This policy brief explores how addressing gender-based violence can make climate change programmes and policies more effective. It argues that creating safe, supportive environments enables climate policies and programmes to benefit from the diverse expertise and perspectives of women, girls and gender-diverse people as leaders, decision-makers and participants, and that this supports communities to be better equipped to adapt to climate impacts and move away from environmentally damaging practices.

Despite this, the brief finds that gender-based violence is often overlooked in climate action design, and that few climate programmes have incorporated measures to prevent and respond to it. It presents emerging good practice and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners, and highlights the contributions of, and challenges faced by, grassroots women-led organisations responding to both gender-based violence and climate change, particularly in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. It was developed in partnership between the UK and Australian Governments, and draws on global evidence and stakeholder interviews.