12:04:39 PM Avagene Moore:Welcome to the EIIP Virtual Library! ... 12:05:13 PM Avagene Moore:Before I introduce our guest today, would like to remind everyone of how we conduct our online sessions. ... 12:05:28 PM Avagene Moore:First of all.... 12:05:39 PM Avagene Moore:Our speaker has a couple of slides to illustrate points from her paper. 12:06:09 PM Avagene Moore:When a full URL is typed in the message area, it becomes a hot link, so you can just click on it, and a webpage will display in another browser window. ... 12:06:25 PM Avagene Moore:When we open the floor for Q&A, please type in a question mark (?) to indicate you have a question for the speaker; type up your question while you wait to be recognized. ... 12:06:45 PM Avagene Moore:When you are recognized, please send your question. ... 12:06:58 PM Avagene Moore:If we run out of time and your question is not addressed, we will have a few minutes after the formal Virtual Library session when we will all move to the Virtual Forum. You can ask your question then. ... 12:07:14 PM Avagene Moore:One other reminder for any new audience members: There is a Direct Messaging feature in our software. Please do not send direct/private messages to our guest speaker or to the moderator during the formal session. ... 12:07:52 PM Avagene Moore:An online session such as this ... 12:08:05 PM Avagene Moore:requires full attention and the private messages are rather distracting. Please hold that type of message until we are through with the formal Virtual Library dialogue. ... 12:08:17 PM Avagene Moore:And now, it is my honor to introduce our guest author today --- Elaine Enarson, Visiting Scholar, Disaster Preparedness Resources Centre, University of British Columbia. ... 12:08:33 PM Avagene Moore:Elaine is presenting her paper, "Battered Women in Disaster: A Case Study of Gendered Vulnerability". ... 12:08:45 PM Avagene Moore:Elaine, we are very happy to have you with us today in the Virtual Library. 12:08:54 PM Avagene Moore:The floor is yours, Elaine. 12:09:36 PM elaine enarson:Thanks so much. I am still having just a bit of trouble on my end but will begin in a second. 12:09:57 PM Avagene Moore:We will be patient, Elaine. 12:10:27 PM elaine enarson:Domestic violence in disaster contexts is not a topic often put forward so I especially appreciate this opportunity. 12:11:30 PM elaine enarson:I would like to provide some background to the topic first and then describe a few projects I have been involved with. 12:12:03 PM elaine enarson:Most of my presentation will relate to a recent study I conducted in the US and Canada about preparedness and response in domestic violence programs. 12:12:56 PM elaine enarson:First, I have posted a gender and disaster bibliography to indicate the range of work now available which analyzes gender relations as a factor in human and social impact and response to disaster. 12:15:00 PM elaine enarson:Why violence? Why women? When we untangle the roots of vulnerability to disaster one of the most neglected dimensions is gender. Power based on gender does not always but generally disadvantages women (and some more than others) in their relative access to key survival resources. 12:17:26 PM elaine enarson:I must apologize. The pasting in function isn't working. Back in a sec. 12:18:13 PM Amy Sebring:While we are waiting, please take a moment to check your own profile ... 12:18:36 PM Amy Sebring:check those items of info that you want to share, and click on submit button on the bottom. 12:18:39 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you. 12:18:52 PM Avagene Moore:Sorry, folks. Elaine is having a little problem. Her paper and this issue is well worth the wait. 12:19:11 PM elaine enarson:ys and nothing happens 12:19:44 PM elaine enarson: My focus here is on domestic violence against women, which of course is part of a larger complex of family violence including the abuse of elders and children. In my view, we are woefully ignorant of the extent or nature of violence in the aftermath of disaster and therefore not yet able to fully respond to postdisaster needs through long-term recovery. 12:20:17 PM elaine enarson: We need a sustained national research initiative to investigate the incidence over time of violence of all kinds in the wake of disaster. For women forced back into violent relationships or put in hospitals by violent partners while they struggle to get back on their feet after a major flood or hurricane, the concept of the "therapeutic community" makes little sense. 12:21:39 PM elaine enarson:I'll start with the words of battered women themselves. 