Konba fanm ayisyen kont vyòl, jiyè 2010

[page 1] = OUR BODIES ARE STILL TREMBLING: us } > " z . = Le hs TA se N À HAITIAN WOMEN'S FIGHT AGAINST RAPE July 2010 Ps Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haïti UNIVERSITY of Les Bureau des Avocats Internationaux VIRGI N 1 A A Unversrry or MINNESOTA | sa [page 2] Our Bodies Are Still Trembling: Haitian Women's Fight Against Rape Copyright © 2010* All rights reserved. *The title for this Report was inspired by an article written by long-time Haïti activist and author, Beverly Bell “Our Bodies are Shaking Now” — Rape Follows Earthquake in Haïti, HUFFINGTON POST, Mar. 24, 2010, quoting a woman with the grassroots women'’s organization KOFAVIV (Commission of Women Victims for Victims). We dedicate this Report to that woman and others like her who continue to fight for justice against all odds. Photographs: Frantz Etienne (BAI), Jayne Fleming (Reed Smith LLP), Philip Goldsmith (DH), Josue Rojas (Multimedia Reporter, Artist), David Schmidt (IJDH) and Blaine Bookey (IJDH/BAI). The photographs contained in this Report do not depict the victims interviewed in conjunction with this Report. Cover Design: Alexa Lehman (IJDH) Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haïti (DH) MADRE Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) 121 West 27th Street, Suite 300 Lawyers’ Earthquake Response Network (LERN) New York, NY 10001 PO Box 52115 (212) 627-0444 Boston, MA 02205 madre@madre.org (617) 652-0876 www.madre.org info@ijdh.org www.ijdh.org University of Minnesota Law School (UMN) Human Rights Litigation and Advocacy Clinic TransAfrica Forum (TAF) 95J Mondale Hall, 229-19th Avenue South 1629 K Street, NW, Suite 1100 Minneapolis, MN 55455 Washington, DC 20006 (612) 625-7247 (202) 223-1960 www.law.umn.edu/ info@transafricaforum.org www.transafricaforum.org University of Virginia School of Law (UVA) International Human Rights Law Clinic and Human Rights Program 580 Massie Road Charlottesville, VA 22903 (434) 924-4776 www.law.virginia.edu/humanrights/ 2 [page 3] Table of Contents Executive SUMMAFY ii iiiierreeenneeneennennseneneneseeenesneneseenereenernenesneneneeenseenseeneee À Introduction sensor Ô Methodology... iierrrerrenereereereereesrenrnesensnesreesnensnesesseesneeseeseeesnennesee LÜÙ Findings: Rape in the Displacement Camps ire LI Responses to Rape Post-Earthquake................ sise LD Government of Haïti... seems LD United Nations si isssnsnnenneennnneennnennernernernenneneneeeeeennenneneenee LA Legal Framework... isiiiiiseenennrnneneeneeeeneeerereeenieeeneseenereeneereensneeeeneneesee 2 Prosecuting Rape Under Domestic Law ire 23 Obligations of Haïitian and Donor States Under International Law... 24 Conclusions and Recommendations serres 28 Acknowledgments sise DL APPENICES nn rrrrrrrerrrrrennrerresreseenreeneesnennesnensnensnennnesneesnennesnensnesnensneesneesneseeesneseennenee DA 3 [page 4] Executive Summary in the month of April at one of their clinics in Port-au- Prince. The vast majority of the women living in camps who were interviewed reported being raped by two or more ge er DEEE. individuals, almost always armed and at night. eg There is a demonstrated lack of governmental response to = s me AE sexual violence occurring in the camps. This failure to act r— SE A n ré appears to have two prongs—the Haitian Government lacks both the political will and the capacity to respond. | Rape survivors living in the camps told interviewers that Ü e* reporting rape to the police is an exercise in futility, since k | > o they could not identify their assailant or assailants. Many —— 4 FES a women stated that when they approached the police for FR “] DA à S help, the police said that there was nothing they could do : FPT SE) 14 and the survivor should return when she had identified ES EPEEE : ne and/or captured their attacker. One survivor reported that The January 2010 earthquake not only devastated Haïtis the officer she spoke with disclaimed responsibility for Le : : trying to apprehend her rapist, telling her that it was the frail infrastructure, it worsened already inadequate and bl f Haiti ident, René Préval inequitable access to basic social services throughout Haïti. prop'em of Rallls president, RENE FTEVA.. It also created a severe crisis of safety and security— . | . . Le . Conditions in the camps are bleak. Overcrowding, lack of especially for those living in the Internally Displaced . kened famil d ity struct Persons (IDP) camps—exacerbating the already grave Privacy, WEa ene amry ana commun vs ruc ures, roblem of sexual violence. Women, especially poor among other things, render women and girls particularly p | ESP . d p vulnerable to sexual violence. Women and girls live in women, have been excluded from full participation and inad te shelt ft I . d thi leadership in the relief effort. Having no other options, Inagequale Sheter, o en S'eeping under no mme more ue , : than a tarp or blanket, with no means of protection and no Haitian grassroots women'’s groups have resorted to taking . . nn charge of their own security friends close by, and bathe in public, in view of men and ° boys. In May and June 2010, two delegations of