Leading the way on gender and disaster

About Gender and Disaster Australia

Gender and Disaster Australia is the leading national organisation offering evidence-based education, training and resources to address the harmful impacts of gendered expectations in disaster.

Primarily funded by the Department of Social Services under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and their Children, Gender and Disaster Australia has demonstrated expertise in gender and disaster research, training policy, contributing to improved and more inclusive responses to the increasing number of climate-related disasters across the country. Gender and Disaster Australia also receives grant funding from National Emergency Management Agency of Australia (NEMA) and project funding through philanthropic organisations. 

A company limited by guarantee, Gender and Disaster Australia is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Professor Renae Ryan. The organisation is further informed by an Expert Advisory Network chaired by Elizabeth Broderick AO, former Sex Discrimination Commissioner, and includes experts from each state and territory across Australia.

Our legacy and foundations

Established in 2015 as ‘The GAD Pod’, this work is grounded in extensive qualitative research by Dr Debra Parkinson, Claire Zara and others dating back to 2009 in the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires. Their research, The Way He Tells It: Relationships after Black Saturday, was the first of its kind in Australia to identify and examine the link between disasters and violence against women.

Adding to the growing body of research globally that shows increased rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in disaster, The GAD Pod initiated a wide range of projects and research that has accelerated the knowledge, policy and practice of the gendered risks of disasters in Australia, including the impact on long-term disaster resilience.

In 2012, The GAD Pod hosted the first conference on natural disasters and family violence, Identifying the Hidden Disaster, galvanising interest with key stakeholders and leading to a successful partnership between legacy organisations Women’s Health In the North (WHIN), Women’s Health Goulburn North East (WHGNE) and Monash University’s Injury Research Institute (now MUDRI).

Major awards and achievements

  • Better Future Melbourne Design Awards (2026)
    Awarded Gold in the graphic design – identity and branding – community category alongside our
    partner agency Storyfolk.

  • Emergency Media and
    Public Affairs Awards (2026)
    Highly Commended in the Readiness & Resilience category, for our
    communications video resource – Does Safety Feel the Same for Everyone?

  • Third Sector Award (2024)
    for Emerging Not-for-Profit of the Year

  • Published by Oxford University Press (2022)
    Article that highlights that an increase in gender-based violence in disasters is evident worldwide.

  • Our research was cited in the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements (2020)
    (Recommendation 22.5) and in Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (2016).

  • Presented at World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicate (2019)
    Presented this Gender and Disaster Position Statement

  • Resilient Australia Award (2019)
    for ‘Nationally Significant Projects’, awarded to The GAD Pod for its work on the National Gender and Emergency Management Guidelines.

  • Victorian Resilient Australia Community Award (2019)
    for Long-Term Disaster Resilience.

  • Mary Fran Myers Award (2017)
    awarded to Dr Deb Parkinson in Boulder, Colorado, recognising exemplary research in the field of gender and disaster.

  • Best Thesis in the Social & Political Sciences (2015)
    awarded to Dr Deb Parkinson for her thesis titled:  ‘Women’s experience of violence following the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires’.

  • Invitations to present at global conferences
    Presented research at conferences and events globally including Copenhagen (Denmark), Boulder (Colorado, US), Wellington (NZ), Dundee (Scotland), Yokohama and Tokyo (Japan).

  • Guidelines accepted by UNISDR PreventionWeb
    Developed National Gender and Emergency Management Guidelines, which were accepted by UNISDR PreventionWeb, the global disaster risk reduction community platform.

  • Resilient Australia Award (2014)
    sponsored by the Attorney-General’s Department for ‘Projects of National Significance’.

  • Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Award (2013)
    for ‘Family violence after natural disaster research: Breaking new ground’.