Assessing Gender Vulnerability within Post-earthquake Reconstruction: Case Study from Indonesia

Understanding types of gender vulnerability and its determinants within disaster management context is useful to protect women and men from greater destabilization, to achieve better process of disaster management, to enhance sustainability of reconstruction and to build community resilience. Using mixed method combining qualitative and quantitative data analysis, this study reveals various dimensions of gender vulnerability within post-earthquake reconstruction at Yogyakarta province. This study found that the physical dimension (i.e. women with disabilities, pregnant women, elderly women), four types of social dimension (i.e. homeless women, violence against women, widow with many dependents, women heading household), and two types of economic dimension (i.e. women with debt burden and women with lack of productive assets) are the most prominent dimension. Existing patriarchal culture and weak of gendered institution are the root causes of gender vulnerability. This study suggests assessing gender vulnerability within post-disaster reconstruction helps key stakeholders to identify dimensions and determinants of gender vulnerability that should be tackled to ensure gender equality within post-disaster reconstruction.