12:22:38 PM elaine enarson:"He really went crazy. Before, I would get beat up maybe once a month if I was lucky. Afterward, it was like evetryother day...I ran across a lot of women suffering, too, with their children--husbands beating them up and leaving them. It was pretty bad. 12:23:24 PM elaine enarson:Avegene, the paste function isn't working. Any ideas? 12:23:44 PM elaine enarson:Betty Morrow and I met this young woman at the shelter when we investigated women's experiences after Hurricane Andrew. Others participating in the focus group session in that shelter included a young woman who had followed her construction-worker partner to Miami and lived many months with him in a tent ... 12:23:48 PM Avagene Moore:Try again once you have manually input something. 12:24:17 PM elaine enarson:Are these isolated voices? Does violence against women increase against women after disaster? Is it caused by the social effects of the disaster? Does violence erupt in previously non-violent relationships or violent relationships become more violent or both? 12:28:10 PM elaine enarson:This simply isn't working. Should we reschedule? 12:28:57 PM elaine enarson:Well, let's just wing it. Let me tell you a bit about the study I conducted of domestic violence programs in the US and Canada. 12:28:59 PM Avagene Moore:Folks, I think you can see something of the nature of this problem. Ask Elaine any question. Use ? to indicate you have a question. 12:29:13 PM elaine enarson:It was funded, I should say, by two grassroots women's organizations in Canada. 12:29:49 PM elaine enarson:I wanted to contribute the voices of those serving battered women through disasters and after to learn what the issues were and how well prepared they were. 12:30:38 PM chip hines:? 12:30:38 PM David Seabrook:Elaine:thank you for stimulating my thinking on this topic. I'll look forward to reading your work. 12:30:43 PM elaine enarson:The study included a core group of 77 programs, located first through a closed-question mail survey to all coalitioins in the provinces/states and then through followup phone interviews with disaster-impacted programs. 12:31:23 PM elaine enarson:I found, of course, a huge range of experience. Many programs had no disaster experience, others had a sense of local hazards but no direct experience, and a core group of 13 had experienced the effects of a major community disaster. 12:32:01 PM Avagene Moore:Elaine, Chip Hines has a question for you? Are you ready to take a question? 12:32:06 PM elaine enarson:These included programs in areas hit by hurricanes Andrew and Iniki, floods in Quebec, Missisouri, and North Dakota, and the Northridge earthquake. 12:32:09 PM elaine enarson:Certainly 12:32:13 PM Avagene Moore:Chip. 12:32:26 PM Ron Brittan:? 12:33:07 PM chip hines:There has long been a perception that people become more noble in emergencies. Does your research suggest the opposite, especially for people with domestic violence tendancies? 12:34:00 PM elaine enarson:It's a complicated question. Domestic violence may increase, along with other forms of interpersonal violence, but at different points in the disaster cycle. So the "therapeutic community" may... 12:34:30 PM elaine enarson:operate at some point in time but, for women in volatile relationships, the concept may not mean much, especially in the lengthy recovery period. 12:34:37 PM KimShoaf:Comment: 12:34:53 PM Avagene Moore:Kim, you have a comment. 12:35:30 PM Avagene Moore:Then Ron Brittain has a question. 12:35:44 PM Ron Brittan:Is it that already marginal relationships are thrown over the brink with the additional stressor of a disaster? 12:35:59 PM KimShoaf:Unfortunately, we don't have enough data to know whether or not any violence increases following a disaster. However, I agree for those who are in a violent situation, the disaster adds extra stress 12:36:46 PM KimShoaf:The community based data that we have suggests that there is not an increase in violent events following a disaster. 12:37:20 PM elaine enarson:Again, we don't have the data to answer that question. In the severely impacted programs I spoke of above, many responses referred to more intense case management with existing clients. But they also respond to new referrals for ex from DACs. 12:37:59 PM elaine enarson:Let me just add a bit about the findings of the study and then return to the point. 12:38:20 PM elaine enarson:In the severely impacted programs, where housing loss was severe and major community infrastructure was disrupted... 12:39:03 PM elaine enarson:the progams reported increases in service demand--ie more crisis calls, more requests for tpos, more referrals from emergency rooms. Paradoxically, they also report reduced resources... 