Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter
WOMEN and children are most vulnerable to climate change and should be included as key stakeholders at forums that discuss the scourge, a Kenyan climate change expert has advised.
Ms Jackie Menjo, who is a lawyer and a climate change justice advocate, was in Zimbabwe for the Women for African Sustainability Summit held in Harare on Tuesday.
Ms Menjo recounted the devastating impact of El Niño-induced floods that hit Kenya early this year.
The floods killed over 300 people, while at least 300 000 were displaced.
Women, children and the disabled were the most affected.
“Climate change affects women differently in the sense that women are the ones who are the caregivers,” said Ms Menjo.
“With climate change, women are forced to walk long distances to fetch water.
“When you walk further, your personal safety is at risk; other than personal safety, there is gender-based sexual violence.”
According to Ms Menjo, a report in Kenya revealed that cases of sexual abuse rise whenever there is a natural disaster.
“Anytime there is a disaster, cases of rape increase.
“People with disability are not able to escape floods, children cannot escape floods, and if the children can’t escape, their mothers cannot abandon them.
“It’s evident, mothers and children are vulnerable, so it is paramount that the Government and all stakeholders bring women into these climate change talks so that they can bring their experiences.”
It was pointless, Menjo said, for climate change leaders to keep talking about the issue in hotels and boardrooms, ignoring those who bear the brunt.
“We are getting money from these donors and we are not taking it down to the ground.”
Online Reporter