In , Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, displacing more than 4 million people, destroying entire communities and ruining millions of livelihoods.
It was the fiercest storm to make landfall at the time, with winds reaching miles per hour. The devastation spiked trafficking of women and children in impoverished areas already prone to the problem. With typhoons, hurricanes and other extreme weather events poised only to become more frequent with climate change, our team reports from the vulnerable island nation of the Philippines on the social aftermath of natural disasters, as part of our series, Living Proof: The Human Toll of Climate Change.
Sex Trafficking in the Philippines: How typhoons and desperation make women and children vulnerable Samar is one of the most climate change-vulnerable areas in the Philippines. By Justine Calma.
She also saw that the corals she once loved swimming through were no longer vibrant. She says her mother sold her after the storm out of desperation. On their remote island, three-quarters of the population live in poverty and nearly everyone fishes or farms for their livelihoods. This dependence on the natural environment makes them particularly vulnerable to the immediate threats of extreme weather events and the long-term effects of climate change.
Daram is one of 7, islands that make up the Philippines, where rising global temperatures are contributing to the increased frequency and severity of extreme storms. In recent years, this extreme weather β the Philippines sees an average of 20 typhoons a year β is creating opportunities for human traffickers to exploit.
