other organizations across the country. With the city’s
consent, Kumamoto City Gender Equality Center Harmony
formed a team of staff and launched a “shelter caravan”
initiative right after the earthquake.

early phase of the disaster, it was still difficult for the caravan
team to talk with shelter managers because most of the
shelters were in the midst of confusion. In such cases, theteam members obtained the consent of the managers andchecked the living environments in shelters on their own withthe checklist. For shelters without changing rooms, they
proposed installing changing rooms by bringing changing
room signs. They also proposed to provide free access tosanitary goods in women’s toilets.

One of the activities was to improve the living
environments of shelters with the Shelter Checklist. In the

Proposed placing samples of sanitary goods.

Handed out changing and nursing room
signs and proposed hanging the signs on the
doors of changing and nursing rooms.

Caravan team interviewed
shelter managers and checked
the living environments inshelters with the checklist.
Installed suggestion boxes called “Everyone’s
Voice” in men’s and women’s toilets, regularlycollected the boxes, and proposed making
improvements based on the suggestions.

Called for and distributed relief supplies for
women and children.

Another activity was to raise public awareness of theprevention of DV and sexual violence. Immediately after the
Kumamoto earthquake occurred, Gender Equality Promotion
Centers in the East region informed Kumamoto City Gender
Equality Center Harmony that DV and sexual violence cases
were reported in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In a
bid to prevent such cases in Kumamoto, they created posters
against DV and sexual violence that provided helpline
information and posted them in shelters.

Activities to raise public awareness of the prevention of DV
and sexual violence

Their activities resulted in shelters paying more attention
to the privacy of female evacuees by providing changing
rooms and nursing spaces. The activities also improved theway of distributing supplies for women and made otherimprovements from a gender perspective, which had been
overlooked before.

6Part 2

4

Necessary initiatives at each phase of disaster response

Recovery and reconstruction
In the recovery and reconstruction phase, affected people need to restore their homes, and livelihoods aswell as reconnect with others. Unfortunately, women are more likely to lose their job after a disaster because
more women are contractual workers employees. For this reason, the perspective of gender equality should
be incorporated in recovery and reconstruction measures.
1. More women should be appointed to local reconstruction headquarters.
2. More women should participate in the policy-making process in developing reconstruction plans.
3. The participation of women should be encouraged in the decision-making process for their planning and designing of temporary
housing. Measures (such as installing outdoor lighting) should be taken to create an environment that prevents violence against
women and children.
4. In order to reduce the gap in return to work between men and women, efforts should be made to secure places for children andthe elderly who need nursing care, create a work environment where it is easy to balance work and family, provide incomecompensation, and support continued employment.
5. Medium- to long-term mental healthcare should be provided to help reconstruct the lives of affected people.

Case Study
Restoration of Livelihoods and Employment
NPO Yappesu in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, which
was struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake, has madecontinued efforts to help women find a job and startbusinesses for more than 10 years since the very beginningof the disaster to use women’s power in rebuilding the cityand tackling local challenges.

• Provide job counselling and hold employment
support programs with childcare service and job fairs
to help women rebuild their lives themselves

Their activities to support women’s employment andentrepreneurship prevented the outflow of the young
population and revitalized the local community. If a local
citizens’ group that has a gender perspective and knows the
local community well works with the local government, they
can promote the reconstruction of the local community very
effectively.

• Provide a consultation service to help women startbusinesses, low-rent incubation offices, and businessadvice from experts• Work with local companies to provide work-at-home
opportunities to mothers with small children who
cannot work outside home

• Open a “challenge shop” where women
entrepreneurs can display their products and holdsales and other events to help their businessTrain mental care specialists for women in coaching,mental health, and resilience by providing humanresource development programs to improve selfrecovery for women under considerable stress from thedisaster in cooperation with private companies

Major activities
Support for employment and other services for women,
mainly mothers, in the Ishinomaki area

Human resource development program to improve self-recovery for
women under stress

Business startup support program

7

Part 3Useful materials

Part 3 provides checklists, posters, and other useful materials readily available at the site of disaster response.

Stockpile Checklist
The selection and quantities of supplies for stockpiling need to reflect the different needs of women and men, as well as the needs of pregnant
women, nursing mothers, and child-rearing families. Women should be involved in discussing the selection and quantities of supplies.
Although everyone has different needs, each person needs to stockpile at least three days’ worth of supplies. Residents should be
encouraged to stockpile necessary supplies during normal times.
Check

Sanitary napkins (including ordinary ones and ones with long-lasting protection)
Pantiliners

For women

Sanitary shorts
Personal alarms and safety whistles
Non-transparent disposal bags
Underwear for women (in various sizes)

For adolescent girls
and young women

Underwear for girls (in sizes and shapes suitable for each developmental stage)
Personal alarms and safety whistles
Underwear for pregnant women and nursing mothers

For pregnant
women and nursing
mothers

Clothing for pregnant women and nursing mothers
Personal alarms and safety whistles
Nursing pads
Powdered milk (including hypoallergenic products) or liquid milk
Pillows or cushions (a few for each nursing room) and capes or bath towels for nursing (or stoles)
Drinking water for babies and infants (soft water)
Nursing bottles, artificial nipples, cups (or disposable paper cups for nursing using cups),
disinfectants, detergents, washing brushes and other tools, and disposable wooden chopsticks

