Hurricane Ivan took the lives of twenty-eight persons, of which 30 % were due to trauma to the head and chest, attributed directly to the hurricane. The majority or 69 % of the
victims were males, and 70 % of all deceased were over 60 years old.
Vulnerability of Women and Children
Male headed households account for some 52% of the households in Grenada and
females 48%, but among the poor the situation is reversed, female headship accounts for
52% of the households. The living conditions and capacities of the head of household is
important as it affects issues of intergenerational poverty , the life chances of children
and the other dependents, such as the youth and elderly who live in the household. The
difficult situation of poor female headed households in the aftermath of hurricane Ivan
was evident in the larger numbers of females in shelters than males and the larger number
of children than adults. In one shelter in Bollieau, two women had between them some 22
children, which supports the findings of the poverty assessment regarding the extremely
large size of poor families. UNDAC reported that the food distribution situation was slow
and tedious, not often reaching the people who needed it most.
There were anecdotal reports of young women, seeking to procure transactional sex in
order to secure needed supplies. Reports were also received of instances of gender based
violence occurring in informal shelters.
Women are very often left with the responsibility for elderly relatives. Grenada has one
of the highest total dependency ratios in the OECS region 94.8% and a relatively high
elderly dependency ratio of 31.8%12. Persons over 65 years of age account for 16.3% of
the population. It was not surprising therefore, that many of the deaths due to hurricane
Ivan occurred among the aged, nor among elderly men, as there has been noticed a
phenomenon in the OECS countries of the single headed male household living in
somewhat lonely and precarious circumstances in old age. 13
The employment situation is precarious in the best of times. The rate for male
unemployment is 15% and 13% for females. Labour force participation rate of women is
significantly lower in Grenada than other OECS countries. Approximately 68% of males
and 38% of females participate in the labour force. This may not represent those working
in the informal sector however, as many persons who eke out a living, to maintain
themselves, through activities in that sector often do not consider themselves to be part of
the labour force. The reported damage to day care centres, caused by hurricane Ivan
which left some 480 children, in the parish of St. George’s alone, without the care to
which their parent or guardian have been accustomed, could make the participation in the
labour force of women all the more precarious. This has become particularly clear, as the
data on the parent of children of the day care centres, point to a significant proportion,
70%, of the parents being single female heads of households. With the expected negative
fallout on the productive sectors of the economy, due to hurricane Ivan, larger numbers of
women and men can be expected to seek their livelihoods in the informal sector.
Provision of support services to female heads of households, in the form of day care for
their children, will become necessary , not only to allow the mother time to secure a
livelihood, but to ensure the safety and reduced vulnerability of the children who would
have to be left without supervision and care in her absence
Source: OECS (2004)