The Rotary Club of Melbourne (Rotary Melbourne), and Gender and Disaster Australia (GADAus), have agreed to work together in partnership with Districts and Clubs in disaster prone areas to pilot and roll out the GADAus Lessons in Disaster (LIDs) training. This training aims to enhance Rotarians understanding of family violence in disaster contexts and leveraging their local knowledge and skills to foster safer, more resilient communities.
This training will initially be offered to Clubs and Rotarians located in key disaster prone areas in D9800, D9820 and D9790.
Gender and Disaster Australia or ‘GADAus’ is the leading national organisation offering evidence-based education, training, and resources to address and minimise the harmful impacts of gender stereotypes in disaster. Primarily funded by the federal Department of Social Services under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and their Children, GADAus has demonstrated expertise in gender and disaster research, training, and policy, contributing to improved and more inclusive responses to increasing disasters across the country.
Established in 2015 as the GAD Pod, this work is grounded in extensive qualitative research by Dr Debra Parkinson (Executive Director GADAUS), Claire Zara and others dating back to 2009 in the aftermath of the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires. Their research, The Way He Tells It: Relationships after Black Saturday, was the first of its kind in Australia to identify and examine the link between disasters and violence against women. Adding to the growing body of research globally that shows increased rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in disaster, the GAD Pod initiated a wide range of projects and research that has accelerated the knowledge, policy, and practice of the gendered risks of disasters in Australia, including the impact on long-term disaster resilience.
The LIDS training program developed by GADAus has been available to emergency service workers involved in planning, prevention, response, and recovery from disasters. Recognising that many Rotary Clubs/Rotarians are involved in the response and recovery phases of disasters GADAus is keen to expand their training program to Rotary Clubs in disaster prone areas. The training, which is a one-day course, is funded by the Commonwealth Government and will be provided at no cost to interested Rotarians. The only cost that clubs could incur would be the provision of a suitable local facility to provide the training and catering for attendees. For more info click the following: https://genderanddisaster.com.au/
With the current increase in women being killed by current or former partners and the evidence that family violence increases during and after disasters this training could prove invaluable to Rotarians in disaster prone areas. Rotary Safe Families (RSF) also support this project.
The award-winning Lessons in Disaster training will help you understand:
The distinct experiences of women, men, and LGBTIQA+ people during disasters.
How gender roles often expect men to protect and provide while women are expected to
prioritise nurturing others at the expense of their own safety.
That LGBTIQA+ people’s needs are frequently overlooked in disaster situations.
That applying a gendered lens at every stage of disaster leads to stronger and more inclusive
communities in recovery.
We warmly invite Rotarians and their families, friends and partners to submit an EOI in our Lessons in Disaster Training.
Once we have your details, we will contact you to discuss potential dates to bring the training to your community.
An EOI can also be accessed here EOI GADAusTrainingRotaryMelbourne.pdf
For more information, contact Rotary Melbourne or visit www.genderanddisaster.com.au.
