Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: General recommendation No. 37 (2018) on the Gender-related Dimensions of Disaster Risk Reduction in the Context of Climate Change
Publisher: UN CEDAW
Date: 2018
Topics: Assessment, Climate Change, Disasters, Gender
Climate change is exacerbating both the risk and the impacts of disasters globally, by increasing the frequency and severity of weather and climate hazards, which heightens the vulnerability of communities to those hazards. There is scientific evidence that a large proportion of extreme weather events around the world are a result of human-caused changes to the climate.The human rights consequences of such disasters are apparent in the form of political and economic instability, growing inequality, declining food and water security and increased threats to health and livelihoods. Although climate change affects everyone, those countries and populations that have contributed the least to climate change, including people living in poverty, young people and future generations, are the most vulnerable to its impacts.
Women, girls, men and boys are affected differently by climate change and disasters, with many women and girls experiencing greater risks, burdens and impacts. Situations of crisis exacerbate pre-existing gender inequalities and compound the intersecting forms of discrimination against, among others, women living in poverty, indigenous women, women belonging to ethnic, racial, religious and sexual minority groups, women with disabilities, refugee and asylum-seeking women, internally displaced, stateless and migrant women, rural women, unmarried women, adolescents and older women, who are often disproportionately affected compared with men or other women.
In many contexts, gender inequalities limit the control that women and girls have over decisions governing their lives, as well as their access to resources such as food, water, agricultural input, land, credit, energy, technology, education, health services, adequate housing, social protection and employment. As a result of those inequalities, women and girls are more likely to be exposed to disaster-induced risks and losses relating to their livelihoods, and they are less able to adapt to changes in climatic conditions. Although climate change mitigation and adaptation programmes may provide new employment and livelihood opportunities in sectors such as agricultural production, sustainable urban development and clean energy, failure to address the structural barriers faced by women in gaining access to their rights will increase gender-based inequalities and intersecting forms of discrimination.