Women unprepared for an unknown fate: the quadruple burden of climate change — disasters, dowry, domestic violence, and divorce

Abstract

This article examines the nexus between climate change and socio-economic practices such as dowries, domestic violence, and divorce, and highlights their combined effects on sustainable development outcomes. In resource-limited regions, climate change intensifies economic and social stressors that reinforce traditional practices such as dowry systems. These interconnected pressures create gender-based vulnerabilities, increasing women's exposure to early marriage and domestic violence while deepening exisiting gender inequalities. Concurrently, climate-induced stressors adversely affect men’s psychological well-being, contributing to increased rates intimate partner violence. The study underscores the complex challenges facing livelihood sustainability in climate-exposed communities, where economic instability and resource scarcity correlate with increased dowry demands and heightened household conflict. The findings demonstrate the critical need for gender-responsive climate adaptation policies that address the socio-economic mechanisms through which environmental stressors perpetuate gender-based violence and inequality in affected communities.