Disaster risk and the LGBTIQ + community: visibilization and proposals to include gender and sexual diversities in territorial risk reduction policies

Abstract

Feminist and disaster risk studies have demonstrated the relevance of the gender approach for the visibility, analysis
and reduction of socio-spatial inequalities. This article questions how people of gender or sexual diversities are
included in public policies related to disaster risk management. From a qualitative analysis (discourse analysis
of documentation and interviews), the gap for this inclusion is evidenced from a state of the art of international
studies and Latin American public policies. Focusing on Chile, the study then proposes two intersections: between
political instruments of risk reduction and those of protection of the rights of LGBTIQ+ people; between these
public instruments and the experiences, knowledge and visions of LGBTIQ+ people. It concludes with three
findings: 1. Latin American and Chilean policies associated with disaster risk omit LGBTIQ+ people as social
groups to be considered particularly because of a binary understanding of gender. 2. This omission is problematic
as it reveals a lack and a gap with the normative commitments and advances in terms of protection of LGBTIQ+
persons and communities. 3. This omission is serious because it excludes, deepens and reproduces practices or
conditions of rights violations that are evident among LGBTIQ+ people. The study proposes research questions
to contribute to the field of disaster risk studies and actions to consider in national policies in order to contribute
to a relevant and urgent debate.