HEALTH AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN DISASTER: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

The principal objective of this paper is to provide a general overview of the problems experienced by people during recent flood disaster in Bihar, with special reference to the issues of health and violence against women. The findings are primarily based on the basis of the study conducted in the flood affected districts of Bihar i.e., Saharsa and Supaul where people were in temporary relief phase and struggling for longer term rehabilitation. Different types of disaster have differential impact on the population. Flood disaster in Bihar leads to displacement for longer period of time in many parts of the state where many villages are completely washed off making women more vulnerable to further sufferings. However, in this paper, the main attention is on women in disaster situation, it becomes important to differentiate the condition of women, in the situation that permits return to the original home, shortly after the flood and those that displace them for long periods of time. According to the findings, the former is associated with the situation where women are better placed than latter where women has to face more hardships and sufferings leading to poor health condition and making her vulnerable to victimization.