12:39:41 PM elaine enarson:such as funding, staff time, volunteers, space, equipment, etc. In fact, as in the case of North Dakota where I spent considerable time, the United Way told domestic violence programs... 12:39:59 PM elaine enarson:to expect reduction in grants as they were redirecting funds to "diaster relieif." This of course... 12:40:14 PM elaine enarson:prompted crisis workers there to wonder what their own work was all about. 12:40:46 PM Avagene Moore:Other questions to Elaine? 12:40:47 PM elaine enarson:The fact sheet I've uploaded sums up the data I'm aware of on the subject of increasing incidence. Most of it is based on field reports from agencies or is anecdotal... 12:41:07 PM elaine enarson:I emphasize that we need to know more. Kim, what were your findings? where? 12:42:07 PM KimShoaf:It may be that going to a DAC (or other disaster services) is a "safe" way to access the system for women that were afraid to access it before the disaster 12:42:09 PM elaine enarson:While we get back to Kim, let me add that there are unique issues facing programs trying to respond to women at risk of violence. Identified evacuation sites, for example, may well not be safe space for women in hiding. 12:42:44 PM elaine enarson:There is reportedly a need for more continuity in counseling for those woen already in the system, though programs may be most disrupted when this continuity is most needed. 12:43:09 PM elaine enarson:They also need assistance working through the disaster relief process and accessing recovery resources of all kinds, especially safe and affordable housing. 12:43:48 PM elaine enarson:It is ironic, of course, that we have guidelinees in place to address the needs of endangered animals and plants but have failed to date to learn how this especially vulnerable group of residents can be helped. 12:43:48 PM Avagene Moore:(Send a ? if you have a question.) 12:44:29 PM elaine enarson:To return to the study for a moment, I was encouraged to find quite a high degree of interest among the programs in increasing their disaste readiness. 12:44:33 PM David Crews:? 12:44:42 PM KimShoaf:Our data is a community survey of LA residents following Northridge. We asked a series of questions about all kinds of violent events including rape, assault and other terrifying events in the past year. Preliminary analyses suggest that there was no difference in rates of events prior to and after the earthquake 12:44:42 PM Avagene Moore:David. 12:45:05 PM David Crews:Is FEMA updating their training materials on special need to address this problem? 12:45:17 PM elaine enarson:At the same time, the existing levels of preparedness are pretty low. Many reported having extra supplies in place or conducting evacuation drills, but these referred mainly to fire drills. Battered women's shelters need to be doing much more and they need the help of emergency planners to do it. 12:46:04 PM Avagene Moore:Elaine, can you address David's question or is it better designated for someone at FEMA? 12:46:12 PM elaine enarson:David, not to my knowledge. I have written the guidelines posted here to help us along our way. One set of guidelines is addressed primarily to shelter-providing programs and points out the need for planning in a number of areas... 12:46:25 PM Isabel McCurdy:? 12:46:32 PM elaine enarson:My position is that the process of planning is important even if there is only a plan filed under 'forget it.' 12:46:38 PM Avagene Moore:Isabel. 12:46:58 PM David Crews:Would suggest that the EMI staff might be interested in the special needs training area. 12:47:01 PM elaine enarson:And I do think the state and provincial coalitions or umbrella organizations have a key role to play here, both in modeling preparedness in their own agencies... 12:47:10 PM Isabel McCurdy:Who is "actually" accountable to ensure that alteranate safe shelters are in place? Government? 12:47:31 PM elaine enarson:and in securing funding for this additional work. DV programs are typically grassroots women's groups without extra resources to take on emergency preparedness. 12:48:32 PM elaine enarson:Isabel, to my knowledge there is no accountability in place which is part of the problem. DV staff have rarely thought through the problem about where evacuated women in their shelters can safely go and emergency planners have rarelyconsidered safety issues. 12:49:00 PM Avagene Moore:Other questions? 12:49:01 PM elaine enarson:I would like to see telecommunications and alternate evacuation space become priorities in emergency planning at the local level. 12:49:40 PM elaine enarson:I also suggest, in the second set of guidelines, how shelters, coalitions, and emergency practitioners can work together--I see a 3-legged stool model here--to identify and address these needs. 