Understanding the link between climate disasters and gendered violence

Communities across Victoria are used to preparing for climate disasters like bushfires and adept at having their emergency plans in place.  

As the climate crisis intensifies, natural disasters are increasing in frequency, severity, and duration. Climate disasters - like bushfires, droughts, floods or severe storms - can kill people and destroy homes and livelihoods.   

These disasters, however, can impact different people in different ways. Women, children, elderly people, people living with disabilities, and Indigenous communities are often the most affected. The UN Development Programme found that women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men in climate disasters, and an estimated 4 out of 5 displaced people are women and girls.

This is because climate disasters can make existing inequality - like gender inequality, racism, ableism or ageism – worse. In doing so, they can also make it more likely that violence against women and other forms of gendered violence will occur. 

What is happening?

Research shows that family violence and violence against women increase after climate disasters:

• After the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, domestic violence increased. For some victims, this was the first time their partner had used violence.  
• In New Zealand, police reported a 53% rise in domestic violence after the 2011 Canterbury earthquake.  
• In the United States, studies showed a 98% rise in violence against women after Hurricane Katrina.
• A study in three South Asian countries found that a 1°C rise in average temperature increases violence against women and families by 4.5%.

Why are times of climate disaster particularly risky for gendered violence?  

It’s important to understand that climate disasters themselves do not cause violence. Instead, the conditions created by bushfires, floods, storms and other disasters can make it more likely someone will choose to use violence for the first time, or increase how often they’re using violence, or how severe that violence is.  

In the aftermath of disaster, people are grappling with trauma and extreme stress. During disaster recovery and reconstruction people face issues like homelessness and unemployment. They may engage in harmful behaviours to cope, like drug and alcohol abuse.  

The disruption of disaster can increase contact between family members, forcing people to live together in cramped conditions. This can raise tensions and increase the risk of violence.

Gender roles intensify in times of disaster

We know that pressure to follow harmful ideas about what it means to be a man  – like acting tough and not showing emotion - is linked to men’s use of violence and control. In the context of disaster, expectations weigh heavily on men to behave a certain way. To provide, protect, defend. Feelings of inadequacy and shame can show up for men who feel they did not 'measure up' to prescribed ideas of what it means to be a man.

And while being strong for your family and your community during an emergency is something many communities have done, the idea that men should also be stoic and unemotional in the face of that danger is harmful.  

When men feel they can't talk about their distress and past trauma, they might react in unhealthy ways, including using violence against their loved ones.  

The situation is compounded by the pressures placed on women. Disasters increase women’s informal workload, limiting their financial freedom and independence. Women are often expected to lead caring tasks both in the community - like evacuating and providing relief - and at home, filling gaps left by lost income, such as childcare and cleaning. These caring roles can delay their return to paid work, creating households where men are in sole control of financial resources, and women’s independence is limited – a key driver of violence.

Practical risk factors for violence

Natural disasters also create very specific contexts that can increase someone’s risk of experiencing violence, including:

• having an abusive partner or family member in control of essentials, like transportation, water, money, emergency plans, access to health and support services, and key documents like prescriptions or insurance papers 
• victim-survivors coming into contact with a perpetrator at an evacuation centre or community hub 
• difficulty of enforcing protection orders in times of disaster.

What can I do?

As extreme weather conditions worsen, it’s important for all of us to think about how we can keep everyone in the community safe, both when a disaster is happening and afterwards.  

The Covid-19 pandemic showed us the importance of checking in on neighbours, workmates, friends and family in a time of crisis.  The Shadow Pandemic showed how women were vulnerable to a different kind of danger, lurking behind the more immediate threat. In response, communities reached out to stay connected and looked out for each other’s wellbeing.  

We can do the same in times of climate disaster. Checking in to ask how someone’s going and knowing how to respond if they’re in an unsafe situation is important, including affirming that stress is never an excuse for abuse or control.  

Men can also encourage each other to express and process their emotions during and after disaster - like sadness, anger, fear or uncertainty - in healthy ways. That can mean talking to each other about what’s going on in their relationships and helping each other to understand what’s healthy behaviour and what’s not. Linking mates in with support services like the Men’s Referral Service and Lifeline is a practical way to offer help.

There is no such thing as a gendered 'rulebook’ to disaster response. Men can take on caregiving roles. Women can defend properties. What matters is staying connected, acknowledging trauma and believing victims. 

What can communities do? 

You can also play a leadership role in your own community, by keeping yourself and your colleagues informed about the importance of preventing gendered violence – before, during and after disasters and emergencies occur. 

Check out these resources to help you:   

• Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA) is a community of women working to improve Australia’s response to environmental and climate crises.  
• Women's Health Goulburn North East’s Care Through Disaster project has a toolkit to support communities to care for each other before, during and after disaster.  
• Gender and Disaster Australia is a national organisation offering evidence-based education, training and resources to address the harmful impacts of gendered expectations in disaster.