U.S. lawyers, . Lo. . community researchers and a women’s health specialist Preventative measures within the camps are critically investigated the prevalence and patterns of rape and other lacking. In particular, the survivors We spoke with noted . . . : the following issues, a number of which were confirmed by gender-based violence (GBV) against IDPs in Port-au-Prince . . . in the aftermath of the earthquake and the governmental our own visits to the camps: lack of lighting; lack of private inter-governmental, non-governmental and grassroots ? bathing facilities; lack of tents; and even for those with responses tothe clercs Eor firsthand knowledge of the tents, utter lack of security (at least one survivor stated rapes in the camps members of the delegation that her attacker had used a blade to cut the side of her : p : ps, : 8 tent to gain access); lack of a police presence (many interviewed over 50 survivors of rape or attempted rape : . . since the earthquake. These women and girls were survivors stated that police only patrolled the perimeter of referred to the delegations by KOFAVIV and FAVILEK, ie camps ane be unwilling to enter the interior, grassroots women’s organizations working in displacement particularly at night). camps and poor neighborhoods within Port-au-Prince. : . . When States fail to bring perpetrators to justice, they Although this Report makes no attempt to quantify the implicitly condone such violence, giving rise to impunity rapes that have occurred in the camps to date, one thing is that facilitates further abuses and normalizes GBV. Thus, clear —rapes in the camps are dramaticaly Underreported the lack of accountability leads to further endangerment In the first two months after the earthquake, KOFAVIV for women. Furthermore, women lose faith in the justice tracked 230 incidents of rape in just 15 camps in Port-au- system as prevailing gender inequalities are reinforced. The . 1 :s State must act with due diligence in preventing violence Prince. Médecins Sans Frontières reported 68 cases of rape . ui against women and providing justice for women who have 4 [page 5] already suffered violence, by implementing effective measures to ensure thorough and timely investigation, prosecution and punishment, as well as by providing access to redress for victims. We applaud the actions of the Government of Haïti (GOH), the UN, and donor States, to assist the people of Haïti in this time of crisis, and hope the findings of this Report help guide governments, international organizations, and other stakeholders in providing for even more effective protection and promotion of women’s human rights in Haiti. The rebuilding process in Haïti, as in other disaster areas, presents serious challenges. However, with persistence, these challenges are not insurmountable. With improved coordination of UN agencies and aid relief coupled with the insight and expertise of the full spectrum of Haitian women leaders and NGO groups, the UN Cluster System’s efforts would likely prove to be very effective and result in durable protection of women and girls’ human rights. 5 [page 6] Introduction planning.À Preventative measures—such as providing : lighting, privacy, secure housing, and active police presence bé 4 \ or other effective security (particularly at night) within the Ca camps—are critically lacking, despite UN guidelines that ST - d | highlight the prevalence of rape and other GBV in the * ag * aftermath of disaster, and provide blueprints for à - 4 addressing them.“ Having no other options, Haitian | 4 - N + grassroots women’s groups have resorted to taking charge h Pr of their own security, including escorting women to the | \ bathrooms and organizing groups of men to take shifts » à patrolling their areas. à NS = $ \ N | É Humanitarian Aid Has Exacerbated Structural Inequalities - Lu) ” The problem of GBV in post-earthquake Haïti must be : : ie understood within the broader context of the Since the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, women and . Tu . TE : : humanitarian response. Despite billions of dollars being girls living in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps _ k . 5. face alarming rates of rape and other gender-based pledged by the international community for recovery,” aid : 1 Lo : mn efforts have struggled to meet the basic needs of people violence (GBV). The vast majority of rapes in Haïti have TT 6 k . k gone unpunished and the Haitian government and living in IDP camps.” The main causes cited for rape in the international community have not effectively deployed IDP camps are the lack of security in the camps, the lack of their resources to provide adequate protection. The lighting at night, the lack of adequate health facilities, and Lu : tents that require women to live with strangers or the lack Haitian government has only begun to prosecute a fraction 7 . k . of these cases. Many of the victims? are Haitian girls under of shelters altogether.’ These conditions have given rise to the age of 18: and medical services are overwhelmed and an environment that reinforces the insecurity of displaced unable to meot healthcare needs stemming from the women and children, as they struggle to rebuild their lives : : and livelihoods. assaults. As a result, survivors suffer from depression and are at risk for suicide. . . . . More broadly, as one coalition of Haïtian civil society Women, especially poor women, have been excluded from groups noted, “The extent of the disaster is certainly linked , ; nou Lo : : to the character of the colonial and neo-colonial State our full participation and leadership in the relief effort, despite : | . n . the international law mandate of UN Security Council country has inherited, and the imposition of neo-liberal Resolution 1325, the recommendations of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and other internationally recognized standards, that require a gender * For example, UN Sec. Council Res. 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, (2000) perspective be integrated into ongoing discussions and UN Doc. S/RES/1325 [hereinafter SC Res. 1325]; UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, available at http://www.idpguidingprinciples.org/ [hereinafter Guiding Principles]. ‘ Inter-Agency Standing Committee, Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings: Focusing on Prevention of and Response A to Sexual Violence in Emergencies (2005); UNHCR, Sexual and Gender-Based ? Gender-based violence “includes violence that is directed against a woman Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons. Guidelines because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately. It includes for Prevention and Response (SGVB Guidelines) (2003), available at acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, http://www.unhcr.org/3f696bcc4.html; World Health Organisation, Violence and coercion and other deprivations of liberty.” Committee on the Elimination of Disasters (2005), available at http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/ Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Gen. Rec. No. 19, Violence Against publications/violence/violence_disasters.pdf. Women (11th Session, 1992) 4 9, U.N. Doc. A/47/38, available at $ Neil MacFarquhar, Skepticism on Pledges for Haïti, N.Y. TIMES, Mar. 31, 2010, http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/recommendations/recomm.html available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/world/americas/O1haiti.html. [hereinafter Gen. Rec. No. 19]. $ National Network of Human Rights Defense (RNDDH), The general situation of ? Although the term “survivor” is often preferred to “victim” in the U.S., women the country four months after the earthquake of January 12, 2010 (May 12, 2010). in Haiti often choose to call themselves “victims.” The terms are used ?The Report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haïti, interchangeably throughout the Report, and it should be noted that use of the Michel Forst 4 27 (May 3, 2010) UN Doc. A/HRC/14/44, (Rapport de l’expert term “victim” by Haitian women or in this Report does not imply lack of agency. indépendant sur la situation des droits de l’homme en Haïti), available at The word “victim” is also used here as a legal term for one who experiences a http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/14session/A.HRC.14.44_f crime. r.pdf (last visited July 12, 2010) [hereinafter Forst]. 6 [page 7] policies over the last three decades.”* This pattern has consequences on the . k Le " Le Following the earthquake, continued post-earthquake through the humanitarian ability of communities to . k ‘ É . 13 which destroyed her home, response, and has shaped the way aid has been delivered cope with the disaster. A.C, a mother of four, was to and received by Haïitians, with residents of the camps living in an IDP camp close to being the most vulnerable to the consequences. It is not Shelter remains a major Fontamara. On January 14, A.C. only the scale of the disaster that has prevented survivors concern in and outside saw a group of men raping a from receiving timely and necessary relief support, but also of the IDP camps, girl and she tried to intervene. the strategies through which this support has been particularly during the They turned their attentions to provided, that have continued to contribute to the hurricane season. The her, raping and beating her and emergency.° Center for Economic and aenna ner wie eonte In : order to keep other people in Policy Research (CEPR) P PeOP' | . | the camp at bay, the rapists The failure to design and execute a response with the reports that well over . . 