The correlation between the number of people affected by disaster and the number of female victims of intentional homicide was found to be the highest in central and south Asia, followed by east and southeast Asia
Flood-affected people in Madhepura, Bihar. Photo: Agnimirh Basu / CSE Violence against women and girls increases in the aftermath of disasters and at the extreme end of the scale, this even takes the form of intentional homicides, according to a new United Nations report on disaster risk reduction released on the evening of April 26, 2022.
This strong correlation between the number of people affected by disaster and the number of female victims of intentional homicide was found to be the highest in central and south Asia, followed by east and southeast Asia.
The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2022 (GAR 2022) builds on the analysis of United Nations-mandated SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) data on increased gender based violence in disasters.
It suggested that the additional socioeconomic and psychological stresses of disasters on affected people increase vulnerability through indirect social impacts.
“These further undermine coping capacity, social cohesion and well-being, which in this example has a disproportionate impact on women and girls,” the report said.
The document cited various studies to establish that increases in gender-based violence during disaster displacement and slow-onset disasters was a key concern at the global level, in regions such as Asia and the Pacific, as well as in various countries such as wildfires in Australia, cyclones in Bangladesh, and floods and hurricanes in the United States.
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs analysis based on Global Sustainable Development Goal Indicators Database (UN DESA, 2021)
Disasters also fuel human trafficking, which has a strong gender dimension. An analysis of available SDG data demonstrates a strong relationship between disaster affectedness and the number of detected female victims of human trafficking in all regions except north Africa, west Asia and Oceania.
Research in Australia and the United States has also used similar methods to model significant increases in domestic violence, marital breakdown, suicide and drug addiction following major disasters such as wildfires.
In India, in the coastal states of West Bengal and Odisha, which are seeing a rapid increase in floods and cyclones brought on by the impacts of climate change, there are increasing instances of displacement and migration, making people more vulnerable to trafficking.
Moreover, the report also highlighted a ‘shadow pandemic’ of gender-based violence globally during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For example, a recent study on the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and associated economic losses on urban populations in four Latin American cities found a high correlation between these stresses and violence within the home, as well as depression and anxiety, affecting women and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities,” the GAR 2022, said.
The negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and economic development have created disproportionate vulnerability and exposure for women and girls, all of which undermine efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda as well as regional agendas, it added.
Meanwhile, the report also emphasised on women playing a crucial role in scaling up disaster preparedness, bringing a wealth of knowledge, capacities and needs-based approaches to decision-making.
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