(2011-01) Our Bodies Are Still Trembling: Haitian Women Continue to Fight Against Rape (One Year Update)

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) • 2011 • 31 pages

Summary — A one-year update by MADRE, the CUNY IWHR Clinic, IJDH, and BAI documents the continuing epidemic of rape against women and girls in Haiti's displacement camps and the inadequate government and international response.

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Key Findings

One year after the earthquake, rape and sexual violence against women and girls in the IDP camps continued unabated, with most reported rapes committed at night by armed strangers and gang rape not uncommon. KOFAVIV documented over 640 rape cases since the earthquake and SOFA recorded 718 gender-based violence cases from January to June 2010. Camp conditions exacerbated vulnerability: 30 percent of camps had no toilets, an average of 273 people shared a toilet in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, and 40.5 percent of surveyed camps lacked a water supply. Women in the camps organized their own security patrols, psychosocial support, legal advocacy, and medical care, but their capacity was limited and impunity persisted.

Full Description

One year after the January 12, 2010 earthquake, this update to the July 2010 report Our Bodies Are Still Trembling assesses gender-based violence against women and girls in Haiti's internally displaced persons camps. Delegations of lawyers, community researchers, and a women's health specialist investigated rape prevalence and responses in May, June, July, and October 2010, interviewing over 50 rape survivors referred by the grassroots organizations KOFAVIV and FAVILEK. Reported rapes were mostly committed at night by armed strangers, gang rape was not uncommon, and survivors who reported to authorities were typically met with indifference. KOFAVIV documented over 640 rape cases since the earthquake, and SOFA recorded 718 cases of gender-based violence in its clinics from January to June 2010. The report links vulnerability to abysmal camp conditions, lack of lighting, sanitation, and security, cholera, and political instability, and reviews the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights precautionary measures granted in response to a petition. It calls for medical and psychological care, effective security, functioning complaint mechanisms, and full participation of grassroots women's groups.

Topics

Geography

Time Coverage

2010 — 2011

Keywords

sexual violence, rape, gender-based violence, IDP camps, women and girls, KOFAVIV, precautionary measures, IACHR, earthquake, security, cholera, human rights

Entities

MADRE, International Women's Human Rights Clinic at CUNY School of Law, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, KOFAVIV, FAVILEK, SOFA, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Rashida Manjoo, Walter Kalin, MINUSTAH, Haitian National Police

Notes

IJDH/MADRE/CUNY/BAI thematic report, one-year update to July 2010 report; ayitistats wave B