16 Days: Day 10: Dialog on Disaster Response

 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Fact Sheet from 16 Days of Activism Toolkit

● Globally, more than 70% of women have experienced gender-based violence in a crisis setting. Women often avoid using shelters due to the fear of sexual violence, putting their lives at further risk in disasters such as hurricanes.

● In refugee camps around the world that arise as a result of natural disasters, conflicts and wars over scarce resources, women and girl refugees are exposed to higher risks compared to male refugees. Social strains in such situations aggravate stress levels in the family, which may result in incidences of domestic violence.

● There was an increase from 33.6% to 45.2% victimization rate for women and 36.7% to 43.1% for men after experiencing Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline from Gulf Coast states increased 13% to 21% in Louisiana.

● In some cases, social constructed masculine roles increase men’s mortality in disaster situations. Many men are exposed to risky situations and even die because they believe that by being the “stronger sex” they need not take precautions and because society expects them to take heroic rescue action. For example, there were more immediate deaths among men when hurricane Mitch struck Central America, not only because they were engaged in open-air activities, but because they took fewer precautions when facing risks.

In the aftermath of disasters, the Episcopal Relief & Development disaster team works with local partners to respond to the physical and emotional needs of the most vulnerable, helping individuals and families to recover from disaster. You can read about how in the US, Episcopal Relief & Development works with dioceses to assist members of vulnerable groups in the immediate aftermath of natural and human-made disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, oil spills and other disasters.

16 Days: Day 9: Dialog on Lived Identity and Sexual Orientation

 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Reflection and Action from 16 Days of Activism Toolkit

As Christ followers, members of The Episcopal Church have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being. Bishops, priests and deacons cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of their identity or sexual orientation.

Read about The Rainbow Initiative, which is Episcopal Migration Ministries’ response to General Convention 2022 Resolution D045 “On Supporting LGBTIQ+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers”. Their goals for the Rainbow Initiative include: working with Episcopal congregations and others to bring visibility and aid to LGBTQ+ forced migrants, and reviewing and revising EMM materials and procedures in order to ensure that they are fully inclusive of LGBTQ+ forced migrants.

16 Days: Day 8: Engaging with Episcopal Policy Network

Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Isaiah 1:17

Reflection and Action

The Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN), run by the Office of Government Relations,, is a grassroots network of Episcopalians across the country dedicated to carrying out the Baptismal Covenant call to strive for justice and peace through the active ministry of public policy advocacy.

EPPN advocates for stronger legislative protections against violence against women and girls. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act has been reauthorized on a bipartisan basis four times since it was first passed, with the most recent reauthorization happening in 2022, which reauthorize VAWA through 2027...

EPPN’s spring 2019 action alert quoted the Rev. Bradley Hauff, missioner for Indigenous Ministries:

“The Violence Against Women Act is significant especially for Indigenous Native-American women, who experience, in proportion to the general U.S. population, much higher rates of domestic abuse and violence, higher than any group. In particular, laws which have made it virtually impossible to prosecute non-Indigenous men in tribal courts for acts of violence such as rape and murder committed against Indigenous women, as well as child abuse and sex trafficking on reservations, have exacerbated this problem.” (From 16 Days of Activism Toolkit)

This work aligns with the ECW support of work with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) and other social justice issue. The ECW website notes:

According to research by (nativehope.org) there is widespread of frustration, anger and hopelessness in native American communities.  This is based on the fact that women/females (sisters, wives, mothers, daughters) are missing from their families with no evidence of their whereabouts. Communities are pleading for some type of justice and efforts to find their missing loved ones.  As a women organization we are advocating for answers to be found for the missing loved ones and peace be given to the survivors.

“May 5^th is the official MMIW Day and is the most widely celebrated across the US and Canada.  Every year, individuals wear red, and attend marches, rallies, bike rides, fundraisers, and more to raise awareness for the MMIW and cause and fight against the injustice that’s happening to Native women and their families every day.”(MMIW.org)

16 Days: Day 7: Dialog on HIV/AIDS Discrimination

Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Fact Sheet from 16 Days of Activism Toolkit

● People living with HIV/AIDS experience high levels of labor discrimination. The International Labor Organization reports that people with HIV/AIDS have an unemployment rate three times higher than national averages.

● Women living with HIV experience significantly higher rates of intimate-partner violence than women that do not have the virus.

● Specific groups of women are disproportionately affected by HIV. An analysis of studies measuring the pooled prevalence of HIV in 50 countries estimated that, globally, female sex workers are approximately 14 times more likely to be infected than other women of reproductive age.

Every year on December 1, millions of people come together to commemorate World AIDS Day. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to advocate for the rights of people living with HIV and to memorialize those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first international day for global health. Since then, awareness has grown about the links between vulnerability to gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV/AIDS.