Multiple sources report that data gathered following the 2023 Lahaina wildfire has helped drive new federal legislation aimed at addressing domestic abuse and exploitation during disaster recovery. A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress would require FEMA to improve shelter safety, establish reporting protocols for gender-based violence, and reform how agency workers conduct household check-ins after disasters.
- Community organizers Khara Jabola-Carolus and Nadine Ortega co-founded Tagnawa, a grassroots organization, to document the needs of Filipinos and other marginalized groups on Maui following the August 2023 wildfire.
- A Tagnawa survey of 70 Filipino women found that one in six reported feeling forced to engage in ‘survival sex’ — exchanging sexual acts for food, housing, or other basic necessities.
- Calls to Women Helping Women, a local domestic violence organization, doubled to 550 per month in the first two months after the fire.
- Mental health experts reported cases of child sexual abuse going unreported in order to keep family units together during post-fire instability.
- Reps. Laurel Lee (R-FL) and Lucy McBath (D-GA) have introduced bipartisan legislation directing FEMA to strengthen evacuation shelter safety and create reporting protocols for domestic violence and sexual assault.
- The bill would also mandate training for FEMA personnel to identify and support survivors of gender-based violence.
- Current FEMA policy involves meeting only with the head of household — typically a man — during post-disaster check-ins; the bill would require changes to this practice.
Sources
- 19Thnews: Could disaster recovery include protecting women from domestic abuse and exploitation?
- Yahoo: Could disaster recovery include protecting women from domestic abuse and exploitation?
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