Following the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, a bipartisan House bill would require FEMA to improve shelter safety, establish domestic violence reporting protocols, and meet with all adult household members during disaster recovery check-ins. Research found alarming rates of gender-based violence among Maui fire survivors.
- A survey of 70 Filipino women by Maui grassroots group Tagnawa found one in six felt forced into survival sex following the 2023 wildfire.
- Calls to Women Helping Women, a local domestic violence organization, doubled to 550 per month in the first two months after the fires.
- Bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Laurel Lee and Lucy McBath would direct FEMA to strengthen evacuation shelter safety and create gender-based violence reporting protocols.
- The bill would also require FEMA personnel training on gender-based violence and mandate that disaster check-ins include all adult household members, not just the head of household.
- A 2024 FEMA advisory council report had already recommended the agency do more to address gender-based violence and human trafficking in disaster aftermath.
Source: Wmnf
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