Expert Argues for Applying a Justice Framework to Disaster Response and Recovery
With the number of displaced people in the United States climbing, a Rutgers scholar says tailored humanitarian responses are essential for ensuring equity and fostering well-being
The number of people displaced by weather, war and conflict is climbing, and of the 45.8 million forced to leave their homes last year, a record-breaking 11 million were from the United States.
As responders struggle to cope with the rise in displaced populations and provide effective humanitarian services, researchers are examining whether tailored response strategies could enhance equity and accelerate recovery.
“In disasters, we can’t treat communities as monolithic groups,” said Edward J. Alessi, a scholar of migration and a professor with the Rutgers School of Social Work.
As an author of a chapter in the new book, Queering Disasters, Climate Change and Humanitarian Crises, Alessi wrote that “safe and equitable paths to recovery” for refugees, particularly those from marginalized groups, begin with a clear understanding of their lives before displacement.
Let’s start with an explanation: What is disaster justice?
Disaster-related justice is an emerging concept, and the one used throughout the book was based on the work of Anna Lukasiewicz, an Australian environmental scientist. But in a nutshell, it’s about ensuring the fair treatment of people who experience catastrophic events. How do societies allocate resources equitably during a disaster?
Often, when the media reports on humanitarian crises, the responses highlighted are presented as single moments – people waiting in line for food, receiving clothing, moving into a shelter. But how about what happened before and after the disaster?
People had their entire lives upended; what was that life like? Were they from a stigmatized or minoritized group? Were they living under political repression? Do they have psychological issues that might affect their recovery? How did they grow up? Did they experience physical abuse? Many people, and particularly LGBTQ+ people, already had lives filled with challenges. When a disaster happens, those challenges are magnified.
As you write in your chapter, LGBTQ+ refugees face many unique challenges. What are they?
There are many. For example, what does it mean for gay men and lesbian women to go back into the closet during a disaster, or a trans person who faces harassment and discrimination in a refugee camp? Or what happens when a gay man or lesbian woman develops a relationship with someone in a camp – a topic I am currently studying. Can they be out?
This book chapter is derived from interviews I did in 2017 with LGBTQ+ refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, who faced these concerns when they were forced to flee their countries.
While your recent work has focused on so-called complex crises, like armed conflict, the idea of disaster justice can be applied to disasters more broadly, right?
Absolutely. No matter what the disaster – climate displacement, extreme weather or war – the same principles apply, and support must be tailored. Many refugees will have been stigmatized and marginalized by sexual orientation, gender identity, social class, migration status or religion, among others, long before they were displaced. Understanding this is the only way to ensure that everybody gets what they need during an emergency.
People assume that in an emergency, everybody is starting from the same place. The point of disaster justice is to make clear that isn’t the case.
Edward J. Alessi
Professor, Rutgers School of Social Work
What needs to happen for tailored interventions to be implemented?
Fair treatment during a disaster starts with prevention and preparation before a disaster hits. Policies need to be established to reduce structural violence. Responders need training to help identify challenges. Accommodations in camps must be created that are safe and equitable – simple things like single-stall bathrooms can help reduce opportunities for stigma. Finally, after the initial response, policies and practices must align to ensure integration of marginalized communities after the worst of the crisis is over.
Refugees need basic things: food, shelter, a job. How can we make space for these tailored interventions if basic life sustaining needs aren’t met?
Everybody needs food. But again, we must consider how individuals access food. If someone is stigmatized, are they bullied while they wait in line? And what happens after they get served? Where is it safe to eat?
People assume that in an emergency, everybody is starting from the same place. The point of disaster justice is to make clear that isn’t the case. When we deliver responses in an equitable way, that means providing people with extra protections so they can emerge from the disaster stronger and more productive. Achieving that goal starts with treating people fairly during the disaster itself.
Are international humanitarian frameworks adopting these methods?
People are paying attention to the intersectional differences, such as how to provide help based on factors like sexual orientation, gender identity, race, social class, migration status and religion. But what one aspires to do isn’t always reflected on the ground. The point of books and studies like these is to ensure that what we aspire to eventually translates into action.
