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Role of women as risk communicators to enhance disaster resilience of Bandung, Indonesia

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Abstract

This study addresses the need for women risk communication and highlights the potential role of Women Welfare Associations (WWAs) of Bandung, Indonesia, as risk communicators. A risk communication framework is modeled for women’s risk communication process. A set of indicators in social, institutional, and economic resilience activities (SIERAs), with a scope of 45 activities covering three different disaster periods, were developed to characterize the delivery process of risk information by women in WWAs through their activities at sub-district and ward levels. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey method using the risk communication SIERA approach. Women’s leaders at wards were surveyed concerning their perceptions on these 45 scopes of SIERA, ongoing activities, and their risk information source and dissemination process. Correlation analysis was applied to determine the relationship between the variables such as periods of disaster, types of activities (social, institutional, economic), and attributing factors (location, population, and education institution) in finding variations in risk communication activity that functions for women and communities. Five risk communication processes of WWAs are identified and implemented that work for women in Bandung. When their perceptions and ongoing activities are compared, activities such as dissemination of disaster risk information, conveying early warnings to their peers, and involvement of the local government have been confirmed to match the risk communication plans and implementation of WWAs. These indicate that WWAs’ activities in Bandung implement a certain degree of risk communication that is embedded in their activities. The results confirm that women through their social networks can become active agents of change and thus act beyond their usual domestic roles and responsibilities in order to contribute to the overall enhancement of community resilience.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of Bandung Planning and Development Agency, Bandung City Government, and Bandung Women Associations in the central, sub-district, and ward level of Bandung, Indonesia. Advice and insight from the head of the Bandung City Women Welfare Associations are also highly acknowledged. The first author is also thankful to the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho, MEXT) for the scholarship and the support received from the Global Center Of Education-Human Security Engineering (GCOE-HSE) Program of Kyoto University in conducting this study.

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  1. Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 6068501, Japan

    Farah Mulyasari & Rajib Shaw

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  1. Farah Mulyasari
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Correspondence to Farah Mulyasari.

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Mulyasari, F., Shaw, R. Role of women as risk communicators to enhance disaster resilience of Bandung, Indonesia. Nat Hazards 69, 2137–2160 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-0798-4

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