Our research has shown that displacement, resource scarcity, and breakdowns in social order amidst environmental crises create fertile ground for exploitation and abuse, particularly affecting women and girls.
Findings from Ethiopia, for example, shed light on a concerning trend: sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) surged in the Oromia region following the onset of drought. This uptick became apparent through the increased reporting of SGBV cases to health-care facilities. Dire circumstances in the region, exacerbated by the drought, posed significant challenges for survivors seeking assistance, especially when faced with urgent needs such as access to food and water.
“Our center manages at least 30 SGBV cases in a month. Out of these 30 cases, 20+ are violations committed to minors. These minor victims are mostly students.”
Our study in Samburu, Kenya, revealed that cases of SGBV spike in times of climate crisis because of increased stress and family conflict (caused by poverty and insecurity), cultural and gender norms around relationships, decreased security due to migration (particularly men leaving home), school dropouts, and women being blamed for unintended pregnancies.
In both Mozambique and Bangladesh, we found that the climate crisis intensifies sexual and gender-based violence. Destruction of housing, food sources and jobs can force women and girls to shelter in unsafe locations, travel long and unsafe routes for food and water, and resort to work that puts them at higher risk for violence. Exploitation and transactional sex are a particular threat to young girls experiencing economic crisis.
In Bangladesh, cyclone centers built to provide refuge during extreme weather events unintentionally put women and girls at risk for sexual harassment and rape due to crowded conditions, poor security, electricity outages, and lack of separate spaces and toilets for men and women. Women in both countries reported experiencing sexual harassment and abuse while collecting disaster relief after cyclones. And interview participants directly linked economic instability and stress in the aftermath of extreme weather events to increases in intimate partner violence, dowry and in-law abuse, transactional sex, sexual harassment, and early or child marriage.
Sexual violence is overlooked or dismissed when there’s a climate crisis
Our study in Ethiopia revealed that SGBV is frequently overlooked or dismissed in drought situations by the government, the police, the community, and even survivors themselves because everyone is struggling to meet their basic needs, such as food, water, and shelter. People may lack the time or energy to devote to caring for survivors of SGBV, or they may be afraid to report it for fear of retaliation.
Sexual violence drives an increase in unsafe abortion
In Kenya, our study found a clear connection between SGBV during climate crises and people seeking abortion with unsafe methods. With health systems strained and myriad barriers to abortion access, women faced with unwanted pregnancies resulting from violence often resort to unsafe methods to end their pregnancies—endangering their health and lives. The patriarchal nature of the Samburu community, where our study was based, means that women lack autonomy. Husbands hold decision making power, yet women are blamed for unintended pregnancies.