"Climate Change Exacerbates Gender Inequality, Putting Women's Health at Risk", 6 Nov 2017

[C]limate change clearly affects human health…[and] exacerbates gender inequality, especially in developing countries. For women already facing poverty…climate change puts them at further disadvantage…and adversely affects women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights...[SRHR].

First, extreme weather…[makes it] extremely challenging for women to manage their menstruation needs and hygiene. Women may also refrain from drinking…which…may result in urinary and reproductive tract infections.

Second…undernutrition is already a major problem for women in some developing countries due to gender bias in the allocation of food within the household, which extreme climate events would exacerbate. 

Third, women staying in temporary shelters…often experience sexual harassment, rape or other gender-based violence....

Last, extreme climate events also exacerbate the problem of early/forced marriage for girls...

Delegates at international climate negotiations and national policy-makers should ensure that climate policies address the gendered impacts of climate change and incorporate SRHR.