A recent report from the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, highlights a deeply troubling connection between climate change and intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings suggest that tens of millions of women and girls in the region will face catastrophic levels of violence if the world fails to curb rising global temperatures. According to projections, the number of individuals experiencing intimate partner violence could nearly triple by 2060, reaching 140 million in the worst-case scenario of unchecked emissions and stalled socioeconomic development.
The report, Climate Change Impacts and Intimate Partner Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, was produced by UNFPA in collaboration with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the University of Vienna. It reveals that extreme weather events and rising temperatures, fueled by human-induced climate change, are exacerbating aggression and violence in households. Displacement from natural disasters, agricultural collapse, and water shortages are all contributing to increased conflict, further putting women and girls at risk.
“Extreme heat threatens the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable women and girls all across Africa,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. She emphasized that climate change not only poses health risks, including preterm birth and stillbirth due to heat stress, but also drives the alarming rise in domestic violence. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of women and girls reported intimate partner violence within the last year, reflecting the severe toll of the climate crisis on the region’s most vulnerable populations.
Climate Action Could Prevent Billions of Cases of Violence
The report underscores the importance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. Failure to act could lead to 1.9 billion preventable cases of intimate partner violence by 2060, but decisive climate action can reduce the share of women affected by violence from 24% in 2015 to 14% by 2060. This means that while population growth will increase the absolute number of cases, effective climate mitigation could help avert a crisis of violence.
Investing in Resilient Futures for Women and Girls
The report calls for urgent climate-resilient health systems that prioritize the needs of women and girls, particularly those affected by violence. It stresses the need for governments to include gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health in their national climate plans and allocate climate finance toward health and protection systems.
UNFPA has already taken steps to address this through its Resilient Futures: Empowering National Climate Actors for Gender-Transformative Adaptation project. Launched earlier this year and funded by the Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF), the initiative aims to train current and future climate leaders in Africa to integrate gender-based violence and sexual health into climate policies.
As climate change continues to reshape lives and communities, this report serves as a stark reminder of the interconnectedness between environmental challenges and gender-based violence. Comprehensive climate action that addresses these linkages is crucial to protecting the most vulnerable populations and building a more resilient future.