Mobilising Social Capital and Participation: Deaf Organisations and Access in Disasters

Abstract

Disasters expose inequities in how information and support are designed, delivered, and accessed, particularly for groups whose linguistic, cultural, and access needs are overlooked. Deaf people, at the intersection of disability and cultural-linguistic minority status, remain underserved in disaster risk reduction (DRR) research and practice despite barriers to lifesaving information. Taking Deaf support organisations as its starting point, this thesis examines how they mobilise alongside health and emergency services, challenges in delivering accessible disaster information, and systemic gaps that leave deaf people at heightened risk. It investigates how mobilisation strategies shape access and participation in DRR.

Drawing on qualitative case studies from nine countries (Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Nepal, the Philippines, and the USA), this research explores how organisational strategies shape access, participation, and social capital for resilience. Grounded in Deaf ways of knowing, critical intersectionality, and Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, field, and habitus, I use reflexivity to examine my positionality as a deaf researcher and how it shaped the study. Findings show Deaf support organisations play a critical undervalued role in enabling accessible communication during disasters. Despite limited resources, they bridge communication gaps and support resilience, though their role remains under-recognised in emergency management. Exclusion is shaped by systemic barriers and internal hierarchies within Deaf communities, disproportionately affecting deaf people who are further marginalised. Building on this, the thesis develops a relational framework integrating social capital and participatory inclusion to explain how power, recognition, and access shape participation in DRR. It argues that strengthening Deaf support organisations is essential for inclusive disaster preparedness and response.