Since covering Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, I’ve noticed the underlying current of violence against women increasing under the weight of recovery. Almost biweekly now, my social media shows a news article from the island about women who are found dead, with the common refrain, “otra más” (yet another). It appears, as Grist’s Greta Moran writes, that “as the world heats up, it’s also becoming more violent,” particularly for women.
We know by now those who are already economically vulnerable feel the impact of climate change most. When one overlaps that with the fact that women who face poverty are also already more vulnerable to intimate partner violence, and that shelters are often also hit by the climate change, it takes on the form of an epidemic. So, it’s not a good thing that the Violence Against Women Act, which funds “critical services for survivors, including legal assistance, rape crisis centers, domestic violence centers, and transitional housing,” is set to expire this Friday.
The Act is not perfect; 85 percent of the funding goes to the criminal justice system. Samantha Majic, associate professor of political science at John Jay College says, “Women are not subject to intimate partner violence just because men are bad, but also because they don’t have economic options that make it easier to leave the situation.”
[For more on this story by CYNDI SUAREZ, go to https://nonprofitquarterly.org...-violent-for-women/?]
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