Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has claimed one in six survivors of the Lahaina wildfires in Hawaii had to trade sexual and other favors to get basic supplies.
The comments were seemingly in reference to a report on female Filipino survivors, which one of the authors called a “gross manipulation” of the report, according to Politico.
At a review meeting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday, Noem said, “After the wildfires in Maui, residents voiced concerns that every FEMA employee that they spoke with had different answers.”
“None of them had conversations that resulted in getting assistance that was helpful or any clarity in their situations,” she added. “The situation in Lahaina was so bad that one in six survivors were forced to trade sexual favors, other favors for just basic supplies.”
The study on Filipino female survivors was conducted by Tagnawa, which states that it is a “Filipino feminist disaster response organization” in Hawaii. The review included responses from 70 female Filipino fire survivors and found that 16 percent had engaged in “survival sex in exchange for basic necessities post-disaster,” with “a landlord, an employer, family members, friends and acquaintances.”
