ACTION NOT WORDS

Confronting Gender Inequality through Climate Change Action and Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia

An overview of progress in Asia with evidence from Bangladesh, Cambodia and Viet Nam

Documented evidence from around the world demonstratesthat climate change and disaster impacts are not genderneutral. This also applies to Asia where available evidenceshows there are differences in how men and women areaffected by, cope with, and respond to the effects of climatechange and disasters. Females, as a social group, are themost adversely affected by climate change and disasterimpacts. Women and children in Asia are more likely tobe killed by disasters than men. The gendered divisionof labour and women’s reliance on natural resources,compounded by women’s lack of ownership and controlover such resources exacerbates their vulnerability. Sexualand gender-based violence (SGBV) against women andgirls, child or early marriage and trafficking are all evidencedto escalate in the aftermath of a disaster, but how theseare effected by climate change is less understood. Thatsaid, time is now ripe to depart from the traditional viewsof women and girls as inherently vulnerable and passiverecipients of development and humanitarian assistance.In Asia, the capacities and knowledge of women and girlsplay an important, and largely, unsung part in individual aswell as community resilience.

The report presents an analytical framework to explore andinterpret evidence on the status of policy; institutionalarrangements; implementation; advocacy,knowledge generation and management; andwomen’s leadership in efforts to address gender equalityin climate change and disaster risk reduction efforts.