Haiti: Limited Protection in the Face of Escalating Sexual Violence

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 criminalized, 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 specialized judicial units.