"Humanitarian Action: Does Gender Matter?"
Humanitarian emergencies often require aid agencies to react quickly in order to be effective. The need for rapid intervention may mean that it is impossible to take account of cultural, demographic and other differences within affected populations. In life and death situations the question of gender may therefore be seen as a luxury.
However, an increasing body of evidence suggests that many failures in the outcomes of humanitarian programmes and policies are due to the assumption that large groups of people are homogeneous rather than subgroups of men, women, young people and other disadvantaged groups with different needs and interests. This evening's discussion will examine whether interventions to save lives and secure livelihoods in emergencies are more efficient and effective when gender differences are properly understood and addressed.
Apologies, but this event is now full.
Thursday December 4th 2008 (6.30pm - 8.30pm)