Assessment of women's safety risks in the context of earthquakes in 2020 and after: The case of Elazığ province

The recent increase in the intensity and diversity of natural disasters reveals the need to increase studies on disasters and the individuals they affect. One of the groups of individuals that make up society is women. Women are shown among the vulnerable groups in society. Studies based on the relationship between disaster and women are handled in international dimensions; It has been examined in two separate branches in the women's conferences of the United Nations and the declarations of Yokohama, Hyogo, and Sendai. Vulnerable groups are the most vulnerable to the groups affected by disasters. Women, who are among the vulnerable groups, can be affected by disasters in different ways, positively or negatively. These effects can be associated with women's vulnerability. The relational bond of disaster with women; Women's lack of preparedness for disasters, their disregard, difficulties in accessing resources in disaster processes, security problems, vulnerability, and helplessness are expressed with concepts such as. This study focuses on the security risk problems of women in temporary shelters where they settled after the disasters in the center of Elazığ province, which experienced earthquakes in 2020 and afterward. By addressing the issue of women's security risk, in-depth and comprehensive research was conducted on security risks in line with questions related to economic, food, health, environmental, personal, social, and political security risk areas, and up-to-date information was presented. The research was conducted in the center of Elazığ Province between 2023-2024. In the research methodology, the 'face to face in-depth interview' technique, which covers all the details of the researched subject to the finest detail and allows detailed answers to be obtained and information to be collected, was used by using qualitative research method. In this context, 30 women between the ages of 18-65 who stayed in temporary shelters in the center of Elazığ province were interviewed. During the interviews, voice recordings and notes were taken with the permission of the participants, and the data were obtained by making transcripts. The data obtained were analyzed and presented with both qualitative analysis techniques (MAXQDA) and quantitative techniques (SPSS Statistics 26). The research revealed that women are affected in different ways from the 'seven main security risks' mentioned in the content of the thesis in the temporary shelters where they stay after the disaster. In the research, it was found that women are affected by the negative effects of the disaster in the temporary shelters where they stay after the disaster due to their gender roles.