Instability in Haiti is fuelling a surge in sexual violence against women and girls as armed gangs continue their assault on the population, a government official said on Wednesday. UN Women.
A new report from the agency reveals the dire living conditions and lack of security faced by some 300,000 displaced women and girls amid ongoing political instability, escalating gang violence and the threat of the current hurricane season. They account for more than half of the total displaced, some 580,000.
The Rapid Gender Assessment UN Women highlights how makeshift camps, lacking basic necessities, expose them to a particular risk of sexual and gender-based violence.
The study was conducted in April in the six most populated and diverse displacement sites in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
He discovered that Most camps lack lighting or locks in key areas such as bedrooms and bathrooms, while 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.
Aggressions against women and girls, specifically rape, are also used in most fields such as tactic to control their access to humanitarian aidthe agency said.
Call to the new government
“Our report tells us that the level of insecurity and brutality, including sexual violence, faced by women at the hands of gangs in Haiti is unprecedented. It must stop now,” said the UN Women Executive Director.
“We urge the newly appointed Government to take measures to prevent and respond to the violence to which women and girls are subjected, to increase women’s participation in camp management “so that their security concerns are heard and acted upon,” said Sima Bahous.
She added that “humanitarian aid must be distributed safely based on the differentiated needs of women and girls.”
Resorting to prostitution
The report also revealed that almost 90% of the women interviewed have no source of income in the camps.
More than 10% said they had resorted to or considered the possibility of sex work or prostitution at least once to cover their needs, and 20% knew at least one person who had done so.
Other findings include that around 16% of respondents felt intimidated, harassed or traumatised by armed gangs, and almost 70% said they were mentally affected by the upsurge in violence. Only 10% said they had access to sanitation in the camps.
Support for women’s organizations and entrepreneurship
In response to the crisis in Haiti, UN Women is helping women’s organizations reach displaced people within host communities and camps, including through projects supported by the agency’s Humanitarian and Peace Fund, the UN Peacebuilding Fund and the German Government.
The entity also has trained police officers to improve the prevention of sexual violence and gender issues and provide services to survivors. It also continues to support women entrepreneurs, affected by roadblocks and ongoing violence, through a project funded by Norway.
International security mission
Last October, the Security Council The UN has authorized the deployment of a multinational security support mission to help the Haitian National Police combat gangs.
UN Women urged all parties involved in this non-UN mission to ensure the immediate protection of women and girls, to give Haitian women’s organizations a leading role in management from the displaced persons camps.
Only 2% of women surveyed said they had a leadership role in camp management, the agency reported, underlining the urgency of both ensuring their participation in decision-making and implementing immediate protection measures.
Add Comment