For babies andinfants

Kettles and pots for boiling water (these pots should not be used for cooking)
Weaning food (including non-allergenic products)
Dishes and spoons
Disposable diapers for babies and infants (in various sizes for girls and boys) and plastic bags for
disposal of diapers
Sanitary wipes
Disposable diapers for adults (in various sizes for women and men) and plastic bags for disposal ofdiapers
Incontinence pads (for women and men)
Sanitary wipes

For nursing care

Nursing meals (rice porridge, thickened food, and thickening agents)
Portable toilets and Western-style fixed toilets
Personal alarms and nurse call buttons
Denture cleaners
Spoons and forks

For foreigners(women)StolesFood that can be eaten regardless of religious beliefs

For all people

Partitions that provide sufficient privacy
Bedding for people with leg or lower back problems (such as cardboard beds)8Annex

Shelter Checklist
Date of Check://

Checking Person:

Check

Spaces of the shelter
A nursing room (with chairs, pillows or cushions for nursing, and a diaper changing space)

Privacy

Separate men’s and women’s changing rooms and rest spaces
Separate men’s and women’s changing rooms and rest spaces located in separate areas
Partitions tall and large enough to protect privacy
Adequate pathways with steps being cleared
Area for families with a baby or infant
Area for people who need nursing care or assistance

Persons requiring
special care

Area for single women and women-only households
Women-only space (where goods and counseling for women are available)
Space for children (where parents can let their children play and study and get useful information on
childcare) and a childcare area
Bedding (such as cardboard beds) for people with legs or lower back problems
Toilets are in a safe, accessible place.
Women’s toilets and men’s toilets are located far apart.
Women’s toilets: placement of women’s products and personal alarms, more temporary toilets for
women than those for men.
Men’s toilets: placement of incontinence pads and other similar goods.

Toilets

Multi-purpose toilets for people with disabilities and mothers and babies.
Western-style toilets.
Outdoor toilets are not located in dark places.
Night lighting in the stalls and on the route to the toilets.
Stalls have locks.

Bathing facilities

SafetyBathing facility that is safe and as barrier-free as possible.
Bathing facility where men and women can bathe alone (or with a helper).
Dangerous areas and blind spots are identified and restricted.
If partitions are tall, those living in partitioned rooms are regularly checked.
Each room has a room tag (using a pictograph and easy-to-understand Japanese).

OthersInformation is provided on bulletin boards (for those who cannot use the Internet or have poor access to
information).

CheckManagement system and rules of the shelter
Both women and men should be appointed in managing shelters.
At least 30 percent of the members of evacuee’s voluntary management bodies for shelters are women.

Operational system

Operational rules

The members of evacuee’s voluntary management bodies include representatives from various backgrounds.
• Persons requiring special care or assistance • PTA members• People with disabilities• Junior high and high school students• People with a baby or infant• Foreigners (if the shelter has many foreign residents)
The burden of meal preparation, cleanup after meals, cleaning, and other chores done by evacuees is notunevenly distributed to those of either gender or in certain positions (it is to be shared by those who can
do it, regardless of gender).
Women’s products (such as sanitary goods and underwear) are distributed by female staff.
There is a system that enables evacuees to make requests and ask for help with their problems (placing asuggestion box in the toilets or other places).
The shelter staff actively ask women and families rearing children or caring for the elderly about theirneeds and problems and reflect their opinions in its management.

Identification ofneeds

The shelter has a list of evacuees and strictly manages their information.
(Such information includes their names, ages, genders, health condition, and need for childcare or
nursing care, where they evacuated, whether they stay at home or in their car, and whether they want toprovide their personal information in response to inquiries outside the shelter)
The shelter has a counseling system and provides mental care and health consultation with the help of
medical professionals.

Measures to prevent violence and secure safety
The shelter has a list of evacuees who became victims of spousal or other violence and strictly manages their information.
Crime prevention activities are conducted by men and women together.
The sleeping areas, women-only spaces, and other necessary areas are patrolled.
If there are evacuees staying in their cars on the premises, the car parking areas, such as the schoolyard, are patrolled.
Measures to create an environment that does not tolerate violence have been taken.
(For example, there are posters raising public awareness of zero tolerance for violence, cards for counseling, additional lighting, arule that women and children move in groups of two or more, and a rule stating that evacuees should tell someone around themwhen leaving their allocated places).
Personal alarms or safety whistles have been distributed to evacuees.
Evacuees have been informed about a helpline for anxiety, worries, violence against women, and other problems, as well as a helpline for men.

Hygiene and prevention of infections
Measures to prevent infections (such as hand washing, disinfection, and wearing masks) have been taken.
Hygiene measures for toilet use and waste disposal have been taken.
Toilet shoes (such as slippers) are used.
Waste is thoroughly sorted for collection.
When preparing meals on-site, the shelter makes sure to show cooking procedures, manage food, show the presence of major
allergens, and dispose of leftover food.
Before distributing infant formula (powdered and liquid milk), the shelter gives an explanation of the formula based on nursing assessment sheets.

Support for people who evacuated to places other than designated shelters including those staying at home
The shelter has information on evacuees who evacuated to places other than designated shelters including those staying at home
(to identify those who require special care).
The shelter has times and places to distribute food and supplies to people who evacuated to places other than designated shelters
including those staying at home.
The shelter has a system to provide support and other necessary information to people who evacuated to places other thandesignated shelters including those staying at home.
The shelter has a system to find out about the needs of people who evacuated to places other than designated shelters including
those staying at home.