Does climate change increase violence towards women? 

Women farmers, land defenders and critical mineral miners are disproportionately exposed to effects of a warming world, but a growing body of evidence has also linked climate change to an increase in gender-based violence at work and at home.This new threat comes on top of women’s greater exposure to displacement, water scarcity and ill health, all as a result of climate change.Under the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, governments are urged to consider gender equality and empowerment when addressing climate change, but progress has been slow, and advocates now want women to be more present at climate talks and have more access to funds.So how does climate change affect gender-based violence and what can countries do about it?What happens to women during extreme heat?Studies carried out in Europe, Asia and Australia found that domestic violence increases during and after heatwaves.Heat can increase stress, irritability and aggression, and force people to stay inside more – all contributing factors to increased rates of violence against women.A study tracking more than 194,800 women and girls in India, Pakistan and Nepal found that a 1-degree-Celsius increase in average annual temperature was connected to a rise of more than 6 per cent in domestic violence.Extreme heat also affects how women work and can expose them to greater violence at the hands of employers.In Bangladesh, for example, garment workers toiling in sweltering temperatures experience headaches, fatigue and nausea, and because their pace slows, they risk harassment and abuse from managers.Do other weather events increase violence against women?Extreme weather, including storms and hurricanes, can increase economic instability, obstruct access to resources and healthcare, and result in breakdowns in law enforcement, exposing women to increased risk of violence, according to researchers at Cambridge University.The study found that related gender-based violence can lead to physical injuries, unwanted pregnancies, exposure to HIV or other sexually transmitted infections, fertility problems, as well as internalised stigma and mental health conditions.A 2021 study carried out in Kenya found there was a 60 per cent increase in the odds of reporting intimate partner violence in counties that experienced an extreme weather event compared to counties that did not.The report found that women were more likely to face violence from their partners if the latter worked in agriculture – a sector hard hit by extreme weather.Dwindling income and food insecurity from poor harvests can increase pressure on households, leading to violence, especially if women take on extra work or spend more time looking for water or food instead of on domestic tasks.How else does climate change harm women?In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the combination of conflict and climate change has exposed women to kidnap and rape by armed groups as they travel long distances to access water.