This is just one of the many inspiring pieces of feedback that the UNDP team heard when they visited disaster-prone villages in Stung Treng and Kratie , where the UNDP “Enhancing Integrated Water Management and Climate Resilience in Vulnerable Urban Areas of the Mekong River Basin” project is implemented. By providing trainings to these communities that addressed the relationship between disasters and gender inequality, including violence against women and girls, this project has supported the transformation of harmful gender norms in these communities. 

With their dependence on agriculture for their livelihoods, many communities in the aforementioned provinces are vulnerable to the impacts of climate extremes. Climate-related disasters, such as floods and droughts,  affect people’s security and livelihoods, and place great stress on communities, families, and individuals – and particularly on women. 

Women and men play distinct roles in their communities and households and therefore, they experience the impacts of climate change differently.  For one, women and girls are often expected to take on the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work, including cooking, cleaning, and caring for children, elders, and People with Disabilities, among others. These burdens limit the time available for them to pursue education, livelihood opportunities, or learn new skills. 

 Disasters can also force people to migrate for seeking work, especially if their income depending on agriculture is disrupted. Gender norms dictate that men are often those who migrate for work, leaving women to manage the family alone. 

Moreover, empirical data shows that disasters are also linked to the increase in gender-based violence (GBV). The psychological stress caused by losing income, leaving one’s home, or lacking access to services can be expressed as violence against women and girls. Approximately 21% of working-age women in Cambodia have experienced intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence, during their lifetime. Rates are higher in certain regions, including Stung Treng, where 32% of women aged 15-49 reported experiencing “physical, sexual, or emotional violence” from a husband or intimate partner.[1] While this data is not necessarily related specifically to the onset of disasters, the hardship caused by disasters is often one of the drivers of GBV increase. 

Given their unique challenges, it is important to support women’s empowerment by giving them a voice in decisions made for disaster risk reduction. Women’s representation, and particularly in leadership roles, allow them to contribute to decisions on how disasters are mitigated and managed locally. It also gives them space to ensure that gender-specific disaster impacts are taken into account. This means that vulnerability assessment must take gender differences into account. Further, it must lead to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of adaptation that reflects the differing roles, responsibilities and power that men and women have, and that seeks to overcome gender inequality.

However, women in these vulnerable areas are vastly under-represented in decision making roles. As of 2021, only 5% and 11% of the provincial committee for disaster management staff are women in Stung Treng and Kratie, respectively.[2]

In 2021, UNDP embarked on an ambitious project to strengthen disaster risk reduction, integrated water management and climate resilience in the disaster-prone regions of Kratie and Stung Treng. This project is possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Environment and the Government of the Republic of Korea.

Informed by a keen understanding of the different impacts of disasters on men and women, the project set out to ensure that people of all genders benefited from disaster risk reduction support.

Trainings on disaster adaptation and response were held in disaster vulnerable committees in 2023, in partnership with the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM). With training and knowledge provided by UNDP and NCDM, commune councils empowered community members with knowledge and skills on critical topics, such as how to relocate to higher ground during floods and use the disaster helpline (1294), to empower the community members with new knowledge.

In addition, to make a deep and lasting impact, the gender norms that exist in the communities affected by disasters were challenged. For example, the training covered gender and disaster risk management, Intimate Partner Violence and related laws, water sanitation and hygiene, as well as gender and community livelihood. Gender norms, such as the belief that only women should do work such as cooking and cleaning, were challenged.

Remarkably, women in these communities reported significant positive changes in the behaviours of their husbands, families, and broader communities as a result of UNDP’s training.

One year after the training in Kratie, a woman in a Focus Group Discussion in Khum Bos Leave village was asked about whether she had noticed improvements to the level of GBV in her community. She responded, “I would estimate 50% [less violence in my community].” She also added: “My husband used to be very aggressive, but he has made improvements since then.”

Changes in gender norms regarding the role of men and women in performing unpaid care work were also reported. A married woman in Khum Da village reported: “Before, when I asked my husband to help with housework, he seemed indifferent. Now if I wash clothes, he helps me cook. His attitude improved after joining the training program.”

In Stung Treng, it was inspiring to hear women report changes in how they view themselves, telling us that they felt more empowered and self-confident. A woman in Khum Santepheap said, “I have more confidence. I’m no longer scared or embarrassed by others’ opinions.” Another woman in the village was asked how her fear of disasters had changed as a result of the training:

“Now we are less scared. We ourselves know how to prepare.” 

Ms. Alissar Chaker, Resident Representative of UNDP Cambodia, said, “Pairing knowledge on critical topics, such as disaster risk reduction, with interventions that target harmful gender norms is a clear path to empowering women and shaping behaviour for the better.”

The point is that effective, equitable adaptation requires an understanding of the dynamics of vulnerability.