A National Tragedy Deepens: Survivors Exploited in the Shadows of Disaster
The devastating 2023 Lahaina wildfires in Hawaii claimed 102 lives and destroyed over 2,000 homes, leaving thousands of survivors traumatized and displaced. Now, a new report reveals a harrowing and shameful aftermath: one in six female survivors were forced to engage in sexual acts for food, shelter, and basic necessities.
This humanitarian crisis, previously hidden from public scrutiny, was highlighted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), citing an investigative report by The Guardian and research by Tagnawa, a Filipino feminist disaster response organization. The findings expose a horrific failure in emergency response—particularly from FEMA under the Biden administration—that left America’s most vulnerable citizens to fend for themselves.
DHS Condemns FEMA’s Post-Wildfire Inaction
In a startling public post, DHS stated:
“These women — our fellow American citizens — were so desperate for food that they had to resort to such extreme measures just to feed themselves in our own country.”
The agency called attention to the extreme neglect of disaster victims, many of whom were immigrant women and non-English speakers, primarily from the Filipino community, which made up 40% of Lahaina’s population prior to the fires.
“Survival Sex” in America: The Unthinkable Reality
According to the Tagnawa study, conducted through in-depth interviews with 70 Filipino women survivors, many women were:
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Sleeping in cars with their children
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Afraid of shelters due to language barriers, harassment, and unsafe conditions
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Pressured into “survival sex” to access food, housing, and clothing
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Targeted by traffickers and predators exploiting the chaos following the disaster
The study confirmed that sexual exploitation and domestic violence spiked dramatically after the fire, exposing systemic gender and social inequalities worsened by government inaction.
Silence from Hawaii’s Leadership, Focus on Climate Taxes
Despite the explosive findings, Hawaii Governor Josh Green has not publicly addressed the DHS-cited report or the sexual exploitation crisis. Instead, he spent the past week promoting a new climate change tax on tourists—a move critics say reveals skewed priorities.
A Call for Accountability and Immediate Action
The scope of this catastrophe demands more than acknowledgment. It demands justice, oversight, and reform. FEMA and state officials must:
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Launch a full investigation into the conditions at shelters and displacement sites
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Provide reparative services—housing, counseling, legal aid—for exploited survivors
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Hold accountable those responsible for systemic neglect
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Ensure language access and safety protocols for future disaster responses
A National Shame
This tragedy isn’t just about a wildfire—it’s about government abandonment, systemic failure, and the brutal exploitation of women and children on U.S. soil. America cannot claim to stand for human rights abroad while allowing its own citizens to be trafficked and degraded in the aftermath of disaster.