Resource / The Gender and Disaster Pod (GAD Pod): An overview of the full project

Report

The Gender and Disaster (GAD) Pod was formally established by Women’s Health Goulburn North East (WHGNE) and Women’s Health in the North (WHIN), in partnership with the Monash University Disaster Resilience Initiative (MUDRI) in 2015 to promote the understanding of the role played by gender in survivor responses to disaster.

The initiatives of the GAD Pod are grounded in qualitative research undertaken by the Pod partners in the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. These were the deadliest fires since colonial settlement, with 173 people losing their lives, 414 people injured, 2029 houses destroyed and 7000 people displaced.

Wanting to offer support—but aware that recovery organisations were inundated with help from Australia and overseas—WHGNE consulted on-the-ground organisations about the most appropriate way, and time, to assist.  Between late 2009 and 2013, Debra Parkinson and Claire Zara conducted in-depth interviews with 30 women, 47 workers, and 32 men affected by the fires – capturing their first-hand accounts of the disaster and its aftermath.

In 2012, the findings from this initial research—captured in The Way He Tells It: Relationships after Black Saturday—were released at Australia’s first conference on natural disasters and family violence Identifying the Hidden Disaster.

Although worldwide literature suggests that increased violence against women is characteristic of post-disaster recovery, this was the first research conducted in Australia which identified and examined the link between disasters and violence against women.

The Hidden Disaster conference galvanised interest in gender in disaster and led to an invitation by Monash University’s Injury Research Institute (now MUDRI), to lead a successful partnership sub-mission to the National Disaster Resilience Grants Scheme. With new project funding, the researchers continued their interviews—this time with men—to consider men’s experiences during and after Black Saturday. The findings of this research are captured in the research report, Men on Black Saturday: Risks and opportunities for change.

Since undertaking the foundational research, the Pod partners have led, or collaborated on, a range of initiatives—with critical input from leaders and personnel in emergency management, academia, government and community —intended to inform responses to women and men in future disasters. For example:

  • research commissioned in 2015 by DELWP was conducted by the GAD Pod to identify the barriers for women in fire and emergency leadership roles;
  • collaborative development of national Gender and EM Guidelines;
  • the 3-year Gender and Disaster Taskforce 2014-2016, auspiced by the Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner;
  • the Diversity in Disaster Conference, in Melbourne 17-18th April, 2018 (in partnership);
  • research on LGBTI communities in emergencies with GLHV@arcshs, La Trobe University for Department of Premier and Cabinet
  • NDRGS-funded research into long-term disaster resilience was launched in 2019.

Following twelve years of collaborative research in Victoria the GAD Pod has gone national, changing its name in the process – Gender and Disaster Australia. January 2022 saw the end of this formal partnership, however WHGNE continues to work alongside GADA to promote their research in rural and regional Victoria and extend our gender and disaster networks.

WHGNE continues to utilise and promote the work of the GAD Pod including the gender and disaster resources, research and key messages through our networks and communities of practice.In particular, the Community of Practice established for partner councils participating in the Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women in Bushfire Affected Communities program has been a key space to continue to explore the gendered impacts of disaster and improve awareness and understanding of the extent and impact of gender inequality during and following environmental disaster.

We are also exploring the concept of “Care through Disaster” and we see this as a natural progression of the work started by the GAD Pod.


Discover all of our Gender and Disaster Pod work – read the reports, watch videos, find out about the ways the Gender and Disaster Pod has contributed to Australia’s understanding of the role played by gender in the response to disaster.

This report documents the findings of qualitative research conducted over two years from late 2009 to 2011. It captures the experience and knowledge of women who survived Black Saturday.

The Way He Tells It: Relationships after Black Saturday – Vol 1 (2011)

International disaster literature indicates that physical and sexual violence against women increases following disasters, yet it appears there was no published research to date on whether this happens in Australia. This literature review explored this, focusing on climate disasters such as bushfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and cyclone.

Women and disaster literature review: Relationships after Black Saturday – Vol 2

In this research, we argue for a different gendered approach to disaster –one that is based on the reality of women’s experiences. On Black Saturday, women’s responsibility for children and other dependents placed them at increased risk. This risk goes beyond the actual disaster to its aftermath.

The Landscape of my Soul: Relationships after Black Saturday – Vol 3

This study began as WHGNE sought advice from workers ‘on-the-ground’ in the fire-affected Mitchell and Murrindindi shires as to the sensitivities in the communities and the best time for us to approach women for interviews. It explores the sense of reluctance, on the part of workers in these communities, to engage in research around disaster-related family violence, due to a desire to protect what they saw as a vulnerable community.

A gut feeling (the workers): Relationships after Black Saturday – Vol 4

Download the full report, all four volumes here: The way he tells it (Vol 1-4)



The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) commissioned and part-funded this research. DELWP established a reference group which met twice during this research project. As stated in the brief, the scope of the research is ‘to understand what (if any) actual and perceived barriers exist for women to take on fire and emergency management leadership roles’ within DELWP and the Networked Emergency Organisations (NEO). NEO agencies are Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water and VicForests. As noted in the brief, increasing the proportion of women in fire leadership roles allows a bigger pool of potential employees, broadens diversity, and increases the capacity of this sector.

Women and Emergency Management Leadership Roles Summary Report

Women and Emergency Management Leadership Roles Full Report

Women’s experiences during the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires were researched by Women’s Health Goulburn North East (late 2009 to 2011). This research provided new insights about how to keep women and children safer during disasters. These are the findings regarding determining role of gender – in a nutshell.

Women and disaster: research snapshots

The It’s Up To You For 72 project brought together women of different ages to explore what they know, and what they need to know to prepare for 72 hours following a disaster.

It’s Up to You for 72 project report


Following twelve years of collaborative research in Victoria the GAD Pod has gone national, changing its name in the process – Gender and Disaster Australia. January 2022 saw the end of this formal partnership, however WHGNE continues to work alongside GADA to promote their research in rural and regional Victoria and extend our gender and disaster networks.

Read more about Gender and Disaster Australia.

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