ABSTRACT
The Photovoice project aim is to contribute to the development of more inclusive, gender-informed disaster preparedness and response policies and programs. Using a participatory approach, the project seeks to investigate and document the disaster's consequences and formulate ways to strengthen disaster prevention and response from the perspective of women who were affected by the Great East Japan Disaster. Photovoice has its theoretical and epistemological roots in empowerment and emancipatory education, feminist theory, and documentary photography. Participants take photographs of their lives and environments, share the photographs, and discuss their experiences and observations in a series of group meetings. Photovoice has been widely used to examine and improve the social conditions of vulnerable population groups. Photovoice—by combining photo-taking, group discussions, voice writing, and public dissemination of images and narratives—effectively serves as a means to record, reflect, analyse, communicate, and prompt action while also serving as an introspective and emotive channel through which to identify and express feelings.
