We must act now to protect the women of Vanuatu from violence.

The devastating reality for women caught in disaster zones.

I was in Japan when the news of Cyclone Pam’s destruction broke. The timing was uncanny. There we were several thousand people from all over the world who had congregated in Sendai for a global meeting on how the international community can prepare for disasters over the next 15 years.

Then Pam struck Vanuatu, a cruel but timely reminder of how critical the meeting was.

Violence against women is a global epidemic. It happens everywhere, all over the world, all the time. However, what many people don’t realise is that when an emergency hits and in the following period, violence against women increases.

Violence against women increases everywhere in an emergency zone. In family homes. In public spaces. In camps where people are crammed together. When an entire community is struggling to cope with the stress of a disaster, women become the objects of male frustration.

Opinion: “Every time we sing these lyrics, violence against women becomes more mainstream.”

In responding to disasters, protecting women from violence is a critical priority. Sadly, it is frequently overlooked.

We will almost certainly see this in Vanuatu. The UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs is warning that in this crisis, increased levels of violence against women are of particular concern.

Responses to disasters like Cyclone Pam must, must, must include the protection of women. Too often, we see full-blown emergency responses that don’t specifically address women’s needs at all, except perhaps for a few sanitary pads in the hygiene kits distributed en masse.

Related: Vanuatu has been devastated by Cyclone Pam. Up to 40 may be dead.

Local women are already responding to disasters. Right now, as the rest of the world works out how best to get emergency relief into Vanuatu, we know that local women are already hard at work, responding to the needs of their communities as best they can.

This happens in every emergency. Women assume the responsibility to look out for those around them and they take action when the going gets tough. We know it, right? Women are strong. We’re resilient.

Sabita, a woman from a particularly disaster-prone area of Bangladesh, who has done her fair share of emergency response work (and leading response efforts, might I say), joined the ActionAid team in Sendai. While we were there, I asked her whether she considers herself a feminist. Another colleague translated the question for her and she laughed.

Related: Five important reasons why Vanuatu needs our help today.

“I’ve never heard that term before. But yes! Women’s rights. Of course, I believe in women’s rights more than anything,” she said. About Vanuatu, she shook her head. She is all too familiar with the impact that disasters have on women’s rights.

ActionAid is responding to the emergency in Vanuatu by providing support to the women in Vanuatu. Local women’s groups are leading the efforts to ensure that women are protected, and that they have what they need to provide for themselves and those around them.  When we fly into Port Vila tonight, my colleagues and I will be meeting with these women’s groups to strategize the support that ActionAid can provide them immediately.

So this is a call to our sisters – and to the men who support us. Take action today to support our work with the women of Vanuatu to ensure that they are protected in this critical time.

Holly Miller is Head of Media and Public Relations at ActionAid Australia and a feminist media specialist who has spent ten years reporting on women’s rights work from different contexts around the world. Before working for ActionAid, she worked in Laos supporting people with disabilities to advocate for their rights. She is a dedicated advocate for women’s rights in Australia and internationally.