New report links gender-based violence to climate change

UNITED NATIONS (CMC):

Despite a new report warning that climate change is intensifying the social and economic stresses that are fuelling increased levels of violence against women and girls, only 0.04 per cent of climate-related development assistance focuses primarily on gender equality.

The new by the UN Spotlight Initiative released on Tuesday has found that extreme weather, displacement, food insecurity, and economic instability are key factors increasing the prevalence and severity of gender-based violence.

It said that these impacts hit hardest in fragile communities, where women already face entrenched inequalities and are more vulnerable to assault.

The Spotlight Initiative calls for gender-based violence (GBV) prevention to be integrated into all levels of climate policy, from local strategies to international funding mechanisms.

It said examples from countries like Haiti, Vanuatu, Liberia, and Mozambique have shown how programmes can be designed to simultaneously address violence and build climate resilience.

These include re-training midwives for jobs in the expanding climate-smart agricultural sector, ensuring that disaster response includes GBV services, and supporting mobile health clinics in disaster zones.

The report stresses that effective climate action must prioritise safety, equity, and the leadership of women and girls.

Ending violence against women and girls, the report notes, is not only a human rights imperative, it is essential to achieving a just, sustainable, and climate-resilient future.

According to the report, every one degree Celsius rise in global temperature is associated with a 4.7 per cent increase in intimate partner violence (IPV). In a two degrees Celsius warming scenario, 40 million more women and girls are likely to experience IPV each year by 2090. In a 3.5°C scenario, that number more than doubles.

The Spotlight Initiative, a global partnership between the European Union and the United Nations, works to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Its latest findings emphasise that climate solutions must address rights, safety, and justice if they are to be effective or sustainable.

Gender-based violence is already a global epidemic, the report outlines, noting that over one billion women – at least one in three – have experienced physical, sexual, or psychological abuse in their lifetime. These figures are likely underestimated, as only around seven per cent of survivors file a formal report to police or medical services.

The Spotlight Initiative identifies a pattern of increased violence in the aftermath of climate disasters.

In 2023 alone, 93.1 million people were affected by weather-related disasters and earthquakes, while an estimated 423 million women experienced intimate partner violence. As climate shocks become more frequent and severe, the risk of violence is projected to rise dramatically.

For example, one study highlighted in the report found a 28 per cent increase in femicide during heatwaves.

Other consequences include higher rates of child marriage, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation, especially in the wake of displacement caused by floods, droughts, or desertification.