Ethics statement

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Michigan State University (00005543) and the Makerere University School of Medicine Research Ethics Committee (SOMREC-2021–73). Formal written consent was obtained for all participants.

Inclusivity in global research

Additional information regarding the ethical, cultural, and scientific considerations specific to inclusivity in global research is included in the Supporting Information (S1 Checklist)

This study was carried out in two phases. In the first phase we aimed to identify non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Uganda with GBV and/or climate change programming. We narrowed the scope of the study to NGOs to allow for a more in-depth and coherent exploration of how these two sectors intersect within a specific institutional context. We conducted an internet-based institutional mapping in October 2020, using a search engine (e.g., Google) with the following key terms: “gender-based violence NGO” and “climate change NGO” and “Kampala” and “Uganda”. The search was limited to Kampala for logistical reasons that would allow for in-person interviews in the second phase. Each entry was systematically reviewed to determine if it pertained to a relevant organization and included if it described programmatic activities in each of the target areas. We also performed hand search of websites from large, international NGOs and UN agencies with country offices by using the search terms “NGO Uganda”. NGOs with an online presence and contact information displayed were captured and summarized in a spreadsheet. The search was conducted in English by co-authors (IF, NN) familiar with NGOs in Uganda,

For the second phase of the study, we contacted (through phone or email contacts published in their websites) the NGOs identified through the institutional mapping and invited available staff (e.g., program implementers, project managers, directors) for an interview. The aim of interviews was to obtain a broad picture of current GBV and climate change programs, understand programing challenges and gaps encountered in the field, and learn about their view on the interlinkages between GBV and climate change. We developed an interview guide based on the Tool #11 “Participatory assessment: Perceptions by community members with in-depth knowledge” included in the WHO Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Assessment toolkit [11]. This tool was selected because it provides questions to use in key informant interviews with stakeholders expected to have in-depth knowledge of the topic and/or affected community. We adapted 9 questions from the Tool to elicit themes faced by communities related to climate change and GBV, and explore the beliefs, causes associated with, consequences and impacts of these problems. Eight additional questions were added to elicit responses related to describing the services and programs provided by the NGO as well as barriers, challenges and solutions. Two research assistants from the Department of Psychiatry Makerere University in Kampala were trained in general interviewing techniques relevant to semi-structured interviews by the main author. After signing written informed consent (in person or by email), in-depth interviews were conducted between July 2nd and September 28^th, 2021 under the supervision of one of the authors (NN). Interviews were carried out in English by video calls or in person, depending on participant’s preference and observing COVID-19 related restrictions at the time of interviewing (e.g., meeting in open air spaces, wearing face mask). All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim shortly after by the research assistants. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted on the content of the interviews to identify major concepts, generating themes through the analysis process. Two authors (IF and NN) met with the Ugandan interviewers familiar with the local language, culture and context to review all interviews and develop a broad understanding of context, reviewing all interview data for cultural and semantic interpretation. Authors also read interview transcripts several more times to become familiar with participants’ responses. Line by line coding was used to derive initial, emergent themes (common, prominent, shared ideas) by two authors (IF and JS). Codes were manually developed in MS word and used to develop a, codebook, meeting regularly to discuss emerging disagreements if new codes and to refine the codebook. Finally, themes were combined and grouped to construct major cover terms. To ensure inter-coder reliability, authors used the same codebook, met regularly to refine the approach collaboratively as analysis developed, and reconciled discrepancies in coding through discussion and consensus.

Discriminatory norms and practices driving GBV

Participants described how culturally in Uganda, men are used to being in a position of power where they get to determine many aspects of social and family life, including who goes to school, who gets married and when this should happen. Women have no decision-making power in family and/or community issues, and boys are favored above girls.

“Ugandan culture does not value so much the girls. But deep down, there is still that belief that the boy child is more important than a girl child; men and even boys have a say, while a girl or female has no say”

Interviews with participants also described how rural communities, men frequently limit women’s ability to own land and control of the economic inputs from agriculture. According to participants, traditional communities in the country transfer land through inheritance or succession based on patrilineal lines. Women’s rights are embedded in these cultural and social systems, regulated through marriage. Women are thus frequently excluded from land ownership in both natal and matrimonial states. These traditional practices vary across the country, and participants from climate change NGOs recognized that before implementing programs, they needed to know and understand the values, culture, and traditional practices of communities to avoid interference and pushback.

“You find that there are few women that can be allowed to inherit or make decisions about land in the traditional setup, especially here in the central Uganda, which can be problematic in our programs because it is them (the women) who work the land”.

