Climate change is not gender neutral. If you’re a woman, you’re more likely to feel the negative consequences of natural disasters and, left unchecked, climate change only stands to make gender inequalities worse.
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| Women during the Myanmar floods. Photo: Myo Thame/UNICEF |
1. Collecting drinking water becomes harder, and violence becomes more common
In 63% of rural households worldwide,
it’s a woman’s job to gather drinking water for their families. Climate
change means more droughts and flooding, so finding access to clean
water has become harder than ever. This puts added pressure on women and
girls, with many having to travel longer and farther to access clean
water. By travelling further from home and into the night, women are also more likely to be sexually assaulted by men.
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| Cambodian woman collecting water. Photo: Eric Sales/ADB |
In times of disaster, illnesses such as malaria and cholera can spread quickly, and water contamination is a serious concern.
For women who are pregnant or giving birth in such unhygienic
conditions, the risk to a mother and her baby is huge. And in the event
her family gets sick, it is almost always the woman who is in charge of
caring for them. This means she is unable to work, which further weakens
her financial independence and deepens the cycle of poverty.
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| A women receives a dignity kit and a health check-up in Ayeyawady Region of Myanmar. Photo: Benny Manser/UNFPA |
In some places, women
do up to 80% of the farming work, with agriculture often being one of
the few income sources available to women. This means that in the event
of natural disasters, women face not only water shortages and loss of
land to farm, but a loss of the income they rely on to survive.
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| A farmer from the Palaung hill tribe in Myanmar. Photo: Jean Qingwen Loo/UN Women |
During natural disasters, men are more likely to perpetrate violence against women.
This is particularly true for women or girls displaced or living in
temporary accommodation, where there is a far greater risk of rape and
physical violence. Worse still, with police and medical services
overwhelmed during times of disaster, women may have nowhere to go to
seek support.
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| Women walk among the destroyed homes in the wake of Cyclone Winston in Fiji. Photo: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian |
If women are already discriminated
against in their communities, access to emergency services during
natural disasters can be incredibly difficult. During the recent Cyclone
Winston in Fiji, women of diverse sexual identities were choosing to
stay in homes that were hazardous and remote – because they felt the
evacuation centres were unsafe and unwelcoming for them. Those with
healthcare issues were unable to reach doctors, and for poor households
food, water and housing security immediately dropped.
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| The devastation left by Cyclone Winston. Photo: FWRM |
- Climate Change and Women
- How Does Climate Change Affect Women?
- Is climate change a gender equality issue?
- Women need to be at the core of the humanitarian response on climate change
- The Consequences of Climate Change
- Consulting Women on Climate Change
- Rural women at the frontline of climate change are taking action through innovation
- Does climate change affect us all the same?
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