Disaster Action
Disaster Action is a small UK charity whose membership is made up of people who have been involved in a UK-based disaster, either because they have been bereaved, or because they are survivors.
Objectives
The purpose of Disaster Action is to represent the interests of those on the receiving end of disaster. Because of its size and remit, DA is not a frontline responder following a disaster, but acts primarily as an advisory and advocacy service to central government, local authorities, the statutory services, voluntary bodies and commercial companies, such as railway operators and airlines, about the human aspects of planning and responding to disasters and emergencies.
An important part of our work is in supporting and guiding survivors and bereaved affected by disasters.
Origins
In the late 1980s, there were a number of serious incidents in which many lives were lost such as the sinking of the MV Jupiter (1961) ; Hillsborough ; the Herald of Free Enterprise ; Lockerbie ; the Marchioness ; Piper Alpha and UTA Flight 772. One individual from the Herald Families Association began to realise that the issues the Herald families were experiencing would almost certainly be encountered by others in similar disasters. Maurice de Rohan therefore gathered together a group of people in circumstances that paralleled his, and so DA was set up.
Formal Objectives
- Offer support to those directly affected by major trauma
- Raise awareness of the needs of survivors and the bereaved in the short- and longer-term aftermath
- Help create a safety climate in which disasters are less likely to occur
Development
The organisation has developed through the years. One thread has been the introduction of legislation to provide for remedies against Corporate manslaughter, which culminated with legislation coming into force on 1 April 2008.
Another has been to analyse the experience of its members and summarise the results in a series of leaflets, which are available online.
Other strands
A third strand has been to act as lay-advisors to bodies such as central government departments, to remind them on their ongoing responsibilities when disasters happen.
A fourth strand is to offer presentations based on members' experience. The charity generates some income through charging fees for the presentations by members on training courses for the police, local authorities and private companies.
Funding
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust funded much of the organisation's work on corporate responsibility as well as offering core funding for five years since 2003. Since then, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and recently the Golden Bottle/Bulldog trusts have given grants for core funding. DA cherishes its independence, and ensures that we do not receive funding from any sources which might create a conflict of interest with our work in supporting survivors and the bereaved.
Achievements
- The Case for Corporate Responsibility: Corporate Violence and the Criminal Justice System (Disaster Action, 2000)
- DA won a Guardian charity of the year award in 2004
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2008
- Disaster Funds: Lessons & Guidance on the Management & Dissemination of Disaster Funds (Disaster Action, 2010). See http://www.disasteraction.org.uk/publications/Disaster_Funds_Lessons_and_Guidance_on_the_Management_and_Distribution_of_Disaster_Funds.pdf
- Collective Conviction the Story of Disaster Action (Liverpool University Press, 2014). See http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=11&AS1=Collective+Conviction