We’re Here, We’re Queer, Don’t Leave Us Behind: An Analysis of LGBTQ+ Vulnerability in Early Warning Systems

Sammanfattning

Disasters are occurring at an increased rate and with increased intensity. The impacts of a disaster are felt across the whole of society; however, not everyone experiences a disaster in the same way. Pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities have a significant influence on the experiences of individuals and communities within disasters. Disasters are not natural; they can be prevented, and the impacts on vulnerable communities mitigated. Disaster risk reduction and disaster scholarship have, in recent years, focused on the development of early warning systems as a method of disaster risk management; such systems have been understood to require an inclusive and person-centred approach. Disaster risk reduction recognises that certain groups in society are more vulnerable to disasters than others. One group that is particularly silent within these discussions is the LGBTQ+ community, the discussion of queer vulnerability within disaster risk reduction is predominantly limited to the academic and NGO sector. It has been previously outlined within the scholarship that the LGBTQ+ community are at an increased risk in disasters, and more needs to be done to include them within the disaster risk reduction and surrounding legal frameworks. The connection between early warning systems and LGBTQ+ vulnerability is less understood, and there is a particular gap within the scholarship on the way that LGBTQ+ vulnerability manifests within EWS. This thesis identifies that the neglect of LGBTQ+ vulnerability within early warning systems is symbolic of the wider silence surrounding LGBTQ+ marginalisation within legal and policy frameworks. A legal doctrinal approach, combined with interdisciplinary analysis, is used to address the contributions of the relevant international legal frameworks in mitigating LGBTQ+ vulnerability in early warning systems. Accounting for the inadequate protection and attention such legal frameworks have given to LGBTQ+ rights and issues, both within disasters and more broadly. Putting forward the argument that international human rights law is a useful and relevant framework for addressing LGBTQ+ vulnerability, but is limited in its ability to sufficiently provide for queer inclusion in early warning systems. The system of law and human rights cannot be detached from heteronormative assumptions, nor the political reality of LGBTQ+ rights within the international community. Contributions of international human rights law are important, but should not be the sole focus. Looking outside the confines of the law and towards queer mobilisation could provide a useful lens through which to address queer vulnerability within early warning systems. The LGBTQ+ community has a long history of addressing vulnerabilities and mobilisation against crises in light of inadequate systems of protection, including in the context of disaster risk reduction. Such approaches can offer a useful lens through which to mitigate queer vulnerability in early warning systems, while also having wider benefits to understand how to implement inclusive early warning systems.