Gender-based violence before, during, and after cyclones: slow violence and layered disasters.

Abstract

This paper investigates the mutual relationship between gender-based violence (GBV) and cyclone-related disasters. Evidence is sparse on this topic, especially in-depth research attending to the cultural and socioeconomic aspects of locality. The work reported here is based on a case study of a coastal district of Bangladesh (Barguna)-conducted shortly after Cyclone Roanu struck the country in May 2016-that aimed to shed light on the mechanisms linking GBV to cyclones through the eyes of survivors. The paper maps out the different forms, experiences, and impacts of GBV before, during, and after cyclones, and argues that such events lead directly and indirectly to GBV, and that GBV makes women and children more vulnerable to the effects of disasters. Climate change, economic losses, and poverty compound this cyclical relationship. A conceptual framing, drawing on the notion of 'slow violence', is developed to understand the layering of diverse types of violence that operate on seemingly different temporal and spatial scales.