The impacts of climate change, including resource scarcity and economic strain, have been shown to increase the risks of violence against women and children. While the scale of climate crises varies, evidence across regions highlights a link between climate-induced stress and violence.
Climate crises such as droughts, floods, and extreme weather events increase financial pressures and resource scarcity, increasing the risks of intimate partner violence (IPV) and violence against children. Stress caused by these crises often exacerbates poor mental health, which leads to negative coping behaviours, such as harmful alcohol use, contributing to violence. Disruptions to essential services, including reproductive health care, education, social protection, and GBV response, worsen these vulnerabilities. Displacement caused by such events increases the risk of exposure to GBV in transit centres or refugee camps.
Resource scarcity often compels women to take on additional responsibilities, such as travelling increasingly long distances to secure food or water. This, in turn, increases the risks of violence either for striving to provide livelihoods or failing to meet demands from gender roles.
Integrating violence prevention strategies into climate change programmes can mitigate these risks by addressing underlying gender inequalities, harmful social norms, and power imbalances. Engaging men and boys as partners in gender equality can promote healthy masculinities that support both climate resilience and violence prevention.
Community mobilisation programmes play an important role in addressing the underlying risk factors of IPV and VAC and can be integrated into existing climate change initiatives.
Strengthening the capacity of all agencies, including disaster management offices, in preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery is essential to addressing violence against women and children.
This page includes resources on climate change, gender, and violence, with a focus on integrating violence prevention into climate adaptation and resilience programming.
Gender Based Violence: Overcoming an unseen barrier to effective climate action
Resourcing the feminist movements driving climate action
Accelerating action on gender equality in disaster risk reduction by 2030
Addressing GBV through Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Programs
Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) Grants Challenge