Many participants depicted a picture of no choices for women; without land women have no agency in their livelihoods and depend on men for their subsistence as exemplified in the quote below:

“Because Ugandan economy is based on agriculture, you have to own land. Women are compromised or abused or at the mercy of those who have land”

Polygamy is a common practice in Uganda, further increasing pressure on limited resources, which in turn increases domestic violence. Gender discriminatory norms and customs, such as early marriage and dowry, along with poverty, limit educational and economic opportunities for girls. Also, child marriages are a common practice in Uganda, in part because female sexual development is interpreted as readiness to marry by the community. According to interviews, the prevailing cultural view holds that women are expected to be submissive to men, not participate in decision-making, and their work confined to motherhood and household activities. Participants described that although most women in Uganda engage in diverse and mostly informal economic activities, which in rural settings they tend to include cultivating the land and selling produce, the economic outputs are typically managed by men (either a father or spouse). According to interviewees, men have a position of power in a marriage with a very young and uneducated woman, frequently leading to abusing practices.

“Culturally, in rural areas it’s ok to marry very young, but often these young couples lack infrastructure or education, limiting their chances of success. They struggle to find work, make money, and then you learn that there is also violence”

Participants voiced how teenage pregnancy also limits girls and women’s chances to receive an education. Teenagers who become pregnant are often dismissed from school and parents are reluctant to sending them back to school after birth. Many of these pregnancies occur out of wedlock and teenagers remain single mothers, increasing their risk of poverty.

“Many (teenagers) find another man to help them look after their child—they live a life of dependency. Dependency to the man means they are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. For many this is through their lifetime”

Participants also talked about GBV and sexual violence leading to stigma. In fact, the two terms are frequently considered taboo in Ugandan society. For the most part, they said, women prefer to stay silent. Women who denounce GBV, and sexual violence in particular, may face retaliations from family, community, and local authorities. In urban settings such as Kampala, where reporting incidents of GBV may be more accessible for some women, offices are frequently staffed by men who tend to minimize the incident, blame the victims, or straight out dismiss cases. Many participants concluded that these discriminatory attitudes and ostracism of victims of GBV can foster an environment of impunity and drive further violence.

“There are cultural practices that, for example, in West Nile, we see that it is actually wrong for a family or parent of a girl to report a case of sexual abuse by someone in the community. Once you report it, the more they take it to be ashamed”

Climate change fuels GBV

Participants recounted how climate change issues can impact GBV. The most common climate-induced hazards linked to GBV were droughts and floods. Participants explained how recent and more frequent severe drought seasons in Uganda have gutted livelihoods, triggering an uptick in violence against women by their frustrated partners. Community perception of GBV is that men are considered the primary providers, and if crops fail due to droughts or floods, men struggle to feed their family and then violence ensues. Participants also described how women in Uganda expect men to provide and men feel pressure about not being able to meet the demand, turning their frustration into anger.

“Men who are unable to cope with the drought take it out on women”

Prolonged rainy seasons and floods were also mentioned as issues related to GBV and stress among rural Ugandan households. In extreme cases, landslides sweep away entire villages, causing death and displacement. Floods are also associated with disease outbreaks such as cholera and dysentery.

Participants also mentioned how climate change impacts communities through economic losses associated with property damage, land disputes, loss of income and employment opportunities, and reduced economic productivity. Some participants added that climate change issues bring on economic stress to entire communities, affecting social structures.

“Climate change impacts the economy by killing the livelihoods and more so for a society that depends on the nature, rain fed agriculture, soils and sometimes without any fertilizer application. So, when climate change affects production of both crop and livestock, it brings about stress not only to the women”.

Other participants also expressed how severe droughts can result in food insecurity, increased poverty and ultimately results in malnourishment of entire families. These impacts were described as especially frequent among women and children, who might have to settle for less quantity and/or quality of available food, yielding to men.

“I think draught; prolonged draught, it really affects because it causes a lot of food insecurity, because people basically the majority of the population of Uganda is dependent on farming and rain-feed agriculture, so when draught related to climate change so when they come, they really affect food security because when people harvest is what people use for subsistence at home and also for selling, they sale some of the produce to get some income.”

Finally, participants depicted how climate change issues that impact agricultural practices (such as droughts and floods) and displace families subsistent on agriculture. Many times, displaced people can only settle in downgraded land, far away from basic resources like water and energy. Informal settlements are associated with elevated risks of sexual violence, particularly for adolescent girls, who are frequently required to travel long distances—often unaccompanied—to collect water and firewood for household use.

COVID-19 amplified existing GBV issues

Our interviews revealed that the COVID-19 crisis exposed and exacerbated existing GBV risks across Ugandan communities. Participants described how lockdown-related circumstances—including increased time spent in the home, social isolation, and loss of economic activity—heightened vulnerability to violence, particularly among women and girls. The prolonged nature of the national lockdown, which lasted from March 31, 2020, to January 10, 2022, had severe economic consequences for many households, and the impact was more severe in regions affected by climate-related hazards. Job losses and reductions in earnings were commonly cited by participants as drivers of food insecurity and unmet household needs, which in turn intensified household tensions and contributed to incidents of GBV in both rural and urban settings.

