Pakistan needs to make protection against gender-based violence (GBV) a core component of disaster management, with emergency services activated within the first 48 to 72 hours, dedicated safe spaces and referral mechanisms established in relief camps, mobile response teams deployed to vulnerable communities and permanent funding secured for survivor support, according to an exclusive United Nations study. The study, From Margins to Mandate: Making GBV Protection Central to Pakistan's Disaster Management, calls for a phased overhaul of the country's disaster-response system, beginning with immediate GBV risk mitigation and progressing towards stronger community networks, clearly defined institutional responsibilities, dedicated budgets and robust monitoring.
Its findings are being examined at a policy dialogue at the National School of Public Policy, where the National Institute of Public Policy (NIPP) is working towards formulating a strategy for the government of Pakistan in light of the study's recommendations. The UN study paints a stark picture of the protection gap facing women during climate emergencies. 67 per cent of flood-affected women and 90pc of drought affected women received no GBV assistance, while even those who accessed services were able to obtain only limited medical, psychosocial or legal support.
The report, prepared under the Netherlands-SDPI-UNFPA collaboration, argues that Pakistan's recurring floods, droughts and other climate shocks are not merely humanitarian and economic emergencies. They can also dismantle the social and institutional safeguards that protect women from violence, leaving survivors particularly vulnerable at the moment when access to police, health, legal and psychosocial services becomes most difficult. Pakistan is among the world's most climate-vulnerable countries.
The 2025 floods caused an estimated Rs822 billion ($3.5bn-$4bn) in losses, devastated more than a million acres of crops and affected approximately 6.5m to 7m people. The 2022 floods submerged around one-third of the country and displaced 33m people, while drought severity has intensified in parts of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Potohar. According to the study, more than 71pc of women surveyed reported that GBV generally increases during and after climatic events, with some districts reporting particularly pronounced increases in perceived sexual violence.
Following the 2022 floods, an estimated 1.6m women required GBV-related assistance. Yet medical assistance reached only 24pc of women in flood-affected areas and 1pc in drought-affected areas. Psychosocial support reached 19pc and 9pc respectively, while legal assistance reached about 3pc of flood-affected women and less than 1pc of drought-affected women.
Community or women's support groups were available to only around one in 10 women, with coverage falling below 3pc in some districts. The study says floods, droughts and heatwaves create multiple and overlapping pathways to violence. Displacement pushes families into overcrowded and insecure shelters, traditional community protection mechanisms break down, health infrastructure is damaged and essential services become inaccessible.
Women's restricted mobility, lack of information and stigma surrounding GBV reporting further reduce the likelihood that survivors will seek assistance. Drought creates additional risks as women and girls are forced to travel long distances to collect water. Lack of safe sanitation and bathroom facilities can expose them to harassment, while economic stress, food insecurity and loss of livelihoods can intensify tensions and violence within households.
The study's qualitative interviews provide accounts from Dera Ghazi Khan, Dadu, Zhob, Chaghi and Rahimyar Khan of abduction, domestic abuse, harassment, early marriage and the collapse of legal, medical and counselling services following disasters. A mother of five from Dera Ghazi Khan described losing her daughters during flood displacement. "We had no roof over our heads and lived on the road for days.
One night, in the chaos and insecurity, my daughters were abducted. Despite all our efforts, we never found them again," she said. A community leader in Dadu linked worsening conditions in relief camps with domestic violence, while a woman from Zhob described repeated beatings after floods destroyed her home and land, saying the violence during pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage.
A respondent from Chaghi said overcrowded shelters left women and girls vulnerable to harassment and assault, with no nearby legal protection or counselling. In drought-hit Rahimyar Khan, an NGO worker reported increased sexual harassment and early marriage, saying some families married young girls off because they believed they would at least have food in their husband's household. The study finds that Pakistan's disaster-management policy framework has not kept pace with these risks.
The NDMA 2010 and PDMA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2012 frameworks excluded GBV, according to the report. NDMA frameworks of 2013 and 2014 subsequently acknowledged increased GBV risks but lacked actionable mechanisms, budgetary commitments and monitoring indicators. Provincial frameworks have also remained inconsistent.
Sindh's 2016 and Punjab's 2022 policies either omitted GBV or addressed it only in general terms, while Balochistan's 2023 policy introduced Gender Protection Desks without sufficient implementation and financial details, the study says. The report also identifies institutional ambiguity over GBV responsibilities. NDMA and PDMA officials may interpret "integration" as requiring disaster authorities to directly provide GBV services, whereas the study recommends that their primary role should be coordination linking survivors with health departments, police, social welfare institutions and women's organisations.