A/HRC/31/51 61. However, the system still needs to incorporate a human rights approach, including participatory monitoring systems to evaluate standards as well as mechanisms to seek remedy for violations of human rights, particularly for women. A human rights approach emphasizes local self-determination that frustrated by externally imposed ownership and promotes control over critical and traditional local resources like water, land, and biodiversity. A. Why women matter in climate change policies? 1. Disaster Management 62. One area of concern is disaster management because climate change is likely to impact the number and severity of extreme weather events. Researches show that in societies where men and women should be impacted indiscriminately in disasters women and girls, as a result of gender based inequalities, are up to 14 times more likely to die in the event of a disaster.65 This is especially true of elderly women, those with disabilities, pregnant and nursing women, and those with small children, who may have lack of, or limited mobility and resources, and therefore remain most at risk in cases of emergency. 66 63. Women remain more vulnerable than men in post-disaster situations, as their household responsibilities increase while access to resources decreases. The daily work involved in providing food, water, and fuel for households after a disaster requires intensive labour, the bulk of which is borne by women. Moreover, marketing interference with breastfeeding initiation and long-term prolongation jeopardizes women’s ability to safely feed their infants and young children due to unreliable quality and quantity of safe drinking water, particularly in post-disaster situations. 64. Climate change itself intensifies psychological stress associated with disasters, increasing women’s risks of situations of violence, sexual harassment and trafficking. Some women are forced into prostitution and research has shown increased HIV prevalence in drought-ridden areas of rural Africa.67 65. In Central America and the Caribbean, women assume leadership roles in food distribution during emergencies, yet emergency decision-making processes after disasters often exclude women. Women’s limited participation restricts their engagement in political decisions that impact their specific needs and vulnerabilities, and relief workers often view women as victims rather than potential agents of change, thus reinforcing gender inequalities. Women’s livelihoods and household responsibilities 2. 66. In rural areas, women and girls spend the majority of their time engaged in subsistence farming and in the collection of water and fuel. As a result of flooding, droughts, fires and mudslides, these tasks become more difficult. Water shortages and depletion of forests require women and girls to walk longer distances to collect water and wood. In Senegal and Mozambique, women spend 17.5 and 15.3 hours respectively each 65 66 67 Lorena Aguilar, http://www.capwip.org/Phillipinas%20presentacion%20%20Lorena%20Aguilar.pdf, http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/zimbabwe/2015/07/11/12467/when_disaster_strikes_women_and_girls _are_the_backbone_of_resilience ( 2008) HLPE Report, Climate Change and Food Security, June 2012 Committee of Food Security Report Burke, Gong, Jones, “Income shocks and HIV in Africa, in The Economic Journal”, Vol 125, Issue 585, 2015, pp 1157-1189. 15