Repeated heatwaves, heat records of over 40°C, fires. Behind these disasters lies another, much less publicized emergency: the increase in violence against women and girls. Because climate change is sexist. Every additional tenth of a degree sets back women’s rights. International studies prove it. And the figures are clear.
During the heatwave at the end of June 2026, reports of street harassment increased by 30% in Paris (Umay application, 2026). In Spain, the risks of femicide increase during heat episodes (“Heat wave and risk of domestic violence”, Sanz-Barbero B., Linares C., Vives-Cases C., González JL, Lopez-Ossorio JJ, Díaz J., 2018).
We see it all over the world. In Ethiopia, the historic drought of 2022 led to up to 119% more forced marriages in some areas (UNICEF, 2022). In Asia, each one degree increase in average annual temperature is associated with a +4.7% increase in additional domestic violence (UN, 2025).
Climate change deepens injustices
For what ? Because heat acts as an accelerator of violence. High temperatures increase stress, irritability due to lack of sleep, economic difficulties – interruption of jobs, loss of agricultural harvests – and forced confinement in homes. Who suffers this violence? In a context of gender inequalities, these are women and girls.
Climate change deepens injustices and reveals the flaws in our societies. And yet, this reality remains largely absent from climate policies and public debates. Worse, we are seeing setbacks in climate policies. While heatwaves, droughts and fires are increasing due to global warming, the government has just put an end to certain research programs on the adaptation of housing and territories to extreme heat. The consequences of this inaction are already visible.
And when it comes to tackling the very causes of the problem, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, it remains very insufficient: – 3% in 2024, then – 2.1% in 2025, far from the – 5% per year necessary for France to contribute to keeping global warming within the limits set by the 2015 Paris Agreement (Ministry of Ecological Transition, 2026). Fossil fuels, the main culprits of global warming, still represent nearly 60% of our energy consumption (French government, 2026).
40 million more women exposed to violence each year
The consequences are and will continue to be to the detriment of the most vulnerable today, including women. The heatwaves hitting France today are occurring in a world that has warmed by around 1.3°C since the pre-industrial era. If, as initially planned by the Paris Agreement, warming reaches 2°C by 2090, 40 million additional women and girls could be exposed to violence each year. However, current policies still place us on a warming trajectory much higher than this initial objective!
Our governments must become aware of this close link between climate change and gender-based violence. For seven years, France has been demanding a national policy and feminist diplomacy. However, at the national level, few political and legal actions have been put in place to stop the scourge of gender-based violence. At the international level, this ambition also seems to be fading. During the last G7, France gave up on raising the issue of respect for women’s rights and the climate fight at the highest level.
A democratic and social challenge
However, women are not only the first victims of the climate crisis. They also bring solutions. In many regions of the world, they produce a large part of local food, preserve natural resources, transmit agricultural knowledge and implement proven adaptation solutions. They are at the heart of community resilience.
However, they remain largely excluded from negotiations where climate policies and international funding intended to respond to them are decided. It is a political mistake as much as a strategic error. Let’s give women a voice! Because they are best placed to build adaptation strategies that meet the specific needs of women.
The climate is often presented as a scientific, energy or economic challenge. It is also a democratic and social challenge. Because acting for the climate also means defending human rights and women’s rights.
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