(2003-12) Haitian Women's Fight for Gender Justice

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) • 2003 • 40 pages

Summary — An unpublished 2003 book chapter by Brian Concannon Jr. analyzing Haitian women's pursuit of justice for the systematic political rapes committed under the 1991-1994 military dictatorship.

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Key Findings

During the 1991-1994 dictatorship, between 4,000 and 7,000 people were killed and soldiers and paramilitaries raped hundreds, possibly thousands, of women in systematic attacks designed to terrorize the pro-democracy movement; no political rapes were punished during the dictatorship. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights became the first international human rights body to officially recognize rape outside detention as torture in its 1995 report on rape in Haiti, and a Haitian rape victim won the first US ruling recognizing rape as persecution on the basis of political opinion. By 2003 no major rape trials had been held, but public acknowledgement was significant and a promising case was in the pipeline. Poverty, patriarchy, a corrupt French-language justice system, and social division remained interlocking obstacles to justice for poor women.

Full Description

This draft book chapter, written in 2003 by Brian Concannon Jr. for a cancelled series on women's human rights, examines the struggle of victims of political rape during Haiti's 1991-1994 military dictatorship to prosecute those responsible, including the top military leadership. Soldiers and paramilitaries raped hundreds, possibly thousands, of women in attacks that were massive, systematic, and designed to terrorize the pro-democracy movement, with women targeted as the poto mitan, or centerpost, of Haitian society. The chapter situates the fight for justice within two transitions: the international movement toward accountability for political rape, in which Haitian cases contributed early precedents such as the Inter-American Commission's 1995 recognition of rape as torture, and Haiti's national transition from dictatorship, constrained by extreme poverty, social division, a corrupt and elitist justice system, and a development assistance embargo. It reviews women's organizing, notes partial successes including public acknowledgement and a promising case in the pipeline, and recommends ways the international community can support Haitian women's pursuit of justice and comprehensive change.

Topics

Geography

Time Coverage

1991 — 2003

Keywords

political rape, gender justice, 1991-1994 dictatorship, coup d'etat, accountability, women's organizations, human rights, transitional justice, IACHR, impunity, Brian Concannon

Entities

Brian Concannon Jr., Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Commission Nationale de Verite et de Justice, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Francois Duvalier, Jean-Claude Duvalier, MICIVIH, Human Rights Watch, Radhika Coomaraswamy, United Nations

Notes

Unpublished 2003 book-chapter draft by Brian Concannon Jr. (IJDH); ayitistats wave B