"Being a queer [or] trans activist and an environmental activist puts you in a greater sense of danger because both agendas are heavily under attack," Diego De Leon, Advocacy Chair at Out for Sustainability, told CG.
In early June, photographer Taiwo Aina-Adeokun spoke with CG about the role that her photography, collected by Climate Visuals, can play in addressing black carbon and oil pollution — and how being a female photographer helped her access certain people and places.
Since then, CG has heard from Climate Visuals' Alastair Johnstone-Hack about the importance of representation in climate photography. "We know that the impacts of climate change are not equal and that gender inequality and climate change are intricately linked," he said. He continued, "Photography can be a powerful tool in telling climate stories and engaging audiences — but to achieve this fully, images need to come from diverse perspectives."
Pointing to the need to represent climate-impacted communities across gender "as well as wider issues of diversity," Johnstone-Hack noted that his organization aims to address historic imbalances by proactively commissioning photographers, providing guidance materials, and participating in key collaborations.
In the past few months, CG has reported on the gendered impacts of climate-related infectious disease outbreaks, including increased caregiving and exposure amid the ongoing Ebola outbreak as well as new evidence linking global outbreaks to a "shadow pandemic" of violence against women and girls.
Now, the World Health Organization has announced the launch of a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to evaluate two potential treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. While the research focuses on improving patient survival, advances in effective outbreak responses could also help reduce the disproportionate impacts outbreaks have on women and girls.
Last month, CG covered the impacts of the parasitic infection schistosomiasis, which can include increased risks for genital lesions and cervical cancer. CG's reporting highlighted new research exploring how the introduction of native fish into rice fields may help curb populations of the freshwater snails that carry the parasite.
Last week, in a study published in The Lancet Microbe, researchers called for integrating female genital schistosomiasis screening into existing sexual and reproductive health services to improve diagnosis and treatment. The infection continues to be underrecognized within tropical disease research and reproductive health care systems despite affecting around 40 million women and girls globally.
Two months ago, on May 10, a young transgender woman and climate scientist was killed in Seattle, Washington. The murder of Juniper Blessing sent shockwaves throughout the LGBTQ+ community, with loved ones remembering her musical talents and affinity for language.
Her love of the natural world and weather patterns contributed to her decision to pursue a degree in atmospheric and climate science at the University of Washington, and she hoped to make a difference one day with her research. Now, the murder of this 19-year-old demonstrates a tragic example of how anti-LGBTQ+ violence has the potential to steal burgeoning climate scientists — and people from all walks of life — from the futures they hoped to build and protect for themselves and their communities.
CG spoke with Diego De Leon, Advocacy Chair at Out for Sustainability, about a number of interwoven ways in which LGBTQ+ communities may be disproportionately impacted by violence and climate change — and about how inclusive solutions to both crises may protect people from these unequal threats. Read more...
This digest was curated and reported by Gracie Leavitt. It was written and edited by Gracie Leavitt and Kirsten Krueger.
One goal at Climate, Gendered is to bring a spotlight to the reality that proliferating pollution, increasing temperatures, rising seas, extreme weather, habitat loss, and more can uniquely and disproportionately impact girls, women, trans communities, and nonbinary people — especially those from communities of color, Indigenous people, disabled people, immigrants and displaced people, people experiencing poverty, and residents of low- and middle-income countries. We're also interested in the climate crises and concerns that can disproportionately affect men and boys.
This work cannot be done alone or in silos. We appreciate your feedback and observations. And please feel encouraged to share one way you noticed this week that climate and gender connect — and share CG with a friend.
"While every family is different, mothers are disproportionately the default parent, meaning climate disruptions can add to the mental load, logistical challenges, and economic pressures many women already face," Laura Schifter, a Senior Fellow at the D.C.-based Aspen Institute, told CG.
"Incineration inevitably has an impact on the environment," Selma Benkhelifa of Progress Lawyers Network told CG about the U.S. government's previous plan to burn a cache of contraceptives instead of distributing them. "But the worst thing is depriving millions of women of access to contraception."
"This research project would not have happened had we not had buy-in and trust from the farmers we worked with," Emily Selland told CG about an effort in Senegal that showed integration of native fish into watery rice fields might curb schistosomiasis risks, which may be affected by climate shifts.
"Everywhere is blacked out," photographer Taiwo Aina-Adeokun told CG about the smoky, sooty conditions she observed in kitchen settings — spaces to which her identity as a female photojournalist helped gain her access, she said. "At the fish smoking area, her eyes were always watery."
