(2023-05) Gang Control and Security Vacuums: Assessing Gender-Based Violence in Cité Soleil, Haiti
Summary — GI-TOC research brief presenting survey evidence on gender-based violence (GBV) in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, based on a December 2022 questionnaire and focus groups with 591 women and girls conducted by an anonymous caregiver organization with UN Women and UN Peacebuilding Fund support. Eighty percent of participants had experienced one or more forms of GBV and 43 percent of victims reported sexual violence, with cases concentrated in the Brooklyn area, the epicentre of fighting between the G9 and G-Pep gang coalitions.
Key Findings
- 80 percent of the 591 women and girls surveyed in Cité Soleil had experienced one or more forms of gender-based violence, far above the global average of roughly one-third estimated by UN Women.
- 43 percent of GBV victims reported one or more forms of sexual violence, including 89 reported rapes.
- Current or former partners were the most cited perpetrators (44 percent), followed by strangers including gang members, bandits and kidnappers (33 percent).
- GBV was concentrated in areas of intense gang conflict: Brooklyn accounted for 54 percent of sexual violence instances and 69 of the 89 reported rapes, and 48 percent of reported GBV occurred in 2022.
- Judicial, health and psycho-social services for survivors are severely inadequate, and community leaders recommend building trusted institutions, supporting women's local organizing and cross-sector cooperation.
Full Description
This brief reports research conducted in December 2022 on gender-based violence in Cité Soleil, an impoverished commune of nearly 300 000 people that is a frequent battleground between the G9 and G-Pep gang coalitions. Data were collected through a questionnaire and a focus group with 591 women and girls from Brooklyn, Sarthe and Village des Rapatriés, administered in Creole by a caregiver organization that remains anonymous for security reasons; analysis was performed by the GI-TOC with support from UN Women and the UN Peacebuilding Fund. The study assesses five aspects of vulnerability: safety, legal protection, mental well-being, economic empowerment and education. Findings show 80 percent of participants had experienced one or more forms of GBV, far above the roughly one-third global average estimated by UN Women, and 43 percent of GBV victims reported sexual violence, including 89 reported rapes. Current or former partners were the most cited perpetrators (44 percent), followed by strangers including gang members, bandits and kidnappers (33 percent). Violence was concentrated where gang conflict was most intense: Brooklyn accounted for 54 percent of sexual violence instances and 69 of 89 reported rapes, and 48 percent of GBV occurred in 2022, the year of heavy G9 versus G-Pep fighting. The brief also documents severely inadequate judicial, health and psycho-social services for survivors, and relays community leader recommendations centred on building the capacity of institutions women trust, supporting local women's organizing, and developing cross-sector cooperation.