BBC More or less - are women more likely to die in disasters?

[Nothingeverything]

The answer was yes, slightly more likely to die than men in developing countries due to factors such as

• being unable to access early warnings (women much less likely to have a phone)
• being unwilling to use shelters/evacuate due to fear of sexual assaults. One woman's daughter was evacuated to another area and came back pregnant so now she also has to protect her grandchild. 🥲
• being less likely to be able to swim and climb as they were not allowed to do it as children

Of course, the first expert they interviewed was quick to point out that transgender people are at a greater risk. So of course, the presenter queried how gender identity affected these issues. Well actually no. It was just accepted as truth as usual. 🙄 So much for investigative journalism.

Btw I have absolutely no problem with research being done into whether trans people are more at risk but dropping it in and then giving a list of SEX-based reasons for risk was really grating.

Complain. That programme's raison d'etre is to interrogate statistics and their misinterpretation.

Is is this episode?
''The idea that women outnumber men by 14 to 1 as casualties of natural disasters has been repeated in newspapers and online for years - the UN have even used this statistic. But when you track down the source, the research behind this claim leaves much to be desired.''

(The actual risk can be as high as 4 or 5 times.)

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0jdllq2

@Thelnebriati Yes

And in disasters, natural or man made, women and girls are more likely to be raped, trafficked and prostituted.

'Of course, the first expert they interviewed was quick to point out that transgender people are at a greater risk.'
Its a kind of psychosis on behalf of the bbc

Oh my. Only 4 or 5 times higher? Well, that's all right then.

(Can you even imagine ANY other category of human being who gets that attitude?)

I did medical training recently and found out that women are at least 14% LESS likely to receive CPR by a bystander, wherever we live in the world.

I can totally believe this. As well as the reasons mentioned there's the physicality aspect too.

I once watched a documentary on one of the ship disasters that happened a couple of decades ago. I've forgotten which one it was now but there weren't many survivors and the vast majority (maybe all?) were young able bodied men because to survive they'd had to do the equivalent of an gruelling assault course to get onto the hull of the tipped ship.

Probably the ro-ro ferry Estonia. 852 people died. 137 survived, of those 111 were men, only 26 were women. Also no children and no-one over the age of 55 survived.

However, in starvation/cold type of events, it's best to be a short, fat woman. The calorie demands of men are too high.

All things being equal women SHOULD outlive men in post-disaster times. Evolutionarily. So the fact that we don't is created, not natural.

Yeah, I wouldn't underestimate physicality.

Nor that women will often stay with their children.

Although if you look at something like the Titanic disaster I think it's very notable that women and children had a much higher survival rate than men - Because of social norms which attempted to account for women's vulnerabilities.

Also the Estonia sank in 40-50 minutes. The Titanic sank in 2 hours 40 minutes.

Thanks yes it was probably that one.

Young women are more likely to be sole survivors of plane crashes.

I wondered if clothing had anything to do with it, too often women are clothed according to cultural norms in garments and shoes that are useless for running or climbing.

Thatd be men ;)

in that podcast woman from the world bank said "the worst i've seen in specific age groups for specific disasters and specific contexts 4 times, 5 times but usually 1.5 to 2 times". she never said that it's "only x times". one can wonder why the 14 times myth lives on if the real number is smaller?
she also said that in developed countries more men die. as it should be evolutionarily. apparently. no mention of the ratio though.

How would that affect the male/female survival rate?

the first expert they interviewed was quick to point out that transgender people are at a greater risk.
You’re kidding?! They said that?
Quite apart from the BBC obsession have with transgender people, can we really believe that the number of trans people who have died in disasters in developing countries is high enough to analyse statistically?

And yet they use boob-less dummies to practice on. Go figure.

People are awkward about removing the bra of a woman in public.

I think “Annie” should wear a bra and have normal floppy breasts.

Aside from the last few minutes, the Titanic sank evenly and slowly. No listing. The officers were able to control the panic. People didn’t see others dying a drowning until the last moments.

The Estonia was completely different.

This disaster is interesting (and horrific). Fire on a pleasure cruise. Families, women and children. The women were in heavy woolen clothing and they just drowned.

https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/witness-to-tragedy-the-sinking-of-the-general-slocum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_General_Slocum

Just listened to More or Less on the World Service (it isn't on the standard More or Less section). They've taken out any references to TW. Good news and thank you to all the terven who complained.

Re the Titanic. That was women and children first and captain going down with the ship but apparently that was the exception rather than the rule. Most problems at sea at the time saw women disproportionately drowning and men and particularly seafarers surviving.