12:50:07 PM elaine enarson:But it begins with communication and mutual recogniition. Women are rarely at the table when local disaster decisions are taken and mitigation strategies identifieid. 12:50:47 PM elaine enarson:We need to look at changing that if we want to draw on the expertise of domestic violence staff--and staff and voluteers in other women's services serving especially vulnerable poopulations, like immigrant women or women with disabilities. 12:50:49 PM KimShoaf:Except in Los Angeles where all of our disaster response leaders are women 12:51:04 PM Isabel McCurdy:I think the problem is that here in Canada, disaster planning is a new issue. Elaine. 12:51:53 PM Avagene Moore:(To our audience: If you have not read / downloaded Elaine's paper and other background materials, I highly recommend you do so. There is much that Elaine did not get to cover due to technical problems.) 12:52:08 PM Amy Sebring:? 12:52:15 PM Avagene Moore:Yes, Amy. 12:52:30 PM Amy Sebring:I find that emergency management is still largely positioned in Police and Fire Depts.... 12:52:50 PM elaine enarson:I am thinking of a different population. Certainly, there is a rising proportion of women in emergency management, but it remains the case in the US and other countries like it that grassroots women's organizations are not regularly a part of community-based planning. I am working with domestic violence programs because the needs are so pressing and because the programs have much to offer emergeny planners. But the point is to include all women's services working with vulnerable groups. The gen 12:52:55 PM Amy Sebring:and the attitude there is a reluctance to become involved with 'social services'.. 12:53:13 PM Amy Sebring:although you would expect PD's to have alot of domestic violence experience. 12:53:36 PM Amy Sebring:Do you think this may have an impact Elaine 12:54:15 PM elaine enarson:I think this is a natural point of interface--victim's services units in police departments. We say this in a recent conference in BC. This was a 2--day event which brought together women emergency managers and volunteer responders with a large group of women's services staff. 12:54:44 PM elaine enarson:There were many points of difference but lots of fruitful dialogue. Isabel, would you like to chime in here? 12:55:38 PM chip hines:? 12:55:54 PM Avagene Moore:Quickly, Chip. 12:56:02 PM Avagene Moore:Time is almost up for today. 12:56:10 PM elaine enarson:I would also add that in the study I found rural areas best able to integrate emergency lanning and outreach to vulnerable pops like battered women, either on the basis of personal relationships (ie. the dv coordinator being married to the police chief) or, in another area, the local First Nations bands taking an active role in planning and being very open to working with women on violence issues. 12:56:40 PM chip hines:Does the gender of the emergency responder have an impact on the willingness of battered women to report in emergencies? 12:57:06 PM elaine enarson:Before we close I'd like to apologize again for the problems I had. Natually, all went well when we practiced before! I'll just upload the written presentation for anyone interested in seeing it. 12:58:02 PM Avagene Moore:Elaine, please respond to Chip's question briefly. 12:58:23 PM elaine enarson:Chip, there's another good question and a very researchable proposition. In disaster contexts I think the larger issue is disrupted reporting channels--roads and courts closed, phones down, police busy. And this sstudy found most violence occuring well after the immediate crisis too, as long as one year later. But in other contexts we know having women on board does matter. 12:58:40 PM Avagene Moore:Our time is up for today's Virtual Library presentation. Thank you, Elaine, for presenting your paper and sharing this aspect of disaster concern with all of us. ... 12:58:53 PM Avagene Moore:Thanks to you, the audience, also. We invite you back to the Virtual Forum whenever you have an opportunity. ... 12:58:57 PM elaine enarson:We need training for all regardless of gender. This is true for disaster mental health outreach workers. DV coalitions could take a lead role here. 12:59:07 PM Avagene Moore:Tomorrow night, Thursday, June 4, 8:00 PM EDT, the informal Round Table discussion will be led by Rex Hollaway about the Memphis Business Emergency Preparedness Council. The BEPC is a partnership of business, industry, and government to ensure disaster preparedness, response and recovery. 12:59:25 PM Mary Anne Lyle:Thank You for the presentation. 12:59:31 PM Avagene Moore:Let's move to the Virtual Forum. We can talk with Elaine there. 12:59:45 PM Avagene Moore:Thanks to all.