As the G20 Summit approaches in Johannesburg, South Africa finds itself at a critical crossroads. Discussions on economic recovery, climate action, and social justice are intensifying, and for activists and policymakers alike, the intersection of climate change and gender-based violence (GBV) is impossible to ignore. The moment demands not only bold policy commitments but a recognition that climate resilience and gender safety are inseparable pillars of a just and inclusive future.
Climate Change and GBV: A Growing Crisis in Africa
Across Africa, women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change. Extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, increase food insecurity, displace communities, and create environments where gender-based violence can thrive. According to UN Women femicide rates increase by 28% during heatwaves. In South Sudan, flooding and drought have driven displacement and heightened GBV risks; in Ethiopia’s Oromia region drought conditions correlate with rising sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) reported at healthcare facilities. In Kenya, climate stress exacerbates SGBV through migration and household pressures, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, compounded climate stress and conflict put women at extreme risk.
Statistics underline the urgency: projections suggest that domestic or intimate-partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa could nearly triple by 2060 under a high-emissions scenario, affecting 140 million women. Every 1°C rise in temperature is associated with a 4.7% increase in intimate-partner violence.
A study focusing on agrarian settings in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and has found that women living in regions affected by severe weather events (floods or droughts) had significantly higher odds of experiencing intimate-partner violence: 25% higher in Uganda, 38% higher in Zimbabwe, and 91% higher in Mozambique compared to unaffected regions. Their conceptual framework emphasises how climate stressors (crop failure, resource scarcity), gender inequalities and power dynamics combine to amplify vulnerabilities for women and girls. This evidence underscores that climate justice and gender-based violence must be addressed together.
The Purple Movement: Advocating Gender Justice
In South Africa, the Purple Movement has emerged as a leading voice in advocating for gender equality and GBV prevention. The movement emphasises that climate justice cannot exist without gender justice. Ahead of the G20 Summit, activists, including organisations such as Women for Change, have mobilised events like the G20 Women’s Shutdown, a silent protest to demand gender-responsive climate policies that protect women and girls, particularly in communities vulnerable to climate shocks.
These actions highlight the urgent need for leaders to treat GBV as a systemic issue intertwined with climate vulnerability rather than an isolated social crisis. The Shutdown also underscores the power of collective, non‑violent activism in shaping political will and public consciousness. By bringing gender justice to the centre of climate negotiations, the movement is reframing the G20 as not just an economic forum, but a critical space for safeguarding women’s rights and safety.
Disaster Declarations: A Tool for Change
Cyril Ramaphosa and the South African government have declared various states of disaster, including responses to energy crises, flooding, and most recently, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). While these declarations do not automatically trigger the full force of emergency powers, they permit accelerated mobilisation of resources and coordination across government sectors.
For climate-related disasters, this framework enables faster deployment of adaptation and resilient infrastructure. For GBV, it strengthens the coordination of justice, health and social services. Both declarations indicate a recognition that crises whether environmental or social demand urgent, coordinated action.
The Role of Men in Advancing Climate and Gender Justice
While women and girls bear the brunt of climate impacts and GBV, men play a pivotal role in transforming the social conditions that enable these crises. Progress toward gender and climate justice requires men to be active participants not passive observers.
- Challenging Harmful Norms: Climate stress often intensifies household pressures, which can trigger harmful expressions of masculinity linked to control or aggression. Men’s involvement in challenging these norms at home, in schools, workplaces, and cultural spaces is essential to reducing GBV risks that escalate under climate strain.
- Leadership and Accountability: Because men comprise most decision-makers in government, business, and traditional leadership structures, their commitment to gender justice can accelerate progress. When male leaders prioritise women’s safety in climate adaptation plans, disaster responses, and resource management decisions, they help shift the systems that perpetuate both GBV and climate vulnerability.
- Shared Responsibility: GBV has long been framed as a “women’s issue”, but prevention requires men to take responsibility for ending violence, holding peers accountable, and supporting survivor-focused systems. In climate-affected communities facing displacement, conflict, or economic stress, men’s engagement in community dialogues, mentorship programmes, and positive fatherhood initiatives can significantly reduce risks.
- Supporting Equitable, Green Livelihoods: Men working in agriculture, mining, construction, and emerging green sectors can help foster climate-resilient communities by supporting women’s participation and leadership. Encouraging shared decision-making around land, water, and climate-resilient jobs reduces economic inequalities that heighten GBV vulnerabilities.
- Allyship in Advocacy: At national movements such as the G20 Women’s Shutdown and global platforms like COP, male allies have an important role in amplifying women’s demands. Their participation should strengthen never overshadow women’s leadership, helping shift entrenched power structures that have historically sidelined gender perspectives in climate policy.
A Just Climate Transition as a Pathway to Reducing GBV
A just transition to a low-carbon economy is more than an environmental ambition it can serve as a structural tool to reduce gender-based violence by addressing underlying risk factors:
- Economic Empowerment: Green jobs and climate-resilient livelihoods can reduce women’s economic vulnerability, which is a key factor in GBV risk.
- Safe Infrastructure: Climate adaptation projects such as flood-resilient housing, safe shelters, water-secure communities can incorporate gender-sensitive design to protect women and girls.
- Social Protection: Disaster frameworks can fund support services for women and girls affected by both climate crises and GBV: psychosocial support, legal aid, safe spaces.
- Policy Integration: Embedding gender considerations into climate policy ensures that resources address both environmental and social vulnerabilities.
- Participation: Involving women in climate planning and adaptation efforts promotes empowerment and addresses root causes of inequality.
Looking Ahead to the G20 Summit
South Africa’s disaster declarations and climate policy frameworks offer a unique opportunity to integrate gender justice into global discussions. Activists and policymakers can use the upcoming G20 Summit to advocate for international climate finance that is gender-responsive, ensuring that women’s voices are central to adaptation and resilience efforts.
The Purple Movement and similar initiatives are pushing for transformative action: a vision of climate justice that includes protection from GBV, economic empowerment, and participation in decision-making. As the summit unfolds, South Africa has the opportunity to demonstrate that tackling climate change and GBV are not separate tasks they are mutually reinforcing objectives.
Conclusion
The link between climate change and GBV in Africa is undeniable, and the urgency cannot be overstated. State of disaster declarations, a just climate transition, and gender-focused activism present powerful tools to mitigate these risks. The recent evidence from agrarian economies confirms that without addressing climate stressors, gender-based violence may continue to rise. Ahead of the G20 Summit, South Africa has both a responsibility and an opportunity to champion policies that ensure climate action is inherently linked to gender justice, protecting women and girls while building a sustainable, equitable future.
