"Denial of risk" present amongst certain social groups

A number of practitioners also felt that citizens had no awareness of risk in emergency and disaster situations due to a “culture of denial of risk” amongst some social groups: “Regardless of all the messages that we receive, we need to admit that we like to live in denial. We ignore something and take care of it when it happens” (G1; R - see source document for full reference); “They highly underestimate every risk. There is a denial attitude, and it comes from the higher grounds of the social and cultural population” (G2; R5); “We see this usually even in the world of work… people who do not wear an helmet because they think that nothing can happen, people who don’t fasten their seat belt, those who do not put a baby on the baby’s chair and so on. Probably this is a very important cultural fact” (G4; R10), “We all are convinced that ‘something like that cannot happen to me’. We feel safe” (G2; R). The perception of practitioners that citizens with a higher social status have a misperception of security reflects other areas of security research, for example, citizens with a higher economic status may feel more insecure and seek to protect themselves and their property.

Cultural Factors: Socio-economic status, Educational system

Hazards: Natural hazards, Man-made non-intentional hazards or emergency situations, Man-made intentional hazards

Disaster Phases: Preparedness, Response

Types of Actors Concerned: National civil protection body, Local authorities, Military, Law enforcement agencies

Recommendations:

• Develop a personal “culture of preparedness”
• Develop risk assessments methodologies, which consider cultural factors, the manner in which people cognitively process information and which employ a gender perspective