Monday 10 October 2022

UN says climate change is causing more gender violence

UN says climate change is causing more gender violence

Climate change is increasing the risk of violence towards woman and girls worldwide.

That’s according to UN Special Rapporteur, Reem Alsalem, who has labelled climate change “the most consequential threat multiplier for women and girls.”

She alleges that climate change destabilises communities and society – and this has a knock-on effect with women, being used as scapegoats for tougher experiences.

On top of this, climate change means emergency services are more preoccupied: “Curbing the availability and effectiveness of protection mechanisms and further weakening the potential to prevent violence,” Alsalem added.

Explaining her point to the UN, she said: “When slow or sudden-onset disasters strike and threaten livelihoods, communities may resort to negative coping mechanisms, such as trafficking, sexual exploitation and harmful practices like early and child marriage and drop out from schools – all of which force women and girls to choose between risk-imbued options for survival.”

Ms Alsalem has been appointed by the UN’s Human Rights Council, to provide findings on the impact of gender equality in certain parts of the world.

She reiterated that concentration on quashing climate change would in turn help keep societies and other parts of the world in better shape.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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