WUNRN
HAITI - AFTERSHOCKS: WOMEN SPEAK OUT
AGAINST
SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN HAITI'S CAMPS -
REPORT
Direct Link to Full 38-Page Amnesty
International Report:
Women and girls living in Haiti’s makeshift
camps face an increasing risk of rape and sexual violence, Amnesty
International said in a new report released today.
One year after the earthquake which killed 230,000 people and injured 300,000,
more than one million people still live in appalling conditions in tent cities
in the capital Port-au-Prince and in the south of Haiti, where women are at serious
risk of sexual attacks. Those responsible are predominately armed men who roam
the camps after dark.
More than 250 cases of rape in several camps were reported in the first 150
days after January’s earthquake, according to data cited in the Amnesty
International report, Aftershocks: Women speak out against sexual
violence in Haiti’s camps.
One year on, rape survivors continue to arrive at the office of a local women’s
support group almost every other day.
“Women, already struggling to come to terms with losing their loved ones, homes
and livelihoods in the earthquake, now face the additional trauma of living
under the constant threat of sexual attack,” said Gerardo Ducos, Amnesty
International’s Haiti researcher.
“For the prevalence of sexual violence to end, the incoming government must
ensure that the protection of women and girls in the camps is a priority. This
has so far been largely ignored in the response to the wider humanitarian
crisis.”
Sexual violence was widespread in Haiti before January 2010 but this has been
exacerbated by the conditions since the earthquake. The limited assistance the
authorities previously provided has been undermined by the destruction of
police stations and court houses. This has made it more difficult to report
sexual violence.
Over 50 survivors of sexual violence shared their experiences with Amnesty
International for the study.
One 14 year old girl, Machou, lives in a makeshift camp for displaced people in
Carrefour Feuilles, south-west Port-au-Prince. She was raped in March when she
went to the toilet.
“A boy came in after me and opened the door. He gagged me with his hand and did
what he wanted to do…He hit me. He punched me. I didn’t go to the police
because I don’t know the boy, it wouldn’t help. I feel really sad all the
time…I’m afraid it will happen again,” Machou told Amnesty International.
One woman, Suzie, recounted how she was living in a makeshift shelter with her
two sons and a friend when they were attacked around 1am on 8 May. Suzie
and her friend were both blindfolded and raped in front of their children by a
gang of men who forced their way into their shelter.
“After they left I didn’t do anything. I didn’t have any reaction…Women victims
of rape should go to hospital but I didn’t because I didn’t have any money… I
don’t know where there is a clinic offering treatment for victims of violence,”
Suzie said.
Suzie lost her parents, brothers and husband in the January earthquake. Her
home was also destroyed.
Amnesty International’s report highlights how the lack of security and policing
in and around the camps is a major factor for the increase in attacks over the
past year.
The response by police officers to survivors of rape is described as
inadequate. Many survivors of rape recollected how when they sought police help
they were told officers could do nothing.
“There has been a complete breakdown in Haiti’s already fragile law and order
system since the earthquake with women living in insecure overcrowded camps,”
said Gerardo Ducos.
“There is no security for the women and girls in the camps. They feel abandoned
and vulnerable to being attacked. Armed gangs attack at will; safe in the
knowledge that there is still little prospect that they will be brought to
justice.”
Amnesty International is calling for the new government to urgently take steps
to end violence against women as part of a wider plan to address the
humanitarian effort. The report states that women in the camps must be fully
involved in developing any such plan.
Immediate steps include improving security in the camps and to ensure police
are able to respond effectively and that those responsible are prosecuted.