CLIMATE CHANGE AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN LAOS
 
 
THIS REPORT examines the nexus between climate change and gender-based violence (GBV) in Laos, focusing on the role of sustainable development policy and programming. It highlights how climate and environmental changes act as threat multipliers, exacerbating the risk and prevalence of violence. These impacts are driven by harmful gender norms, social hierarchies, and power dynamics pervasive throughout society.

The study explores how environmental policies and economic goals reinforce development priorities rooted in the commodification of natural resources, which can potentially increase gender-based violence. Data collection methodologies were developed to investigate the systemic causes of GBV through policy interventions addressing climate justice, sustainable livelihoods, and environmental conservation efforts.
© Elizabeth Thipphawong / WWF-Asia Pacific
© Elizabeth Thipphawong / WWF-Asia Pacific

This study used mixed methodologies, including a desk review, interviews, surveys, and gender-responsive focus group discussions. Developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute in Asia with the Gender Development Association, these methods were piloted in four Lao villages across Xayaboury and Phongsaly Provinces, selected for existing CARE and WWF-Laos programme.

The report examines the link between climate change and GB, highlighting systemic power dynamics and harmful gender norms that enable violence. GBV is framed beyond visible acts of harm, considering deeper socio-economic and political structures that sustain inequality. Climate change is analyzed not only for its physical impacts but as a factor amplifying GBV by exacerbating social inequalities and resource conflicts through the commodification of nature.

While focused on the climate change-GBV connection, the study also revealed broader insights into Laos’ environmental challenges and their intersection with GBV, providing a comprehensive understanding of these issues.
 
© Elizabeth Thipphawong / WWF-Asia Pacific


SOME KEY FINDINGS FROM THE STUDY INCLUDE:


Climate Change:

  • Climate change often overlaps with other environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, deforestation, and the expansion of commercial agriculture.​​
  • Climate mitigation measures can also have negative impacts on communities when they are not designed inclusively.

Gender-Based Violence: 

  • GBV is often justified through patriarchal gender norms rather than addressing its root causes, such as inequality or power imbalances.

Policy:

  • Women, gender-diverse groups, and ethnic minorities are underrepresented as agents of change in climate policies.
  • ​Climate policies and frameworks often lack gender-specific targets or interventions, while most gender policies take a narrow view of women’s roles in climate mitigation and conservation.

     
 

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This report was produced through a collaboration between WWF-Laos, CARE International in Laos, and GDA, in partnership with local authorities and government agencies.

© WWF-Laos