By Carey Averbook & Leny Olivera

Climate change is about much more than climate change. Its impacts and driving factors intersect with a whole range of social, economic, political and cultural issues. Women, especially in the global South, are often particularly exposed to poverty, discrimination, lack of access to resources, exclusion from power and exposure to many forms of violence. When climate change impacts hit, the burdens women bear likewise increase disproportionately.

Discrimination has been described by Latin Americans as a severe issue – over 70% feel it holds them back in their day to day lives. Colombian women in particular have expressed anger over the prejudices held towards them; “as soon as we say we are from Colombia, people immediately associate us with prostitutes, and do not respect us,” complains Alba.

By Victoria Greaves

We, in the international community, want to believe that development is possible and human rights can be respected, but we must ask ourselves: whose interests do we actually represent? And hearing from local people in the developing world reveals that even positive movements, like environmentalism, can have devastating results.

“Here in Ecuador,” he continued. “We have more corruption than we have money. That’s the truth and that’s why life is so expensive for the rest of us, those of us without brothers in the government.” After so many years of injustice, faith can sometimes feel like a foreign language in Latin America. GSDM Latin America Editor Diego Cupolo's travel diary.