Does Severe Climate Change Increase Violence Against women? PLOS Climate Study Highlights
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Countries affected by severe climate change may also have a higher prevalence of violence against women, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
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 (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.”
Reference: Mannell, J., Brown, L. J., Jordaan, E., Hatcher, A., & Gibbs, A. The Impact of Climate Shocks Due to Climate Change on Intimate Partner Violence: A Structural Equation Model of Data from 156 Countries. Available at SSRN 4800400.
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