Climate Change and Gender Based Violence

Extreme weather and climate events are predicted to become more severe and frequent as a result of anthropogenic climate change. The systematic study investigates extraordinary events and their impact on gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrated against women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities. The findings revealed that most studies found an increase in one or more kinds of GBV during or after catastrophic disasters, which were frequently associated with economic instability, food hunger, mental stress, interrupted infrastructure, greater exposure to men, tradition, and aggravated gender inequity. These findings may have significant consequences for sexual and gender transformational therapies, policy, and implementation. High-quality evidence from large, ethnographically diverse cohorts is required to investigate the consequences and underlying causes of GBV during and after catastrophic events.

Reference: van Daalen, Kim Robin et al. Extreme events and gender-based violence: a mixed-methods systematic review. The Lancet Planetary Health, Volume 6, Issue 6, e504 - e523

Natural disasters and crises like the COVID-19 pandemic represents the worse condition of women. During COVID-19, divorce rate increased. Due to lockdown, men stayed at home and tortured women and children. Burden for working women increased which made their lives miserable. If we talk about other challenges, women are disproportionately affected by harsh storms, droughts, increasing sea levels, and heat waves. This is because women are more likely than men to live in poverty, have less access to fundamental freedoms like the right to property ownership and mobility, and experience routine violence that worsens during unstable times.

Global warming is causing a cascade of health risks from heat stress to poor water quality, air pollution, floods and droughts.  Climate change has amplified the severity of health-related concerns and it is becoming difficult to resolve them at global level. According to the recent report (2023) released by the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and may cause 232 million to face food insecurity by 2050. According to United Nations (2023), 80% of the population displaced by climate change are women or girls which shows a disproportionate burden of poverty, poor health and violence among them. Climate change can adversely affect the health and well-being of the women, newborns and children throughout their lives (1). It is well-documented in past that climate hazard may cause gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW) and stillbirth. In addition to the health risks related to poor nutrition, water, hygiene and sanitation, the effects of exposure to climate hazards and their aftermath during and after pregnancy can affect mental health and contribute to intergenerational cycle of poor mental health (2).

Therefore, it is an extreme need that the International and National agencies must collaborate and work to bring to fruition a time-bound plan of action to address climate change-induced, impact on health and exacerbated sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls for our healthy future (3).

References

1. World Economic Forum. (2024). Climate change impacts women more. We must legislate to protect their health.   //www.unep.org/events/conference/un-climate-change-conference-unfccc-cop-28  (Accessed on 2-09-2024).

2. World Health Organisation. (2023). Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change: A call for action. //www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240085350 . (Accessed on 2-09-2024).

3.Desai, B. H., & Mandal, M. (2021). Role of Climate Change in Exacerbating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Women: A New Challenge for International Law. Environmental Policy and Law, 51(3), 137–157. //doi.org/10.3233/epl-210055

Climate shocks—sudden, extreme changes in temperature or precipitation within a region's microclimate—are becoming increasingly frequent worldwide. These shocks, such as unexpected droughts, floods, and heatwaves, often occur with little warning, making them difficult to avoid. Developing countries, which have limited resources, less capacity to adapt, and vulnerable populations, are particularly impacted by these extreme climate events. These shocks are largely attributed to climate change and are expected to continue rising in frequency globally.

According to the United Nations, food security exists when all people, at all times, have both physical and economic access to enough safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary requirements and choices for a healthy and active lifestyle. However, food insecurity is widespread and contributes to increased poverty, negatively affecting agricultural systems and social structures. Climate shocks exacerbate this issue by straining food production, transportation infrastructure, and access to food, particularly among vulnerable populations. In regions with limited capacity to absorb the socio-economic impacts of food insecurity, even small climatic changes can significantly disrupt societal dynamics. Food insecurity is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where up to 30% of the population is undernourished and has minimal reserves to cope with reduced food access.

Women and girls are often the first to suffer during times of food insecurity. Several economic, cultural, political, and structural factors contribute to this disparity. Women, typically having less ability to generate independent income, become more dependent on male household members, exacerbating gender inequality. In many cases, scarce resources are prioritized for men, particularly those who are primary breadwinners, to enable them to continue working. When men experience psychological and social stress due to food shortages caused by climate shocks, they may direct their frustrations toward women. Gender-based violence (GBV), which encompasses various harmful behaviors directed at women and girls because of their gender, often increases during these times. GBV can include psychological abuse, physical violence, sexual violence, coercion, survival sex, female genital mutilation, selective malnourishment or undernourishment of female children, and femicide. As food insecurity rises, so too do gender inequalities and violence against women.

Reference: Agrawal, P., Post, L. A., Glover, J., Hersey, D., Oberoi, P., & Biroscak, B. (2023). The interrelationship between food security, climate change, and gender-based violence: A scoping review with system dynamics modeling. PLOS global public health, 3(2), e0000300.

Climate change is a multifaceted global issue that disproportionately affects women, exacerbating existing social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities. Women, particularly in developing regions, are more susceptible to the impacts of climate change due to their reliance on natural resources and their higher representation among the world's poor. Social, economic, and cultural factors further intensify this vulnerability, making women more prone to the adverse effects of environmental changes .

One critical aspect of this vulnerability is the link between climate change and gender-based violence (GBV). Environmental instabilities and the stresses associated with climate change can lead to increased violence against women, undermining community wellbeing and development. In many societies, women face higher rates of violence than men, and this violence is often tied to their land and property rights. Securing equitable land and resource rights for women is therefore essential in mitigating GBV and fostering resilience against climate impacts.

