Tackling Climate Change Impacts from a Gendered Perspective in South Africa
Priccilar Vengesai 
Issue: Vol.6 No.9 Article 5 pp.1830 – 1843
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025695 | Published online 20th August, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Impacts of climate change disproportionately affect women due to their biological differences and gender roles prevalent within societal and familial structures. As a result, climate change amplifies the existing gender inequalities present in South African communities. This document-based research provides a comprehensive overview of the legal frameworks governing climate change in South Africa, with a focus on their responsiveness to the gendered impacts of climate change. It proffers a unique comparative approach to how women are affected differently from men by climate change impacts in the context of South Africa, a country that, because of its geographical location and other factors, is one of the most affected by climate change in Africa. The main legislation that addresses climate change in South Africa is the Climate Change Act of 2024. This Act aims to uphold environmental rights for all citizens. Although it incorporates gender perspectives on the impacts of climate change, it fails to provide comprehensive protection for women against these impacts. Impacts of climate change discussed in this paper include displacement, water scarcity, inadequate sanitation, health risks, gender-based violence, food insecurity, and reduced income levels. The study recommended that South Africa prioritise environmental rights education for women and girls, gendered climate change-related budgets, public awareness of developmental opportunities arising from climate change, the development of improved renewable energy sources, and the banning of plastics.
Keywords: Climate Change, Women, South Africa and Gender.
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Priccilar Vengesai is currently doing her post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of South Africa’s College of Law in the Department of Jurisprudence. She holds a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Pretoria and a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher and Tertiary Education from Great Zimbabwe University. She is also a registered legal practitioner, conveyancer, and notary public in the High Court of Zimbabwe and a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, the African Consortium for Law and Religious Studies, and the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Her recent publications touch on emerging women’s rights violations and can be accessed on https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1113-0380.
Vengesai, Priccilar. “Tackling Climate Change Impacts from a Gendered Perspective in South Africa,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 9 (2025): 1830 – 1843, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025695.
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
