Climate Disasters Contaminate Women: Investigating Cross-National Linkages between Disasters, Food Insecurity, and Women's HIV in Less-Developed Countries

Citation:

Austin, Kelly F., Mark D. Noble, Laura A. McKinney. 2020. "Climate Disasters Contaminate Women: Investigating Cross-National Linkages between Disasters, Food Insecurity, and Women's HIV in Less-Developed Countries." Global Health Governance (May): 85-102.

Authors: Kelly F. Austin, Mark D. Noble, Laura A. McKinney

Abstract:

HIV/AIDS remains a serious public health threat in less-developed countries, especially for women. Drawing on ecofeminist perspectives, we explore linkages between climaterelated disasters, food insecurity, and HIV transmission. Using data from over 90 lessdeveloped countries, we construct a structural equation model to analyze the direct and indirect influences on the percent of the adult population living with HIV who are women. We find that climate-related disasters are a significant factor shaping women’s HIV vulnerability indirectly through increased food insecurity. Food insecurity is theorized to alter social relationships and behaviors, including risky sexual behaviors, forced sex, and transactional sexual relationships. Our results confirm that disasters lead to conditions of hunger and resource deprivation, which serve to escalate HIV transmission among vulnerable women in poor countries.

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gender, Women, Health, HIV/AIDS, Security, Food Security

Year: 2020