India ranks among the world's most disaster-prone nations, with 80 percent of its population residing in regions highly susceptible to climate change. The Ministry of Women and Child Development in New Delhi highlighted in its 2015 report on the 'Status of Women' that "rural and urban poor women are the first and hardest hit by disasters," with the reasons being more rooted in gender than biology. In 2021 alone, extreme weather events like floods, landslides, earthquakes, and cyclones displaced 4.9 million people in India.

In the Indian context, an often-neglected aspect of understanding women's gender-based vulnerability to climate-induced disasters is how gender intersects with other social factors such as caste, age, and poverty, which significantly impact their physical and psychological well-being. For instance, the recurring floods in Bihar highlight how such intersections, particularly with age and poverty, lead to increased violence against young girls and women, including a rise in practices like dowry and child marriage. Caste also plays a crucial role in maintaining power dynamics in Indian society, and there is an urgent need to examine how climate-induced disasters disproportionately affect women from lower castes.

To address these issues, gender-based violence indicators and data—such as those from the Sustainable Development Goals framework—can be used to inform environmental policies and actions. There should be a focus on implementing gender-responsive budgeting to fulfill commitments toward gender equality in environmental programs. Non-governmental organizations, academics, and civil society members can play a crucial role in highlighting the need to integrate gender considerations into environmental policies as part of a rights-based approach. Government programs should also commit to developing and utilizing resources, such as awareness-raising tools, a toll-free helpline for survivors of climate-related impacts, and capacity-building strategies to address the links between gender-based violence and environmental challenges.

Reference:

Anand, A., Nagaveni, P. L., & Devi, K. S. (2022). Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in India- A Gendered Perspective. NeuroQuantology, 20(17), 1139.

Thank you for starting this discussion thread! Although I had background knowledge of the role of climate change in an individual's life, I did not realize that it exacerbated gender-based violence (GBV). I went through a few articles and one that stood out explained how women in rural parts of Bangladesh were prone to physical violence during natural calamities. With some parts facing extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods, and so on, and lack of proper WASH services, women are forced to bear the burden of performing household chores while walking long distances to fetch water. Moving ahead, it is necessary to look into this issue with more urgency and secure the rights of women who are functioning under such prevalent systems of oppression. 

Reference: //www.gbv.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ICGBV-Policy-Paper-Climate-Change-and-GBV.pdf

Gender based violence as a result of climate change is often overlooked. 

Extreme weather and climate events negatively affect human lives, ecosystems, and economies. These effects are diverse and mediated both through the environment (eg, floods increasing the risk of infectious diseases and wildfire smoke resulting in respiratory symptoms) and social systems (eg, disruption of essential services, violence, and resource loss). However, such visible implications often overshadow more veiled consequences, including gender-based violence (GBV) experienced by women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities.

Increased GBV has been observed in both natural and human-caused crises and disasters, due to socioeconomic instability, structural power inequalities, health-care inaccessibility, resource scarcity, breakdowns in safety and law enforcement, and increases in (perceived) stress. (1)

For example, In 2021 the UN Secretary General remarked to the Security Council on the climate-related security risks that are devastating for girls and women who are forced to walk far to collect drinking water that exposes them to sexual and gender based violence. Minor girls were forced to get married due to shortage of food that is a result of climate change in a country such as Malawi.

The periods of disasters including climate change related migrations or displacement have also shown women and girls face more domestic and sexual violence. This assumes acute form when families have been displaced and forced to live in camps or any other place that lacks privacy. Women and girls report a high level of sexual violence during sleep, washing, bathing, and dressing in emergency shelters, tents, or camps. (2)

More policies and work should be done at the grassroot levels to improve the lives of populations affected by climate change. 

References:

1.Desai, Bharat H. and Mandal, Moumita (2021). ‘Role of Climate Change in Exacerbating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Against Women: A New Challenge for International Law’. 

2. van Daalen et al (2022). Extreme events and gender-based violence: a mixed-methods systematic review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6, Article 6. //doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(22)00088-2

Climate shocks, which are rapid disturbances to temperature or precipitation extremes in a region's microclimate, are becoming more common worldwide. Climate shocks are unexpected episodes of drought, flooding, and excessive heat, which frequently occur with little warning and cannot be avoided. Developing countries with low reserves, weak adaptability, and vulnerable people are frequently disproportionately affected by the population stress caused by catastrophic climate events. These climate shocks are viewed as a direct outcome of climate change, and their frequency is expected to rise globally. Women and female children are frequently the first to be overlooked and badly impacted during times of food scarcity . There are numerous economic, cultural, political, and structural reasons for this. Women are frequently unable to create independent income, resulting in increased dependency on male household members and worsening gender inequity. Scarce resources are often directed towards men and breadwinners in a family to allow them to continue working. When men are mentally and socially disturbed due to a lack of food caused by climate shocks and consequent food insecurity, they frequently vent their frustrations on women. Gender-based violence (GBV) refers to a range of harmful behavior's perpetrated at women and girls solely because of their gender. GBV takes many forms, including but not limited to psychological abuse, physical violence, sexual violence, coercion, survival sex, female genital mutilation, selective malnourishment or undernourishment of female children, and femicide. GBV is often a manifestation of stressors and frustrations caused by food insecurity. As food insecurity increases, so do gender inequalities and violence against women.

References: //journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0000300