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鈥淚t is often expected that women care more, and therefore women are going to volunteer, and be the saviors鈥� in times of crisis, said Eleanor Blomstrom, the Program Director and Head of Office for the Women鈥檚 Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), at a 乐鱼 体育 event on climate displacement and the changing role of women. A panel of experts discussed the impacts of climate change that not only force women to move, but also put them .  By integrating gender dimensions of climate-related displacement into research, policy, and programs, we can gain a better understanding of the challenges that women face and support women鈥檚 efforts to be changemakers for their communities as they adapt to climate threats. 鈥淎ll issues are women鈥檚 issues,鈥� said Blomstrom.

The Gender Dimensions of Climate-Related Displacement

鈥淭he vulnerability of women and girls is not because of their nature,鈥� but because of the that deny them agency and expose them to violence, said Verona Collantes, an intergovernmental specialist with UN Women. 鈥淕ender inequalities persist鈥濃�攖hrough the roles and responsibilities assigned to women, the opportunities not afforded to them, and their lack of access to political power, education, land, or even basic finances, she said.

For migrant and displaced women in developing countries, these vulnerabilities are further exacerbated by climate-related events. For example, 鈥渘atural disasters increase women鈥檚 vulnerability to ,鈥� said Justine Calma, an environmental justice reporter and fellow at Grist. 鈥淐limate change is making it easier for human traffickers to operate鈥� in spaces where there is a breakdown of infrastructure and a chaotic movement of people, leading to the creation of new hot spots for trafficking, she said. 鈥淗uman trafficking thrives where people are desperate and displaced.鈥�

In 2013, when Typhoon Haiyan four million people in the Philippines鈥攎ost of them poor women鈥攇irls as young as 13 were through prostitution, rape, and assault; sold for food and scarce aid supplies; and trafficked into forced labor and the sex trade. The typhoon especially devastated the livelihoods of poor, , so some young girls were sold by their families out of poverty and desperation, said Calma. 鈥淚ncreased desperation may push affected populations into the hands of criminal actors and even into colluding with them as seen in instances of men selling their wives or other female relatives, or parents selling their children,鈥� she said.

Some of these crimes took place in the Tacloban Astrodome evacuation center, where they had taken shelter. Based on this experience, a new evacuation shelter was designed to , using clear sightlines, ample lighting, and secure facilities to reduce gender-based violence and exploitation, said Calma.

鈥淲omen and men on the move are subjected to different challenges and needs,鈥� said Collantes, so it is important to look at climate-related displacement from a gender perspective. 鈥淲omen face human rights violations鈥ot just during migration but also at their destination,鈥� where they lack access to education, housing, employment, adequate , and other resources, she said.  As women of color, and often poor or uneducated, 鈥渕igrant women and girls are subject to all these intersectional forms of discrimination,鈥� she said.

Combatting climate change may require implementing projects that empower women or enhance women鈥檚 leadership and participation, rather than mitigate climate change itself, said Collantes. Mainstreaming gender into climate plans, policies, and programs provides a way to assess the implications of implementation on both women and men, 鈥渋n all areas and at all levels and in all types of action,鈥� she said.  

Understanding Climate Displacement

鈥淢igration was understood to be one of the greatest effects of climate change as early as 1990,鈥� said Maxine Burkett, a law professor at the University of Hawai鈥檌 and 乐鱼 体育 Global Fellow. However, not only do we lack a clear legal definition for , but we also have of how many people could be affected. 鈥淪o much of the impacts of migration are not seen, or are in the shadows of a鈥isaster,鈥� she said.

WEDO鈥檚 recent project on the sought to fill this gap by evaluating the in the dry corridor of Central America. WEDO found that there are a number of challenges that make it more difficult for women to manage situations of high climate risk, contributing to their displacement. 鈥淭he structural discrimination that women often face is impacting how they migrate鈥攐r even if they migrate,鈥� said Blomstrom,

鈥淭here are times when you just can鈥檛 adapt, and staying would risk lives,鈥� said Blomstrom. In some communities in Nicaragua, for example, women do not hold titles to land and subsistence farming is the main economic activity. 鈥淭he only choice when there鈥檚 not enough food is to be hungry, to cope鈥r to migrate,鈥� she said.

However, calling migration 鈥渃limate adaptation鈥� raises , by 鈥渁llowing migration to be normalized to a point where it justifies the kinds of movements that may be less voluntary,鈥� said Burkett. is another phenomenon to watch: During last year鈥檚 hurricane season, Hurricane Katrina survivors that moved to Texas were displaced by Hurricane Harvey, and 鈥渕igration from Puerto Rico [is] going to Florida and New York, which are also very vulnerable to climate change,鈥� said Calma.

Stay, or Go? A More Just Migration

To fill this gap, women in some . Burkett cited the efforts of Ursula Rakova, who spearheaded a movement to relocate her community from its disappearing atolls on the , ahead of any disaster.

But for other Pacific Islanders, whose homes are becoming uninhabitable, 鈥渢he just response is perhaps having an eye towards migration, but also being able to stay grounded in their community, and their cultures, and with the bones of their ancestors,鈥� said Burkett.

Burkett urged the audience to in vulnerable communities and help build their capacity 鈥渢o respond to future disasters鈥void displacement in the first place鈥nd create situations where migration is no longer necessary,鈥� and thus enable them to migrate with dignity.

鈥淲hen you engage with women, they may start as volunteers, but they don鈥檛 stop there,鈥� said Collantes. 鈥淲hen you achieve gender equality, you also achieve the other goals of the SDGs.鈥