"I Am Just a Child, Why Did This Happen to Me?" Haiti: The Gangs' Assault on Childhood
- Amnesty documented 14 children (11 boys, 3 girls) recruited and used by gangs for spying, deliveries and chores, with hunger and fear cited as the main drivers.
- 18 girls were documented as victims of rape or other sexual violence by gang members, including 10 gang rapes and 9 abductions; several became pregnant and, with abortion illegal, some resorted to unsafe methods.
- 10 children were injured and 2 killed in documented cases of indiscriminate and deliberate gunfire, involving gangs including Brooklyn, Simon Pelé, Belekou, Boston and Grand Ravine.
- The CERMICOL juvenile detention center holds four times its capacity, mixing nearly 300 adults with about 100 boys, none of the 93 detained boys had been convicted, and the Port-au-Prince children's court has not functioned since 2019.
- Children with disabilities face heightened risks: of six who needed assistive devices only two had them, and displacement sites lack accessible sanitation.
Based on research conducted between May and October 2024, including field work in Port-au-Prince from 16 to 27 September 2024, this Amnesty International report documents human rights abuses against children in eight communes of the Ouest department (Port-au-Prince, Cité Soleil, Tabarre, Croix-des-Bouquets, Delmas, Carrefour, Kenscoff and Gressier). Researchers interviewed 112 people, including 51 children (31 girls and 20 boys) aged 10 to 17, parents, government officials, humanitarian workers and UN staff, and verified dozens of videos, photographs and satellite imagery.
The report covers three of the grave violations tracked by the UN on children and armed conflict: recruitment and use of children (14 documented cases, driven mainly by hunger and fear, involving gangs such as Grand Ravine, Ti Bwa, 5 Segon and Kraze Baryè), rape and other sexual violence (18 girls documented, of whom 10 were gang-raped and 9 abducted, with additional risks in displacement sites), and killings and injuries (10 children injured and 2 killed in documented cases). It also examines the disproportionate impact on children with disabilities (11 cases), many of whom lost assistive devices while fleeing attacks.
How to cite
Amnesty International, 2025, "I Am Just a Child, Why Did This Happen to Me?" Haiti: The Gangs' Assault on Childhood, https://www.amnesty.org/fr/latest/news/2025/02/haiti-children-suffering-gang-recruitment-attacks-and-sexual-violence-amid-escalating-crisis-new-report/