The effectiveness of health provision for women and girls in the context of gender inequalities and climate change

A case study of Misungwi District, Tanzania. Climate-related risks to agriculture dependent and other poor households will continue to increase. Inter-seasonal and inter-annual variability of rainfall and temperatures will increase.
Socio-cultural issues influence gender-based violence, including control over agricultural incomes. Both climate vulnerability (exposure and sensitivity) and the coping strategies available put women and girls at a disadvantage.
Both exposure to and sensitivity of women and girls to gender-based violence increase with increased climatic variability. However, climate variability and climate change are not the main drivers of the violence suffered by women and girls. Women and girls face different types of violence when the climate conditions allow good harvests and market conditions enable good prices for harvests, and they face other types of violence when climate conditions lead to poor harvests and resource scarcity.
Socio-cultural and economic factors are more important drivers of gender-based violence. But climate change will act as an exacerbating factor of gender-based violence. This cycle is likely to increase the need for health service provision for women and girls. Socio-economic development in Misungwi district without a gender responsive climate adaptive approach will increase risk burden for women & girls.
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Available at https://www.iied.org/22151g