Introduction
Due to unsustainable human activity, climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity and severity of Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) (Datzberger et al., 2024). Climate change, in addition to being an environmental issue, has profound consequences for children’s lives. It is creating a high necessity to protect the most vulnerable, such as children, from multiple negative implications, which seem to be commonly forgotten in policy solutions addressing climate change and its impacts (Healy, 2025). As such, the climate crisis is increasing the risk of violence against s children. Climate-induced disasters cause family separation, unsafe migration and displacement, hazardous labour conditions, and health issues, which all factor into the increased risk of violence against children (VAC) (Datzberger et al., 2024). Addressing the intersection between climate change, EWEs and the occurrence of violence towards children acts as a focal point of the present article, setting out drivers of violence as well as possible solutions that can be taken to achieve child protection effectively and adequately.
Understanding violence in a broader context
According to the International Classification of Violence Against Children, VAC can be understood as a threatened or actual act, that is deliberate, unwanted, and nonessential targeted against a child or a group of children, that results or has a high likelihood of resulting in death, injury, or other types of physical or emotional harm (UNICEF, 2023). However, violence must also be understood in the broader context, outside of those circumstances where one individual directly harms another (Datzberger et al., 2024). This requires understanding the ways in which violence can be integrated into relationships, systems, and structures, indirectly leading to forms of violence against children as a result of inequitable and unjust socio-economic and political systems, structures and practices (Datzberger et al., 2024). For example, when a child is deprived of access to education due to EWEs, they become more vulnerable to exploitation or forced labour. Situations such as child marriage and hazardous forms of child labour are also considered as forms of VAC (Pereznieto et al., 2020).
The harmful impacts of climate change have been referred to as ‘slow violence’ by some scholars (Datzberger et al., 2024). The impacts of climate change and EWEs can cause harm to children over a long period of time, disproportionately affecting those living in poverty, belonging to marginalised communities, and those residing in geographically disadvantaged locations. Specifically, children from the Global South, and low, lower, or middle income countries as well as from lower socio-economic backgrounds in high income countries, are at higher risk of being subjected to violence due to impacts of EWEs and climate change (Datzberger et al., 2024).
The interlink between EWEs and how violence occurs against children
EWEs increase physical, emotional and sexual VAC, and changes caused by climate-induced events have been shown to cause shifts in the supervision, accompaniment and separation from a child (Datzberger et al., 2024). Furthermore, sexual and gender-based violence offences have increased and living conditions at home or within shelters have become insecure (Datzberger et al., 2024). However, the emergence of the mentioned implications are specific to certain contexts and do not generally apply to all climate-induced emergencies, rather EWEs create certain stressors that may amplify the likelihood of violence targeted against children.
Studies have shown that climate change is a serious exacerbator of gender-based violence, as gender inequalities and stressors such as housing and economic insecurity are on the rise when EWEs occur (Datzberger et al., 2024). As such women and girls face an increased risk of violence within shelters or disaster relief centres, which can lead to a difficult environment where women and girls cannot access support, leaving them in dangerous circumstances within places affected by EWEs. Furthermore, in the aftermath of a disaster due to resource shortages, such as lack of water, girls can be forced to travel long distances unaccompanied to retrieve water for the family or be left home alone without their mothers or male family members, subjecting them to an increased risk of sexual VAC (Healy, 2025). While knowledge about the existence of sexual gender-based violence against boys is low, the prevalence of it is much more than what has been assumed before, especially in humanitarian settings (Pereznieto et al., 2020).
Negative coping mechanisms emerge as well, where girls are subjected to child marriages in times of EWEs to deal with economic pressure, the lack of school participation and displacement (Healy, 2025). Child marriage increases the risk of sexual and domestic violence, as well as gender inequalities, and subject girls to genital mutilation or cutting, as these practices are viewed in increasing the value of the future bride (Pereznieto et al., 2020). Child marriages commonly increase during recurrent droughts and crop failures where families are trying to cope with the crisis (Datzberger et al., 2024). The benefits of giving a child for marriage include reducing the number of people to feed in a household or receiving financial advantage from the bride price. Such a practice is common in Bangladesh, where families may marry their daughters off while anticipating losing their home to river erosion (Pereznieto et al., 2020).
Due to climate-related EWEs, populations are experiencing increased mobility, including displacement, migration or relocation. The type and severity of violence depends on the context of the displacement, the duration, and the living conditions of children. Domestic violence and violent forms of discipline are shown to increase when families are displaced following EWEs as it creates a multitude of pressures and psychological stress on the caregivers (Datzberger et al., 2024). Children who are most vulnerable to VAC, include those who are separated from their caregivers, as they are easy targets of human trafficking and child labour (Healy, 2025). In addition, involuntary immobility, due to being trapped within communities affected by EWEs, such as cyclones and floods, can lead to child abuse resulting from overcrowding in slums, stress of parents or difficult working or living conditions (Datzberger et al., 2024). Furthermore, extended droughts and continuous flooding leads to crop failure and loss of income resulting from climate change in non-displaced settings. This further fuels socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, gender inequality, and already existing VAC and creates new risks and forms of violence subjected towards children (Pereznieto et al., 2020).
