Severe climate change may increase violence against women

Countries affected by severe climate change may also have a higher prevalence of violence against women, a new study led by UCL researchers in collaboration with Exeter has found.

The research, published in PLOS Climate, examined how climate shocks – such as storms, landslides and floods – might be linked to higher rates of intimate partner violence in the two years following the event.

The researchers gathered data on intimate partner violence from 363 surveys conducted in 156 countries between 1993 and 2019, focusing on women who currently had a partner. Intimate partner violence was defined as any physical and/or sexual violence in the past year.

The team also gathered data on climate shocks from 1920 to 2022 in 190 countries. They then analysed the relationship between climate shocks and intimate partner violence, while also considering the country’s economic status.

They found that there was a significant link between intimate partner violence and certain climate shocks (including storms, landslides and floods). Meanwhile, other types of climate shocks (such as earthquakes and wildfires) didn’t show a clear connection to intimate partner violence.

Countries with higher GDP had lower rates of intimate partner violence.

Lead author, Professor Jenevieve Mannell at the UCL Institute for Global Health, said: “Existing evidence has found that when a woman experiences a climate-related event, she is more likely to experience violence in some countries and for some types of violence, but not others.

“We set out to explore what was happening at a national level to help inform international climate change policy.”

Dr Andrew Gibbs, co-author and social psychologist at the University of Exeter, said: “This study adds to the growing body of research that shows the relationship between climate change and violence against women, suggesting that climate change adds to the already considerable challenge of women’s experiences of violence.

“We need further work to understand why these disasters impact on violence against women, and climate resilience strategies need to consider how to integrate violence prevention in the future.”

The researchers were unable to assess why different climate shocks have more of an impact on intimate partner violence. However, they believe that different shocks may take different amounts of time to have an effect on violence and this may not have been captured in the two-year window studied, due to data availability,

As a result, they are calling for more regular data collection by countries on measures of violence against women.

Professor Mannell added: “A small body of evidence shows that heat and humidity increases aggressive behaviours, including violence. Climate-related disasters increase stress and food insecurity in families in ways that can lead to increases in violence. They also reduce the social services often available for dealing with partner violence, such as police and civil society who are more focused on the disaster.

“At the same time, governments may put in place shelters for disaster relief which are often overcrowded and unsafe, without thinking about the risks of sexual violence.

“All of this happens more often and with increased severity in countries that have patriarchal gender norms and where the use of violence against women is widely accepted as normal behaviour.”

Importantly, the researchers believe that climate mitigation and adaptation efforts can and should play an important role in reducing violence against women.

This could include mentioning “violence against women” in Nationally Determined Contributions (the climate change commitments countries make) and allocating finances to address it or developing Climate Change Gender Action Plans. Samoa and Fiji are two countries which have already done this.

The researchers also advise that violence against women needs to be a consideration in countries’ disaster planning processes.

The study was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and was carried out in collaboration with researchers at the University of Exeter, the South African Medical Research Council and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.