Haiti: Unprecedented Sexual Violence Against Women, UN
Haitian Women, July 2024 Photo: @NacoesUnidas
July 18, 2024 Hour: 6:14 pm
A survey conducted by UN Women in the six most populous and diverse displacement sites in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, confirmed that most camps lack lighting and locks in key areas such as sleeping quarters and bathrooms.
On Thursday, women in Haiti face unprecedented rates of sexual violence as displacement and attacks by armed gangs against the population increase, a UN Women report revealed.
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According to the text, some 300,000 displaced women and girls suffer dire living conditions and lack of security amid ongoing political instability, gang activity and the threat of the current hurricane season.
A survey conducted by UN Women in the six most populous and diverse displacement sites in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, confirmed that most camps lack lighting and locks in key areas such as sleeping quarters and bathrooms.
As a result, residents are exposed to daily threats from gangs.
“The constant danger of stray bullets and other security risks further underscores the urgent need to improve protection in these places,” UN Women warned.
The report released Wednesday also warns of the use of rape as a deliberate tactic to control access to humanitarian assistance in most camps, particularly against women.
UN Women head Sima Bahous urged the newly appointed Government to take the necessary measures to prevent and respond to violence, as well as to increase women’s participation in camp management.
“Our report tells us that the level of insecurity and brutality, including sexual violence, that women face at the hands of gangs in Haiti is unprecedented. This must stop now,” the Director-General urged.
Other data showed that nearly 90 per cent of the women interviewed had no source of income in the camps and more than 10 per cent resorted to or considered sex work or prostitution to meet their needs at least once.
Twenty percent of the respondents knew at least one person who had done so, while 16 percent confessed to feeling harassed or traumatised by armed gangs.
Nearly 70 per cent indicated that the increased violence affected them psychologically and only 10 per cent said they had access to health services in IDP sites.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: The Star-UN