Climate change and resulting EWEs cause loss of livelihoods and restrict income generation options for families. This is especially true for families living in rural areas, where their income is dependent on agriculture and can easily slide into poverty (Healy, 2025). Such economic hardship can lead to adverse coping strategies, where families subject their children to exploitative labour and child trafficking, all considered as forms of VAC, in order to assist in the survival of the family (Healy, 2025). Human traffickers lure in the overcrowded camps of displaced families, by falsely offering safety or jobs to vulnerable children, who are in turn exploited for different means. Girls are commonly at risk of sexual exploitation or forced domestic work, working long hours and being exposed to sexual abuse (Pereznieto et al., 2020). While boys are often trafficked into labour such as mining, extremely heavy construction work or sex work (Pereznieto et al., 2020). Some caregivers use online platforms to sexually exploit their children to receive income (Healy, 2025). Moreover, children often feel pressure from families to participate in child labour, especially children from poor and marginalised communities are at high risk. The loss of crops and income has highly increased the risk of girls being forced to drop out of school to complete household chores, such as caring for the elders, retrieving water, and cooking (Healy, 2025). Dropping out of school creates further vulnerability in children, resulting in an increasing risk of VAC (Healy, 2025). In addition, climate change and EWEs can increase the risk of insect-borne diseases, dust, and pollutions, where child labour is increased as adults become sick and unable to work (Healy, 2025). As such, child labour creates a risk for other forms of violence, such as corporal punishment, psychological violence, sexual abuse, and exploitation.
EWEs are also causing immediate stress, for example by increasing economic pressure within affected families and communities, which can in turn lead to an increased risk of direct VAC. The mental health of parents has been observed to severely decline within areas affected by floods, where the extreme mental pressure and resulting inability to control their emotions has led to increased abuse of their children (Datzberger et al., 2024). In Bangladesh, 70 percent of mothers and 40 percent of fathers abused their child in a flood affected area (Datzberger et al., 2024). Similarly, in post-cyclone Bangladesh, molestation and sexual abuse was present due to tight living quarters, where children were required to share beds with their extended relatives. A study conducted in Pakistan showcased the increase of sexual and domestic violence cases reported within areas that were enduring floods or in the aftermath of flooding (Datzberger et al., 2024). Similarly, EWE’s are contributing to a regression of children’s mental health. Peer violence and aggressive behaviour amongst children have been linked to PTSD, which can occur in the aftermath of a hurricane or cyclone (Datzberger et al., 2024).
Possible Solutions
- Children as agents of change
In order to seek effective action for the protection of children from VAC, children themselves should be taken as the core contributors in fighting against climate change, creating awareness about climate change, and helping in preventing and mitigating the negative impacts of climate change (Perznieto et al., 2020). The national plans for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA), play a pivotal role in helping communities, and children in adapting to the long-term impacts of climate change, protecting children from harm and the negative coping mechanisms resulting from the need to support their families. As such, national action plans on DRR and CCA should be child-centered and children-led, where children’s perspectives are taken into account (Pereznieto et al., 2020). Children’s voices and knowledge on the risks related to climate change and resulting EWEs, reveal risks that are often invisible to adults and provide a good understanding of the priority needs of children during disasters (Pereznieto et al., 2020). Without that knowledge, risk management strategies can overlook important aspects that could protect children from VAC. Therefore, children’s roles in creating change are vital, as they can engage in designing, implementing, communicating, and advocating for interventions to better protect them from harm.
- Resilient child protection systems
Investing into resilient child protection systems reveals positive outcomes in climate adaptation (Healy, 2025). Climate change and EWEs further disrupt the protection systems and services, such as healthcare, education, and social services, placing children in an increasingly vulnerable position. Thereby robust systems that are able to mitigate risks and respond effectively to disasters will provide communities and children with the means to effectively recover from climate impacts and shocks, reducing the likelihood of the emergence of stressors which can lead to violence (Healy, 2025). Thereby, when child protection systems are integrated into climate change and disaster strategies, governments can ensure that children are protected from undue harm and are provided with a safe space for them to play a role in climate resilience and adaptation.
Conclusion
Climate change and resulting EWEs are creating a protection crisis concerning children and the violence targeted against them. VAC should be understood in a broad manner, where children are faced with ‘slow violence’ and acts of violence that can be indirectly caused by inequitable circumstances, norms, practices, and structures. Changes in child-raising attitudes, displacement or lack thereof, and separation resulting from climate-induced disasters places children in vulnerable circumstances. EWEs create stressors, such as economic, health, or societal pressures, where families are trying to manage the crisis faced. This can lead to negative coping mechanisms, where children are subjected to hazardous labour or child marriage, in order to ensure the survival of the family. Commonly children become vulnerable to human traffickers, where girls are utilised for exploitation and an increasing amount of boys are also used for sex work, in addition to conducting physically heavy work. When parents are facing enormous pressure to cope with stress, emotions can become unmanageable, leading to an increase in domestic violence. Cramped living conditions in shelters and situations of involuntary immobility in disaster affected areas, raise risks of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
In order to effectively protect children in crises resulting from EWEs, children should be considered as the agents of change, due to their unique ability to identify risks, which might be overlooked by adults. Hearing and integrating children’s voices into DRR and CCA, complemented by robust protection systems which are resilient, will provide for communities, including children, that are able to adapt and manage within climate-induced disasters. Adequate adaptation can affect the severity and emergence of stressors, leading to positive coping skills and reduced VAC.
Bibliography
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Healy, L. (2025, April). Violence Against Children – The Forgotten Impact of Climate Change: Why child protection must be central to climate resilience and adaptation in East Asia and Pacific. UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office.
Pereznieto, P., Rivett, J., Le Masson, V., George, R. & Marcus, R. (2020). Ending violence against children while addressing the global climate crisis. London Overseas Development Institute. Working paper 591.
UNICEF. (2023). International Classification of Violence Against Children. Retrieved on 27 August 2025 from https://data.unicef.org/resources/international-classification-of-violence-against-children/.
