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Watch the Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7O1tIDyRV0

The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) convened a Virtual Roundtable on “Ending Gender-Based Violence in Disaster Risks and Climate Resilience by 2030” on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM IST. This timely dialogue brought together leaders from national and state disaster management authorities, civil society organisations, researchers, and practitioners committed to addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) by 2030, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Disasters and climate stress — including floods, cyclones, extreme heat, displacement, and migration — often intensified existing inequalities and exposed women and girls to heightened risks of gender-based violence (GBV). Yet GBV remained largely invisible within disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate adaptation frameworks, although key efforts had been undertaken at national and state levels.

Building on recent discussions on gender-responsive disaster risk reduction, including “From Risk to Resilience: Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Disaster Risk Governance” (January 28, 2026) with Duryog Nivaran and the “Webinar on 25: A Gender Equality Review” (January 10, 2025) with Prajnya Trust, the roundtable brought together leading policymakers, disaster management authorities, and practitioners. It examined how Gender-Based Violence (GBV) intensified during disasters and climate stress, and highlighted practical pathways to embed women’s safety and protection into disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, relief shelters, extreme heat action plans, migration governance, and climate finance.

The event also marked the launch of the special issue of Southasiadisasters.net titled “Ending Gender-Based Violence in Disaster Risks and Climate Resilience by 2030,” dedicated to advancing protection-centred and gender-just disaster and climate resilience. This effort aimed to share India’s experiences for wider use by UNOCHA, UNDRR, and UNFCC and their partners.

🎯 Key Objectives

The roundtable brought together representatives from national and state disaster management authorities, civil society organisations, researchers, and practitioners to deliberate on the following:

• Integrating gender-based violence (GBV) risk into Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) planning at national, state, and local levels.
• Advancing gender-sensitive early warning systems and safe evacuation protocols that ensured women could act on warnings without fear.
• Promoting safe relief shelters and protection-informed recovery frameworks that upheld dignity, privacy, and accountability.
• Strengthening protection-centred approaches to extreme heat and climate adaptation, particularly in public spaces and informal work contexts.
• Enhancing coordination between disaster management authorities and protection systems to ensure GBV prevention was embedded across preparedness, response, and recovery.

 Speakers

• Ms. Sujata Saunik, Former Chief Secretary, Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority, Government of Maharashtra, India
• Ms. Rita Missal, Member, National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India
• Mr. Mihir R. Bhatt, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India
• Ms. Sushma Modi, Junior Professional Associate, World Bank, Ethiopia

The event also marked the official launch of the special issue of Southasiadisasters.net titled “Ending Gender-Based Violence in Disaster Risks and Climate Resilience by 2030.” The issue presented field-based evidence and policy reflections, emphasising that GBV in disasters was predictable, preventable, and needed to be systematically addressed within disaster governance frameworks.

📢 The roundtable provided a platform to explore how disasters and climate stressors heighten the risk of gender-based violence and to identify practical, protection-centred approaches to strengthen inclusive disaster and climate resilience across South Asia.