Haiti conflict displaces 300,000 women, girls
Women carry water in buckets and containers following months of escalating gang violence in Port-au-Prince on March 12, 2024.
What you need to know:
- The latest survey shows how makeshift camps lack basic human necessities and put women and girls particularly at risk of sexual and gender-based violence.
- Over 88 per cent of women interviewed have no source of income in the camps.
The latest UN Women Rapid Gender Assessment shows the sorry living conditions and lack of security faced by 300,000 displaced women and girls in Haiti.
This has been exacerbated by ongoing political instability, escalating gang violence, and hurricane season that threaten the Caribbean Island.
With women and girls accounting for 54 per cent of the 580,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), the latest survey shows how makeshift camps lack basic human necessities and put women and girls particularly at risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
The survey shows most camps have no lighting or locks in essential areas like bedrooms and toilets, while those living in the camps are exposed to daily threats from armed gangs. It was conducted in the six most-populated and diverse IDP camps in Port-au-Prince.
The constant danger of stray bullets and other security risks underscore the urgent need for improved protection in the camps. Aggression against women and girls like rape is also being used in most camps as a deliberate tactic to control women’s access to the scarce humanitarian assistance.
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said the report reveals the level of insecurity and brutality, including sexual violence, that the women and girls face at the hands of gangs is unprecedented.
“It must stop now. We urge the newly appointed government to take measures to prevent and respond to the violence women and girls are subjected to, and to increase women’s participation in the camps’ management so that their security concerns are listened to and acted upon. Humanitarian aid must be safely distributed in line with the differentiated needs of women and girls,” Ms Bahous said.
The survey also found that over 88 per cent of women interviewed have no source of income in the camps. As a result, over 10 per cent said they had resorted to or considered sex work/prostitution to meet their needs at least once, and a further 20 per cent knew at least one person who had done so.
Some 16 per cent of women respondents said they felt intimidated, harassed, or traumatised by violent armed gangs, and almost 70 per cent said they were mentally affected by the upsurge in violence.
Only 10 per cent of women surveyed reported having access to health services in the displacement camps.
With only 2.0 per cent of the women respondents reporting having a leadership role in the IDP camp management, it is urgent to guarantee the active participation of women and girls in decision-making within camps and to put in place immediate protection measures for those at daily risk.
UN Women is supporting women’s organisations to reach displaced persons within host communities and displacement camps, including through projects supported by the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, the UN Peacebuilding Fund, and Germany.
The UN agency has also trained police officers to improve prevention of SGBV and provide services to women survivors and continues to support female entrepreneurs who are adversely affected by road blockages and ongoing violence, through the women economic empowerment project funded by Norway, as they seek to protect their economic activities and their safety.
The Kenyan government in June announced the deployment of about 400 police officers, marking the beginning of a United Nations-backed mission to combat powerful armed gangs that have wreaked turmoil in the country.
The Kenyan police are the first contingent of an international force in Haiti that is anticipated to reach about 2,500 police from 15 other countries.
Gang violence on average killed or injured more than one person per hour in the first three months of this year, according to UN data.
Close to 600,000 Haitians have been forced out of their homes, according to the UN migration agency.
Schools and police stations have in some places been turned into shelters by families fleeing the violence.
Haiti's police force has just 9,000 officers. By contrast, it is estimated that as many as 8,000 Haitians belong to 200 or so armed gangs, with roles ranging from commanders to informants. Recruitment has increased in recent years.
