Challenges Faced by Marginalized Communities in a Post-Disaster Context: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Mendis, K, Thayaparan, M, Kaluarachchi Nartallo, Yamuna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7582-662X and Pathirage, C (2023) Challenges Faced by Marginalized Communities in a Post-Disaster Context: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Sustainability, 15 (14). 10754. ISSN 2071-1050

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Abstract

Many international organizations embrace the ideals of resilience and inclusion in the service of marginalized communities but neglect their inclusion in post-disaster settings. It is imperative to explore the challenges faced by marginalized communities to increase their inclusion in the post-disaster context. Therefore, this paper presents a systematic literature review of the challenges facing marginalized communities in the post-disaster context. The study identified 57 challenges faced by children, women, people with disabilities, and older adults under six categories: social, health, political, infrastructure, economic, and communication. The most common challenges all four marginalized communities face are the development of post-traumatic stress disorder, the struggle to acquire the necessities of life due to unequal distribution, the lack of income-generating opportunities, and sexual and gender-based violence. Most studies focus on women’s challenges, followed by those of children, older adults, and persons with disabilities. The study also explored the challenges faced in terms of intersectionality, experienced by groups of people who fall under more than one marginalized community. Finally, a conceptual framework was developed to improve the inclusion of marginalized communities during the post-disaster context by incorporating the challenges as one of the key components of the framework.