Disaster risk management in Haiti: Inclusion from a transgender perspective.
Disaster risk management from an intersectional perspective is a challenge that today's society is beginning to navigate from various spaces. Conversations are fundamental and show new realities, in this case the lives of transgender people, providing solutions from solidarity among women.
On June 28th, 2019, the RIGEN collective organized a panel discussion at the University of Costa Rica featuring international consultant Rolando Durán Vargas and special guest Odette Sánchez. During the event, they discussed the terms of reference (TdR), the methodological design, and the creation and training of risk management committees and shelter management in preparation for a future implementation in a project to be carried out in Haiti.
During the meeting, Odette shared her life story as a transgender woman. She described the challenges she would face in the event of a disaster and having to seek refuge in a shelter. She emphasized the importance of thoroughly analyzing protocols, norms, and procedures, as the transgender population is often overlooked. However, these individuals are particularly vulnerable to violence in these spaces, such as sexual assault, physical abuse, and psychological harm.
During the talk, there was a mix of emotions and discussion about how other life experiences cope with the underlying machismo, sexism, and transphobia within these spaces. Odette sparked a change in the conversation by bringing up topics that are not always considered in disaster risk management discussions. This led the group to consider inclusive tools to integrate into the methodology. For example, a properly designed bathroom from an inclusive perspective, where non-binary individuals can have access without fear of violence, or having trained personnel in the dormitories, where violence can be more prevalent, to address and reduce such situations.
After the meeting, Rolando Durán Vargas incorporated the ideas discussed into the Haitian project and made a significant contribution by agreeing to reinforce gender criteria at all levels of the organization, structure, and investment, beyond parity and protection within the methodology of creating and training risk management committees and shelter management committees.
During the meetings with the Haitian government, some resistance was encountered that affected the integration of the agreements. Despite this, a psychosocial support module was developed, which includes understanding and prevention of gender-based violence and action protocols for the protection of vulnerable groups, including transgender, intersex, and other populations.
The experiential knowledge of Odette and the collective organization had a positive influence on the reinforcement of the methodology for proposing an inclusive and innovative project in Haiti. It was a successful experience framed within intersectional feminism and collective sisterhood.
