Climate Migration: Displacements Due to the Climate Crisis Affect Women First

By Jéssica Vandal, EmpoderaClima Researcher

Climate change is one of the most urgent global challenges we face. Furthermore, it is a very unfair issue, where those who contribute least to the problem are the ones suffering most from it. Vulnerable groups such as indigenous people, elders, people living in poverty, people with different sexual and gender identifications, and those with disabilities, are more affected by the climate change.

Women and girls are part of these vulnerable groups, and have been suffering discrimination throughout the history of humanity. In addition, it is known that women and girls up to age 30 are disproportionately affected by poverty, as stated in a 2018 report by the World Bank Group.

One specific area where women and girls have been deeply affected is through climate-related migrations - a scenario that is becoming increasingly common as the effects of climate change continue to intensify. A report made by ECODES in 2019 about the Gender perspective in climate migrations outlines this new challenge for women in areas where the extreme impacts of climate change are already being felt. 

The influence of climate change in human mobility has been on an increasing curve in the last few years, and with current scenarios of conflict, extreme violence and severe economic and political instability, major migration movements have been on the rise. 

Some terms, such as environmental refugee or environmental migrant, are being used to describe people that are forced to leave their homes because of the lack of resources, or people who “voluntarily” move in search of better life conditions in light of the climate crisis - it is considered voluntary migration, even though migrating in response to environmental impacts has at least some level of pressure in the decision. 

As the World Migration Report 2020 presents, millions of people around the world are moving in anticipation or adaptation to environmental and climate impacts. Extreme events like cyclones, floods or wildfires destroy homes and contribute to the displacement of people. 

In addition, slow-onset processes such as the sea-level rise, droughts or extreme rain are increasing pressures on the livelihoods, and compromise the access to food and water, leading to a decision to move away in search of better living conditions, in many cases.

As mentioned before, those who live in a more vulnerable situation, whether that is economically, politically or socially, are more likely to be affected by sudden or slow-developing climate impacts. Moreover, those people have less access to information and, consequently, are not able to prepare for migrating - not being able to do it or doing it in very poor conditions. 

ECODES highlights in its report that the way people go through climate migrations also varies according to their gender. Even the decision of migrating or not against adverse environmental or climate conditions, will depend on who takes the decision at the house, man or woman - and we all know how patriarchal households in many countries work.

When affected by sudden climate disasters, people often need to search for refuge in temporary placements. Since those places have the purpose of providing quick assistance to those in need, they are not designed to take into account women’s special needs: right of privacy, accessible bathrooms and sanitizer products, special conditions for those pregnant or lactating...Besides, when living in these placements, women and girls face a big risk of sexual violence and are more likely to have psychological diseases associated to stress.

Despite the reason for migration, the fact is that women and girls in movement are more likely to go through sexual and gender violence. They are more likely, for example, to become victims of human traffic or sexual exploitation, forced infant marriages, race discrimination, xenophobia, intrafamily violence, less access to education and public health systems, poorly working condition, and other gender-related discrimination and violence.

Even when they stay at their homes, women are impacted by the migration of their pairs. In local communities in different regions around the world, men are commonly migrating to urban areas in search of work as a result of climate change effects, while women are left at home - overloaded by the responsibilities of taking care of the house, the family and to work in agriculture.

Certain impacts caused by climate change in women and girls are easily quantified - such as the distance women need to run to get water or the number of deaths in a flood - but other impacts, especially those related to the climate migrations, as addressed in this article, are not so visible or easily identified. What we know is that climate change has a big influence on the different discrimination women and girls already face, but is much more serious in a migrating context. 

The systematic gender inequalities usually put women in a second plan when it comes to decision-making or receiving benefits, but these inequalities become even worse when main pressures and consequences of climate change are added into the equation.

It is extremely important to expose and talk about the gender perspective, not only in scenarios of climate migration, but climate change in general. Empowering women and promoting their participation in leadership environments is necessary to have more effective and significant changes toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.