House Resolution 36 brought to the floor by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Cal) outlines the disparate impact that climate change has on women, which could even drive women to “transactional sex” (prostitution) for survival.
Sponsored by the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the bill cites the United Nations Human Development Report for 2013. The UNHDR states, “that the number of people living in extreme poverty could increase by up to 3,000,000,000 by 2050 unless environmental disasters are averted by coordinated global action.”
The assumption in this statement as in all other declarations of this bill is that climate change is to blame for environmental disasters and without global action the number of environmental disasters will increase by 2050. The most interesting assumption is how climate change through creating environmental disasters, shortage of food and water, displacement, and regional conflict directly impacts women globally more than men. In turn, climate change being the result of these disasters will force women to turn to prostitution for survival.
Read more