Megumi Fujii and Sakiko Kanbara
Aim: This preliminary study assesses the awareness and preparedness for disaster risk reduction (DRR) among female residents in Kochi prefecture and enumerates the differences in DRR awareness and preparedness between genders. Methods: A survey was completed with 1,002 people at three public events in Kochi prefecture in 2015. The questionnaire was posted on an application service provider called Survey Monkey. The participants filled out their responses on a tablet-type device. The data analysis used IBM SPSS Statistics version 23, and the significance level was set at 5%. Results: Women made up 70 percent of the total participants, and the age group between 30s-40s accounted for more than 50 percent. The gender difference in disaster preparedness was found in that more men participated in disaster drills than women. In future disaster preparedness, more female participants expressed to desire to participate in disaster drills. In addition, gender differences in possible voluntary actions’ was found, in that, more male answered rescue and fire extinguishing; whereas, more women answered care for people with disabilities and elderly. All gender differences showed statistical significance according to Chi-square test (p<0.05). Conclusion: This preliminary study found that women’s awareness and preparedness for DRR was not necessarily low in comparison to men. Yet, these study findings allowed identification of differences in disaster preparedness between male and female. These results revealed that women have lack of opportunities for DRR education and drills. As the future step of this study, DRR projects for female will be conduct.
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