The Washington Post took harsh criticism after a recent op-ed linked climate change to domestic violence. “Outnumbered” panelists sounded off on the liberal outlet’s “nonsense” conclusion, warning it diminishes the seriousness of abuse.
Terry McGovern, head of the Population and Family Health department at Columbia University, claimed in the op-ed that worsening climate conditions are to blame for increasing violence.
“Heat waves, floods, climate-induced disasters increase sexual harassment, mental and physical abuse, femicide, reduce economic and educational opportunity and increase the risk of trafficking due to forced migration,” McGovern wrote.
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Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe questioned why the left is so eager to link issues to climate change.
“Turbulence on a plane, gun violence, everything is being attributed to climate change. And then now this, domestic abuse,” she told the “Outnumbered” panel. “Why is there this effort by the left, by the media, to draw a linear connection to climate change on essentially every issue?”
Martha MacCallum, anchor of “The Story,” noted that climate change is the top issue being discussed across the Americas, with former Pentagon officials even calling it a threat to national security.
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She said labeling issues as a result of climate change is a convenient way to bring people’s attention to the topic but argued it has unfortunate consequences for people who have been affected by real problems.
“It siphons off what their issue is, what they’re suffering from,” MacCallum said. She explained that increases in domestic violence are also seen during times of war or when people are suffering economically.
“It feels a bit disingenuous to say the least,” she argued.
“Outnumbered” co-host Emily Compagno argued the real cause of domestic violence is ineffective laws and enforcement, which receives less attention when the focus is on climate change.
“The travesty to me is that The Washington Post publishes this op ed, this nonsense, and takes that space away from actual arguments, from actual facts,” she said.
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Compagno encouraged people to start with state and local laws if they want to advocate for change. She stressed the difficulty in obtaining a restraining order and noted that many people who commit violence against their partner were already known to law enforcement.
“Climate change? Get out of here,” she said. “That was a travesty.”
https://www.foxnews.com/media/wapo-torched-nonsense-piece-linking-domestic-violence-climate-change