Healing wounds in Haiti amid sexual violence

Claudine* looks out over a wide valley high above the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince: lush tropical vegetation, fresh air and low clouds contrast with backlit dust and hot, sweltering alleys from Petionville, further down the valley, where four years ago she was the victim of a life-changing sexual assault.

“At that time, I was 16 years old and I lived with my cousin and her husband,” she said. “I took care of her children, as if they were my own.” Claudine herself should have been in school, but after the death of her mother and her grandmother, she had no choice but to become a maid at her cousin’s house. It was there that she was sexually assaulted by her cousin’s husband.

“I didn’t know what to do, but a friend reported the incident to the police. Nothing was done to find the man,” he recalls.

A year after the birth of her daughter, Claudine was taken to a shelter for abused children, many of whom, like her, cared for newborns. The shelter, where she has lived for three years, is run by Rapha House, an international organization committed to ending child trafficking and sexual exploitation.

“Many of the young women here are victims of extreme poverty and insecurityto the degree that the lack of basic services and opportunities to which they have access makes them vulnerable to abuse,” said Nahomy Augustin, project coordinator for the NGO in Haiti.

The shelter, which is housed in an intentionally low-key building in a quiet neighborhood above Port-au-Prince, supports young women in recovering from traumatic experiences.

“We take a holistic approach and provide a variety of services, including medical and psychological care, accommodation and legal advice, as well as family mediation,” he explains.

return to family

The goal is to help each young woman return to her family within a year, as long as it is safe, but many, like Claudine, stay longer. The shelter can currently house 24 young women and their babies, but a new center is being built that can care for up to 80 people.

The Spotlight Initiative, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is supporting this and other women’s shelters in Haiti.

Geraldine Alferis is an expert on gender violence at UNICEF and notes that “Haiti, and especially the capital Port-au-Prince, is experiencing an increase in gang violence. Thousands of girls and women are being displaced, making them highly vulnerable to abuse”.

In July, the United Nations said that rival gangs in the Cite Soleil neighborhood of Port-au-Prince were embracing the “systematic use of rape against women and girls as a weapon of war.”

“Gang rape is an especially tragic eventso we work to make sure survivors get the help they need,” Alferis said.

The Spotlight Initiative in Haiti focuses on ending domestic violence, rape, incest, sexual harassment, physical and psychological violence, and other restrictions on the freedoms and rights of women and girls. It also aims to provide holistic care to women and girls who are survivors of violence.

On a visit to the shelter, the UN’s highest representative in Haiti, Ulrika Richardson, said that “it was chilling to hear the stories of these young women and girls,” adding that there is nonetheless hope, thanks to the services to which they have access.

“I am proud of the Spotlight Initiative and the much-needed assistance it provides alongside our current partners, but what I heard on this visit is a stark reminder of the urgency of addressing the root causes of sexual violence,” she added.

At the shelter above Port-au-Prince, survivors like Claudine are able to study, taking the classes many were unable to attend when they were younger. They can also attend practical classes to learn skills like sewing or soap making, which earns them a small amount of money, an important first step toward building their independence.

“Going to school is very important,” Claudine said. “If you’re working for a family like I did, it’s not enough to just get food and have a bed. You must have the opportunity to study and make a life for yourself”.

Claudine was sexually assaulted when she was 16 years old.

16 days of activism

An annual international campaign calling for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls is launched on November 25. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence begin on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and extend until December 10, Human Rights Day.

*Fictitious name to preserve your privacy and security