Several participants emphasized that confinement with partners in overcrowded or unstable domestic environments was a particularly stressful and unfamiliar experience. This often occurred in the absence of accessible psychosocial support or legal recourse. Children were also reportedly exposed to increased levels of emotional and physical violence during this period, with participants expressing concern about the long-term effects on their well-being.

“In this time of lockdown, we recorded the highest rates of GBV report. People were not working; people were losing jobs. People were afraid of the new normal and challenged by being made to stay home”

Gaps and challenges in current GBV and climate change mitigation/remediation programing

Participants described how climate change concepts and the importance of adaptation and mitigation and adaptation strategies may not be widely understood in some communities. Communicating complex scientific concepts in a culturally appropriate manner was identified as a key challenge.

“In Karamoja region…the literacy levels being low also really affects involvement in programs... In Karamoja region... when it has not rained for a while... they don’t believe that its climate change really. The make sacrifices, they make ceremonies, they sacrifice cows, and the rains come, for them they really know that can bring the rains.”

Participants from both GBV and climate change organizations highlighted how cultural and social norms within communities influence the acceptance and adoption of programs. For example, cultural practices and traditions (e.g., traditional gender roles, water use customs, traditional pastoralism) may conflict with sustainable practices, making it necessary for NGOs to engage with community leaders and stakeholders to promote behavior change and foster local ownership of climate action initiatives. Similarly, deep-rooted cultural and social norms often perpetuate gender inequality and condone violence against women and girls. Challenging these norms and promoting behavior change can be met with skepticism. Most of the times, NGOs struggle to navigate these cultural dynamics sensitively and engage with community leaders to promote gender equality and address GBV.

“Until I worked in the Karamoja region, there are things I didn’t know about them. Like at first I said ah, they wouldn’t involve the ladies, it’s now that we sensitize them about gender inequality and promoting the participation and inclusiveness in our programs and also specially empowering the women to advocate for their rights, that the women now come on board. Because traditionally they know they are not supposed be involved.”

Participants from GBV organizations recognized that to decrease the vulnerability of individuals to GBV in communities, GBV prevention programs require a dual focus on behavioral change and livelihood support, such as training in trade skills and income-generating activities, aligning with climate change adaptation/mitigation strategies. We also heard narratives on how weak governance structures, limited institutional capacity, and inadequate policy frameworks pose challenges to NGOs implementing GBV prevention and/or climate change mitigation initiatives in communities.

Finally, interviewees talked about the limited collaboration and coordination between GBV prevention and climate change spaces. Currently, there are few collaborations between these two sectors. Integration of GBV and climate change was only mentioned by staff from international NGOs (Oxfam, IRC) who in the last couple of years have incorporated a dual scope as part of their country-wide programming. For example, in 2022 Oxfam in Uganda launched a 10-year strategy (2021–2030) towards ending inequality in the country. As part of this initiative, Oxfam’s programs will seek to document and address the impacts of climate change on women’s vulnerability and gender equality. Participants mentioned that for effective programming to happen, it would require the creation of interlinkages among various stakeholders, including government and non- government agencies, community leaders, civil society organizations and service providers in both GBV and climate change spaces.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. First, it relied on self-reported data from NGO staff, which may be subject to social desirability bias or reflect organizational priorities rather than on-the-ground realities. Second, the geographic focus on Kampala limits the generalizability of findings to other regions of Uganda, particularly rural areas where climate and GBV challenges may differ in scale or form. This study represents a foundational step in mapping the intersection of GBV and climate change interventions. Future research could expand to include government entities, bilateral agencies, and multilateral organizations to provide a more comprehensive institutional landscape. Lastly, potential selection bias in our sampling—due to reliance on the visibility of NGOs—may have excluded smaller or less-visible organizations doing relevant work in these areas.

Conclusion

Despite limitations, this study provides new empirical evidence on the interplay between GBV and climate change in Uganda. It offers actionable recommendations for integrated programming and demonstrates the value of cross-sector collaboration. Advancing gender equity and climate resilience must go hand in hand—and NGOs are well-positioned to lead this shift through locally grounded, gender-responsive, and climate-informed approaches.

By centering the voices of NGO staff, our research uncovers how siloed programming has limited opportunities for collaboration, even as the challenges of GBV and climate change are increasingly intertwined. This study contributes a novel understanding of the institutional landscape in Uganda, highlighting new integration strategies and areas where policy, funding, and implementation remain disconnected. It challenges current assumptions that treat GBV and climate resilience as separate domains, instead offering evidence that coordinated approaches are both necessary and feasible.

Addressing GBV and climate change in tandem is not only possible but essential. As climate impacts intensify, holistic, equity-centered approaches will be vital to ensuring the safety, dignity, and resilience of Uganda’s most vulnerable communities.