Extracting empowerment: A critical review on violence against women in mining and mineral extraction

Despite being a core sector presenting lucrative growth and employment opportunities, the mining sector continues to move at a slower pace in addressing the issue of violence against women. This raises doubts over the effectiveness of the legal safeguards meant to defend the basic human rights of women in mining. The study, by incorporating the insights from the available literature on mining and violence against women, provides a comprehensive narrative review of the pressing issues pertaining to the subject. The review infers that women in mining areas suffer from violence, both at home and at work. However, women who persistently attempt to cope with them can take advantage of their situation and become empowered as long-lasting survivors. Resource availability is seen to have mixed effects on violence against women. The role of the mining community and legal authorities is identified to be a key element in shaping the vulnerability of women to violence. In addition, an energy transition towards renewables may help curb resource constraints and consequently reduce violence. However, this outcome is subject to the strengthening of the legal safeguards and the resolution of the current cases of violence. These observations provide crucial insights pertaining to the need for women empowerment in the mining sector, and the role of relevant stakeholders towards achieving the same. This study assumes global importance as the violence against women in mining areas is a vivid representation of the distorted relationship between energy and society.