(2024-11) Haiti: Limited Protection in the Face of Escalating Sexual Violence
Summary — This Human Rights Watch news release documents the escalation of sexual violence by criminal groups against girls and women in Haiti and survivors' extremely limited access to protection, health care and justice. Based on interviews with 58 people in Port-au-Prince in July 2024 and 36 remote interviews, it reports nearly 4,000 girls and women reporting sexual violence between January and October 2024 and a 1,000 percent rise in cases involving children, and calls for urgent international funding for survivor services, the police and the Multinational Security Support mission.
Key Findings
- Nearly 4,000 girls and women reported sexual violence, including gang rapes, between January and October 2024, mostly by criminal group members, and the UN recorded a 1,000 percent increase in cases involving children compared with the same period in 2023.
- After the Viv Ansanm alliance formed in late February 2024 and inter-gang fighting declined, criminal groups generalised sexual violence across the territories they control, including against displaced girls and women in informal sites.
- Survivor services have collapsed: fewer than 30 percent of health facilities in the capital are operational, only two of five public hospitals function, more than 40,000 health workers have fled, and only a quarter of reported rape victims access care within the critical 72-hour window.
- Médecins Sans Frontières suspended its Port-au-Prince activities on 20 November 2024 after attacks by self-defence groups and threats from police officers, cutting off more than 1,100 patients a week including over 80 survivors of gender-based violence.
- Justice is largely out of reach: main first-instance courts in Port-au-Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets are non-operational, abortion remains fully criminalised, and by September the UN had received only 17 percent of the 16 million dollars needed to expand essential services for girls and women.
Full Description
Published on 25 November 2024, this detailed Human Rights Watch news release documents how criminal groups controlling more than 80 percent of Port-au-Prince and its surroundings have expanded and generalised the use of sexual violence against girls and women, including gang rapes, abductions from homes and attacks in public spaces and displacement sites. It draws on interviews with 58 people in Port-au-Prince in July 2024, including survivors, transitional government officials, diplomats, humanitarian workers and UN agencies, plus 36 remote interviews. According to the gender-based violence sub-cluster, nearly 4,000 girls and women reported sexual violence between January and October 2024, mostly by criminal group members, with a 1,000 percent increase in cases involving children compared with 2023; most cases go unreported. The release links the shift to the formation of the Viv Ansanm alliance in late February 2024: as inter-gang fighting declined, groups extended sexual violence across territories they control. Survivors face collapsed services: fewer than 30 percent of health facilities in the capital are operational, only two of five public hospitals function, more than 40,000 health workers have fled, only a quarter of reported rape victims access care within the critical 72-hour window, and Médecins Sans Frontières suspended activities on 20 November 2024 after attacks and threats, affecting more than 1,100 patients a week. Abortion remains fully criminalised, courts in Port-au-Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets are non-operational and impunity is the norm. Human Rights Watch calls on donors to fund the police and the Multinational Security Support mission, close the gap in the 16 million dollar appeal for services for women and girls (only 17 percent funded by September), and urges the transitional government to rebuild health care, decriminalise abortion and formally establish specialised judicial units.
Notes
web article printed to PDF