A new study from University College London (UCL) has revealed that rising global temperatures are fueling violence against women.
This was reported on Monday by Sridev.net, a media platform dedicated to science and technology news, opinions and expert analysis on global development issues.
According to the study, one in three women worldwide faces intimate partner violence, disproportionately affecting those in poorer countries.
“One in three women in the world suffers physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partner, according to UN figures, and women in the poorest countries are the most affected,” she said.
More about the UCL study
The UCL research also revealed that countries affected by climate disasters experience a significant increase in rates of domestic violence, adding that the economic instability caused by these events can fuel violence against women, which persists for up to two years after the disaster. initial shock.
Lead researcher Jenevieve Mannell, a professor at the UCL Institute of Global Health, said climate disasters are linked to increased domestic violence.
“Storms, landslides and flooding appear to be related to higher rates of intimate partner violence two years later nationally,” he said.
Article page with financial support promotion
The study analyzed nationwide surveys from more than 150 countries, spanning 26 years, to assess the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV).
Intimate partner violence is physical or sexual violence perpetrated by a partner against a woman within the last year. The analysis revealed alarming rates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea, which topped the list.
To investigate the climate violence nexus, researchers integrated climate impact data (covering earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, storms, and wildfires) with IPV data. Their findings indicate that different types of weather events have different impacts on violence rates.
Climate-related triggers of violence
According to researchers, heat waves trigger immediate physiological responses, leading to increased aggression and violence. In contrast, storms and floods have a delayed impact, affecting mental health and food security, which ultimately drives violent behavior.
Mannell noted that climate disasters have different speeds.
“Different climate-related shocks take different periods of time to impact violence rates,” he said.
The researchers also found that climate crises have a significant impact on violence rates as indicators of economic performance, suggesting a connection. In particular, richer countries exhibited fewer cases of intimate partner violence.
The executive director of the African Gender and Media Initiative Trust, Gladys Kiio, noted that extreme weather events exacerbate economic and security dynamics.
She explained that climate crises, such as the floods in Kenya earlier this year, have devastating effects on women and girls, particularly in vulnerable communities, adding that these events expose them to sexual violence, displacement and exploitation.
Furthermore, he said, for example, a mother and her disabled daughter were brutally raped in a Nairobi slum after losing their home to floods. In some pastoralist communities, the situation is equally dire: young women are forced to marry to replace livestock lost during droughts, essentially becoming commodities.
This heartbreaking reality, she noted, highlights the intersection of climate change, poverty and gender violence.
“In these communities, women and girls are disproportionately affected and face increased risks of sexual exploitation, early marriage, and human trafficking. “The loss of livelihoods, homes and security creates a perfect storm of vulnerability, leaving them open to abuse and exploitation,” he said.
It is crucial to address root causes, work for climate justice, economic empowerment and gender equality to protect the rights and dignity of women and girls in these communities, she said.
Gender-climate plan
According to the researchers, their goal is to inform environmental policies that mitigate the social and health impacts of climate change. Ahead of COP29, they want gender issues to be addressed, noting that Kenya's national climate plan ignores these concerns.
Ms Kiio said the strategy provides a roadmap for how climate affects gender.
She said: “The plan gives us a roadmap for how climate change is affecting gender and how men and women interact with the climate.
“It will define programs and actions that incorporate gender in climate responses.”
According to them, countries are addressing climate change and gender-based violence through two key mechanisms.
They said Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) outline countries' commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change under the Paris Agreement.
Additionally, they noted that some countries are developing Climate Change Gender Action Plans to address the intersectional impacts of climate change, adding that countries must update their NDCs by February, although some may announce their updates earlier at COP29 in November.