In Neumeyer and Plumper's "The Gendered Nature of Natural Disasters," the mortality rate of women is examined via death statistics of natural disasters. The sample their study used included 141 countries over the time period of 1981-2002. The data they used was collected via EM-DAT, a global data set of natural disasters that is available to the public. According to their findings, natural disasters kill more women than men and the women that die in these disasters are younger than the men killed. Socioeconomic status and the strength of the disaster are also deciding factors in this. Mortality rate has more to do social norms/gender roles and behaviors rather than biological differences. Here is an example: a man with two children who has been swept away by a tidal surge and can only hold onto one child. What child does he let go of? The daughter, because the son is the only one that can carry on the family line. Female children don't just get the short end of this stick here, either: they are not favored in famine conditions (i.e. a female child will not receive food or not receive as much food as her brother, father, or other male relatives). The destruction of a natural disaster is not limited to the actual event; women and girls face sexual abuse or rape in refugee camps that they may stay in after such a disaster. In these same camps, they also lack access to proper health and hygiene conditions.
Eric Neumeyer and Thomas Plumper: "The Gendered Nature of Natural Disasters: The Impact of Catastrophic Events on the Gender Gap in Life Expectancy, 1981-2002"
I find it really cool that the global data set of natural disasters is available to the public; I would actually be interested to look at what information is all available. I definitely disagree with the part about letting go of the female child, just because she can't carry on the family name - that cannot be an accepted fact.
ReplyDeleteVery fascinating! It would be interesting to see a map of the countries sampled in this study. I agree with Alex, though, and would like to know where exactly the information such as "letting go of a female child because she cannot carry on the family line" is coming from because it seems that some of it could be based off of assumptions.
ReplyDeleteWhat countries/areas are these disasters occurring? In more impoverished countries, mortality rates in natural disasters, in general, are higher than those of more economically stable/advanced countries. Where in The United States houses are made of concrete or other stable material, but in a more impoverished country, they may not have access to proper material or construction and their houses are less likely to survive.
ReplyDeleteDid the researchers consider the fact that some of the disaster areas could potentially have a higher population of women than men? Also, did they include the time of day/night that these disasters occurred? In some cases, men could be away from home when the disaster struck, with only the women and children home to face the disaster.
ReplyDeleteIt is intresting that they give this information freely for public use. Also why do you think that Mortality rate has more to do social norms/gender roles and behaviors rather than biological differences.
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