Up to four times as many women as men may have been killed in the Tsunami, according to research from aid agency Oxfam International.

The figures come in a report showing the impact of the tsunami on women following a survey of eight villages in two districts of Aceh, Indonesia. The survey found that in four villages in the Aceh Besar district, out of 676 survivors only 189 were females. Male survivors outnumbered female survivors by almost three to one.

In four villages in North Aceh District, out of 366 deaths, 284 were females. Females accounted for 77 per cent of deaths in these villages.

In the worst affected village, Kuala Cangkoy, four females died for every one male who lost his life – in other words, 80 per cent of deaths were female.

In Cuddalore district, the second most affected in India, almost three times more women were killed than men. In Pachaankuppam village the only deaths were those of women, while information from camp surveys in Sri Lanka also suggests a serious imbalance between the number of men and women killed.

The reasons for this disparity are varied, according to the agency. They include women staying behind to look for their children (who they were often looking after when the wave hit) and women being less likely to know how to swim or climb palm trees.

In Aceh women have a high level of participation in the labour force, but the wave struck on a Sunday when they were at home and the men were out running errands, were out at sea (where the waves were less ferocious) or working in the fields. Women in India were close to the shore, waiting for the fishermen to come in with their catch. In Sri Lanka in Batticoloa District the tsunami hit at the time when women on the east coast usually took their baths in the sea.

The Oxfam data also reveals other aspects of how the tsunami has taken a particular toll on women. Some women experienced verbal and physical harassment by men in camps and settlements and were fearful of sexual abuse in the packed resettlement sites. Some women were being pressured into early marriages while some were particularly hit by the loss of income and inability to access cash, putting them at risk of sexual exploitation.

“The tsunami has dealt a crushing blow to women and men across the region.” said Becky Buell, Oxfam’s Policy Director. “In some villages it now appears that up to 80 per cent of those killed were women. This disproportionate impact will lead to problems for years to come unless everyone working on the aid effort addresses the issue now. We are already hearing about rapes, harassment and forced early marriages. We all need to wake up to this issue and ensure the protection, inclusion and empowerment of the women that have survived,”

The agency is calling on governments, donors and NGOs to act to address the issues. Oxfam wants them to collect and use sex-disaggregated information. They want to see as a priority the protection of women from sexual violence and exploitation, particularly in the camps. Opportunities to earn should be accessible to both men and women, whether in immediate cash for work or in more sustainable livelihood programmes, says the agency. There is also a need to work for genuine participation from men and women, at all levels, when assessing needs, delivering aid or evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. Oxfam called for a change in the mindsets of agencies and governments from perceiving women as “vulnerable victims’, to recognising their status as citizens with specific perspectives. They said , too, that there is a need for work among men who have lost their wives to help them adapt to changing gender roles including caring of children.