Data collection and analysis

We conducted 36 in-depth interviews in the study areas (13 women in Badia, 13 women in Victoria Island and 10 women in Ajah). The purpose of the interview was to gain a deeper understanding of women’s lived experiences in non-flooding time periods. Selection of study participants involved a systematic random sampling of every 10 houses to ensure a representative coverage of women in the study sites. The research questions were regularly reviewed and were changed to adapt to issues raised by participants. Each interview took an average of one hour to conduct and some included discussions with spouses. The interviews took approximately four weeks in June 2011. It was relatively easy to gain access to research participants in the low-income settlements of Badia because of its high population density and because of the remarkable support offered by a key informant. Access to research participants in Ajah was also relatively easy. However access to research participants proved difficult in the rich

neighbourhoods on Victoria Island; many of the houses were guarded by local security men who refused to grant entry. We were granted entry to homes only on four occasions, hence we had to conduct other interviews in churches and mosques located in rich neighbourhoods in the area. The religious centers proved to be an ideal place to gain access to people of all social-economic classes, especially high-income women in Victoria Island-Lekki axis. Permission to conduct interviews at selected religious centers was obtained from their leaders. For all interviews, we asked open-ended questions and allowed the

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respondents to largely direct the pace of the interview. In the three study areas, we spoke to women of different occupational backgrounds including petty traders (10), lawyers (2), food vendors (2), sex workers (2), interior decorator (1), teachers (6), accountants (2), housewives (4), students (4), and

unemployed (3). Daily journals were kept and detailed field notes written afterwards. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim in order to accurately represent respondents’ views. The data was entered into NVivo 9 qualitative software for further thematic analysis (Richard and Richards, 1994). The analysis was first guided by themes and constructs relating to women’s roles and responsibility in the home and society as well as their perception, experience and coping strategies during flood disasters (Anderson, 1994; Enarson and Morrow, 1997; Norris et al., 2002; Callaghan, 2007; Tong et al., 2011). A line-by-line coding was used (Corbin and Strauss, 1990) in order to give a basic structure to the

arrangement of the data gathered. The qualitative data analysis was an iterative and inductive process, in which themes and findings from the data directed the development of hierarchically organised key categories and sub-categories. All 36 interview transcripts were coded using the same coding scheme. This technique was seen to be the most effective way of identifying similarities and differences among women’s perceptions and lived experiences in non-flooding periods.

The structured survey planned for early July coincided with Lagos receiving about 264 millimetres of rain in 18 hours, a volume normally expected for one month (NIMET, 2011). The rain began around 12 noon on Sunday July 10 and did not stop until around 6.am the next day. Homes and properties were damaged and thousands of people were displaced. The survey research began two days after the rainstorm, and was administered for a period of two and half weeks. The purpose of the survey was to gather first-hand information about the rainstorm and subsequent impact on women’s lives, livelihoods and health. Questions were posed about the households’ socio-economic status, family size, health status, access to health care, decision making about healthcare, housing and environmental conditions. We sought to elicit basic patterns and differences in impact among women in Lagos. A total of 453 questionnaires [Badia (n=262); Ajah (n=72); Victoria Island Axis (n=119)] were administered by

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the first author and 10 trained enumerators to randomly selected women in every ten houses in the study areas. In a few cases, we had to skip a house and move to the next one if women were unwilling to speak to us. For the survey data analysis, descriptive and bivariate analyses were done for relevant variables, using SPSS 18 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). In cases where patterned relationships were observed, tests of significance were done using t-test for continuous variables, and chi-square test for nominal variables at P-value= 0.05.

Two and half months after the July flood disaster, a total of six focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with women in the three study areas to allow women to compare and contrast their perceptions, experiences and feelings about the July flash flood. Each FGD consisted of six to eight women from different educational, socio-economic, religious and professional backgrounds. The participants were drawn from a mix of new and old participants from the interviews and survey. There were collaborative conversations around open-ended questions, beginning with findings from the

interviews and survey and an explanation of the researcher’s interest in learning more about the women’s post-disaster experiences and recovery. The repeated engagement resulted in rich data sets and showed that individuals were capable of holding multifaceted, even contradictory positions, depending on the context within which they spoke (Blomley, 2005). In spite of the heterogeneous characteristics of the group, the discussion among participants flowed relatively freely and frankly, perhaps because the theme being discussed impacted many of the women intimately as mothers, sisters, wives, daughters or

concerned citizens touched by the pain of the disaster. The data from the FGD was first coded conceptually based on general knowledge of women’s experience in disaster: domestic workload, gendered division of labour, health problems, and loss of income; but coding categories expanded and changed as new patterns emerged with these categories.

129 4.4 Results and discussion

Findings from this study revealed urban women’s perceptions and experiences with flash floods, including factors that enhanced or constrained their recovery. We begin by describing the everyday living conditions of women of different socio-economic classes, household structures, and geographic locations in Lagos. In the second section, we discuss their views about flood events and whether impacts are gendered or not. The final section elucidates women’s experiences during the July 10 flooding which coincided with a storm surge in Victoria Island. A description of impacts, coping and recovery strategies is included. Direct quotations from transcripts illustrate selected themes and serve to contextualise participants’ responses. Pseudonyms were used to protect the identity of respondents.

4.4.1. Gender roles and wellbeing in ‘non-disaster’ context