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3. HOW to integrate gender into an emergency response?

CARE’s gender in emergencies approach focuses on mainstreamed, integrated and targeted actions and initiatives. The approach has four key areas. These are also outlined in CARE’s Gender in Emergencies Guidance note.

Rapid Gender Analysis

Rapid Gender Analysis provides timely and critical information in times of crisis. RGA gathers information about different needs, risks, capacities, priorities, and coping strategies of people affected. RGA prioritizes hearing from people of different age, sex and diversity groups.

A Rapid Gender Analysis seeks to understand these three questions:

  • What gendered-related rights denials exist in a given context?
  • How gender relations will affect the achievement of sustainable results?
  • How proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? Will it exacerbate or reduce inequalities?

RGA looks at the roles and relationships between women, girls, boys and men. It ensures a focus on key areas of intersectionality that exist in the specific context. An RGA is a “live document” built in a progressive way. It provides an initial, but incomplete analysis of gender relations in an emergency. RGAs embrace imperfection. A level of imperfection is required to have data and information available timely, to inform humanitarian decision-making. RGA is then updated, as more information becomes available.

The steps of an RGA are:

  • Step 0: Engage with partners (Please note that this step is only applicable for Interagency RGAs)
  • Step 1: Find existing gender information
  • Step 2: Collect new gender information
  • Step 3: Analyse the gender information
  • Step 4: Write and make practical recommendations
  • Step 5: Share and update the RGA report
  • Step 6: Track outcomes and learn from the RGA recommendations

Links to additional resources additional guidance can be found below:

Minimum Commitments for technical sectors

CARE has Minimum Commitments to ensure it’s staff and partners put in place programming and approaches that mainstream and integrate gender. Key sectors include Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH), Shelter, Food Security and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

Gender mainstreaming and integration helps ensure the provision of equitable services and assistance. This should take place at all stages of the humanitarian programme cycle. Attention to users’ safety, dignity and access is important. Minimum Commitments are people-centered commitments. These aim to improve the quality of response programmes. They take into consideration issues such as gender, gender-based violence, child protection, disability and age. These commitments support and reinforce CARE and partners’ accountability to the affected population.

CARE has developed a set of Minimum Commitments for its core sectors: WASH, Shelter, Food Security and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

Links to additional resources additional guidance can be found below:

Women Lead in Emergencies

CARE’s Women Lead in Emergencies model aims to address barriers to women’s participation in emergencies.
The model works best as part of multi-sectoral humanitarian programmes. The model is flexible and can be adapted for any type of emergency across different contexts.
 
We can only achieve gender equality when women and girls have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in decisions that affect their own lives. A focus on women’s equal voice, leadership and participation is key to address root causes of poverty and injustice. This focus aims to save lives and increase gender equality. The model makes particular efforts to reach marginalized women and girls. It does this by engaging them as active partners and building on their strengths and capacities. This includes working with women with disabilities, indigenous women, elderly women, and women of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity.
The model has 5 steps which are outlined in the image below:

 

Links to additional resources additional guidance can be found below:

Gender-based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE)

CARE’s programmatic approach to address GBV in Emergencies focuses on GBV prevention, risk mitigation and response.

CARE defines GBV as: a harmful act or threat based on a person’s sex or gender identity. It includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, coercion, denial of liberty and economic deprivation, whether occurring in public or private spheres. GBV is rooted in unjust power relations, structures and social/cultural norms.

Gender-based Violence (GBV) takes many forms in times of crisis, both in private and public life. Emergencies can increase gender inequality and exacerbate GBV risks. This can be due to the chaos and tensions within households, communities and society during times of crisis.

Evidence and research show that GBV occurs in all emergencies worldwide. As a result, we do not wait to prove GBV is occurring before taking action.

CARE informs its work to address GBViE, in part, by using Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA).

CARE’s GBViE Guidance Note outlines CARE’s commitments to GBViE. This includes integrated and stand-alone programming approaches.

Links to all GBViE resources can be found below: