The Triple Crisis of Vulnerability: Gendered Violence, Climate Catastrophes and COVID-19 in Asia

In this presentation we focus on men’s violence against the female population both during and in the wake of climate disasters in the Philippines and Vietnam. We examine the legal framework which has been ratified in the two countries to protect individual’s right to live a life without being abused and; how various types of organizations work to prevent and combat specific kinds of violence in the domestic sphere. In doing so, the presentation highlights the extent to which two rapidly changing Southeast Asian societies have implemented violence preventive legislation and, moreover, how local organizations and agencies maneuver on the plateau of civil society to engage in a perpetual process of demarcating the boundaries of social engagement and responsibility. Furthermore, against the backdrop of the heightened alert of COVID-19 situation, there was an increase in reported incidents of VAWG as observed in almost all countries affected by the pandemic. The pandemic is accentuating and heightening the intersectional pre-existing inequalities that have given rise to specific risks and vulnerabilities.