PRESS RELEASE: 29.10.2013
Victorian bushfire victims warn NSW - this is only the beginning
As the destruction left in the wake of the NSW begins to be assessed, a new report from
Victoria warns that the effects of large scale bushfire on men reach far into the future, with
consequences such as increased aggression, suicide, alcohol consumption and mental health
issues, often hidden from view.
Fire Services Commissioner, Craig Lapsley, said, ‘Black Saturday rocked so many lives. We
now know that many men didn’t cope and sometimes hurt themselves and the people they
love. We owe it to our communities and to these men to understand how to best meet their
needs’.
Funded by the National Disaster Resilience Grants Scheme, the first national and
international conference to examine the often hidden effects of disasters and their
aftermath on men, ‘Just ask: Experiences of men after Black Saturday’ will be held in
Melbourne on November 26th at The William Angliss Conference Centre.
A new report to be launched at this conference debunks popular myths that men ‘don’t talk’
and shows how in the aftermath of the 2009 Victorian fires, government, agency and
community responses, for many men, exacerbated the trauma of the fires. Four years later,
men report they continue to experience the consequences of the fires – often in isolation.
Some men have become reclusive, some have never regained employment, and many are
still living and reliving the emotions provoked by the disaster, including anger at others and
at authorities.
Researchers Claire Zara and Debra Parkinson from Women’s Health Goulburn North East
said that each of the 32 men they spoke with, in interviews that often lasted up to two and a
half hours, were surprised to hear that other men were experiencing similar long-term
responses to the bushfires.
‘Four years on, emotions were raw, and most of the men thought they were the only one
who was still suffering’, said Ms Parkinson. ‘Many were very surprised to find their emotions
quickly resurfacing.’
This research, a partnership between WHGNE and Monash Injury Research Institute, follows
from previous WHGNE research: ‘The Way He Tells it: Relationships after Black Saturday’
(2012), which showed an increase of family violence after this disaster. This new research
with men responds to agency concerns that men ‘were not talking’ or engaging with
counselors.
‘Contrary to these initial concerns from various recovery agencies, many men told us that
they did attempt to get formal assistance post bushfire,’ said Ms Zara.
‘However, most reported being disappointed and not finding the experience useful. They
told of numerous caseworkers – many who did not have the experience to assist them; of
good counselors who were suddenly no longer available due to contracts being cut; of the
difficulties of accessing counseling; and of counseling from people who were also affected,
and who passed on the horrors of what they had heard from others’.
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Men also spoke of the stigma of seeking help, and the fear that they would be penalised if
perceived as weak and possibly denied front line roles in future disaster response. Some
men revealed they had contemplated suicide, or had intervened to prevent other men’s
suicide.
‘Gendered expectations of men, as of women, can be very harmful. We spoke with men who
believed their responses to this terrible event were personal failures and perhaps failures of
an idea of manhood. This can, for some men, lead to a need to control their personal
environment. Addressing men’s real needs post disaster, including the need to participate in
the reconstruction work, and acceptance of expression of emotions, is essential in order to
prevent self harm and harm to others, including their partners and children,’ said Ms
Parkinson.
International gender and disaster scholar, Dr Elaine Enarson, and Australian academic,
Professor Bob Pease, will present on masculinity and disaster, and a panel of seven key
emergency management representatives including Deputy Police Commissioner Stephen
Fontana, and Euan Ferguson, the Chief Officer of the CFA will address how to improve
support to their organisations’ workers.
Andrew Wilson-Annan was actively involved on Black Saturday as a CFA volunteer firefighter, and will speak on his personal experiences and reflections, as will ‘Sally’, a woman
who lost her home and her relationship on Black Saturday.
This conference is a White Ribbon event.
Media contacts:
 Debra Parkinson, Women’s Health Goulburn North East 0423 646 930
 Emeritus Prof. Frank Archer, Monash Injury Research Institute 0419 303 992
This conference will draw together representatives from the emergency management sector,
federal, state and local government, and other key organisations. The conference will introduce the
findings from the ‘What about the men?’ research, to inform responses to men in future disasters.
READ MORE OR REGISTER AT:
www.whealth.com.au/work_what_about_the_men.html
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