How to Confront Gender-Based Violence in a Warming World

May 4, 2024 | Zonibel Woods and Micaela P. Agoncillo
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Extreme heat fuels violence in ways that are just beginning to be understood. Rising temperatures have an impact on mental health and human behavior, and evidence has shown that warmer temperatures correlate with a 4% increase in interpersonal violence and a 14% rise in intergroup conflicts globally. 

But neither heat nor violence affects everyone equally. Women and girls are facing heightened risks from both the direct physical threats of extreme heat and the violence triggered by increasing temperatures and fueled by patriarchal norms. 

 Extreme heat exacerbates the drivers of violence that enable and normalize violence against women and girls. A 2018 study in Madrid highlighted a 40% increase in the risk of intimate partner femicide following heatwaves, alongside spikes in police reports and helpline calls. Similarly, a 2021 study in Kenya found women in regions hit by extreme weather events, including heat waves, were 60% more likely to report intimate partner violence.