Noto Peninsula Earthquake Victims Face Challenges in Evacuation Centers: Women Voice Concerns

As three weeks approach since the Noto Peninsula earthquake, many victims are forced to live in evacuation centers. Women have voiced their concerns about the many challenges they face, such as being forced to live together, not having a space to change clothes without worrying about other people’s eyes, and having unisex toilets. There are concerns that the restoration of lifelines such as water supply will be delayed, and evacuation life will be prolonged, making it important to create an environment where people can live with peace of mind. (Mayuko Watanabe, Soma Hattori)

◆I have no choice but to sleep in the clothes I will wear the next day.

“Here I can see everything, so I don’t have time to change clothes.” This is revealed by a 17-year-old second-year high school student who is staying with her parents at an evacuation center in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The evacuation center consists of just futons laid out on the floor, and there are no cardboard or other partitions between the evacuees and other evacuees. The only time they can change their clothes is at night when they take a bath at the Self-Defense Forces, which has a changing area. I changed into the clothes I would wear the next day and went to sleep. “We’re all in the same environment.” She muttered as if to tell herself.

An evacuation center with no partitions and people sleeping on mats and futons on the floor in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture

A 29-year-old woman at another shelter cited problems with the toilet. The temporary toilet next to the evacuation center is unisex, and there is almost no light in the area at night. She says, “I still feel anxious when it’s dark.I don’t think there’s anything going on, but I generally try not to go out at night.”

◆Even though the Cabinet Office has set guidelines for evacuation centers…

In 2020, the Cabinet Office published guidelines for operating evacuation centers so that all people, including women, children, and the elderly, can spend time safely. It includes separate changing rooms for men and women, a nursing room, and a children’s space. However, the reality is that there are many shelters where the majority of the operators are men, making it difficult to raise their voices.

Support from a women’s perspective is gradually expanding. Osaka University’s MeW Project, which works to solve issues related to menstruation and sanitary products, has donated sanitary product boxes that anyone can use to be installed in toilets to Nanao City in the same prefecture. In Suzu City, female local government officials dispatched from all over the country are visiting evacuation centers and listening to people’s concerns and requests.

Sachiko Asano, co-representative of the Disaster Mitigation and Gender Equality Training Promotion Center, points out that there are issues with dividing evacuation centers into individual areas. She said, “It will be difficult to understand changes in the physical condition of people who are unwell, and there is a risk that this could lead to disaster-related deaths.” She added, “I would like each evacuation center to respond flexibly depending on the situation.”


2024-01-21 07:00:00
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