7 “ _ mn repeatedly fired shots into the participation of Haitians living in the camps has meant that one million people have air. Even after the rape was relief efforts have not only been inadequate, but have no source of shelter at all over, no one came to help her exacerbated structural inequalities that pre-date the except for the tarps and because they were afraid of earthquake. As a result, the most vulnerable members of tents that were being killed. After the rape, Haïtian society —women, children, and the poor —have distributed within the A.C. became very depressed. become even more vulnerable following the earthquake. first three months after She tried to commit suicide by Months afterward, survivors continue to report a lack of the earthquake. droengteecn Fe caen access to food, shelter, water, sanitation, and medical care. Unfortunately, according de gras ofw ete ” Le s : : : : : ey no longer visit her. As the Despite the implementation of high-profile/high-cost to a recent UN Shelter . y ; 9 s fort h as the Post-Disaster Need Cluster d th interview concluded, we wished recovery efforts such as the Pos 1 isaster ee s us er ocumen t ese her a good evening. She Assessment (PDNA) -sponsored “food surge,” emergency supplies are “more likely responded that nothing good humanitarian responses to issues such as food security and to have reached the end happens in the camps after it medical needs have been poorly planned and fail to reach oftheir life span and gets dark. the most vulnerable populations for which they were might need to be intended. replaced.” Shelter conditions, coupled with a severe lack of lighting and adequate hygiene and sanitation facilities, Perhaps most traumatizing of all, many individuals living in have produced an environment in which GBV is escalating the camps have lost parents, spouses, and others who and safety has become a primary concern for women living : : : : 17 provided support, resources, and protection. !? This in camps. breakdown in social safety nets has had catastrophic Lack of Security Increases Vulnerability to Rape ; Though official statistics are lacking, there is overwhelming Statement by the Coordinating Committee of Progressive Organizations, Port- . re au-Prince, Haiti: After the Catastrophe, What Are the Perspectives? (Jan. 27, evidence that the problem of GBV specifically, the rape 2010). of women and girls—has dramatically escalated in Haïti ° According to research conducted in IDP camps jointly by the Lamp for Haïti Foundation (LAMP) and the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BA): “Time and again participants noted how aid could be distributed better despite the many obstacles imposed by the earthquake. Yet, because people in the camps have not ——————————————— been consulted, their suggestions have not been integrated into the aid response. The LAMP for Haïti Foundation, et. al., supra note 9 at 30. Instead, aid is delivered according to plans drawn up outside the camps, with no # Manuel Roig-Franzia, Haiti’s rainy season could mean suffering is in the apparent consultation with people inside the camps.” The LAMP for Haïti forecast, WaASH. Post, May 4, 2010, available at Foundation, et. al., Neglect in the Encampments, Haiti’s Second Wave http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/03/ Humanitarian Disaster, at 1 (Mar. 23, 2010), available at AR2010040301049.html. http://ijdh.org/archives/10671. Ÿ Center for Economic and Policy Research, As Tropical Storms Threaten Haiti, 2 The PDNA (Post Disaster Needs Assessment) is the Haitian Government’s International Community Can, and Must, Do More for Shelter (June 17, 2010), operative blueprint for reconstruction and national development. available at http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/relief-and-reconstruction- # Rachel Hannah Nadelman and Stephania Louis, Women in Haïti after the watch/as-tropical-storms-threaten-haiti-international-community-can-and-must- January 12, 2010 Earthquake, at 3-4 Huairou Commission, available at do-more-for-shelter/. www.huairou.org/assets/download/Haiti-Report.pdf. 1 Id. 2 Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED), Voices from 7 Deborah Sontag, Sexual Assaults Add to Miseries of Haiti’s Camps, NY TIMES, the Shanties: À Post-Earthquake Rapid Assessment of Cite Soleil, Port-au-Prince, June 23, 2010, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/world/ at 11 (Mar. 2010). americas/24haiti.html?scp=10&sq=haiti&st=cse. 7 [page 8] since the earthquake. À In the two months following the Amnesty . , . R.A., 15 years old, lives on her own earthquake, one grassroots women’s group tracked 230 International, in PI . à “th ds of in Place Ste. Anne camp. Her rapes in just 15 of the hundreds of camps in Port-au- ousands o parents live in the countryside. On Prince. ” À University of Michigan survey conducted in women living in April 24, 2010, she was gang raped March found that three percent of all people in Port-au- temporary camps and beaten by five men. She sought Prince had been sexually assaulted since the earthquake; around Haiti are help from a friend who turned her all but one of the respondents were female and halfofthe threatened by sexual away, afraid for her own safety. victims were girls under the age of 18. Doctors Without violence and have After that, R.A. did not tell anyone Borders reported in an interview that they treated 68 rape inadequate else about the attack, nor did she survivors at one facility in Port-au-Prince in April alone. protection from any seek medical care for a week . Les following the attack. Finally driven authorities. ...The 1 . . . . to seek help because of pain in her Some Haitian officials, commenting on the rise in rape lack of measures to . abdomen, she spoke to a member of since the earthquake, have underplayed the problem of prevent and respond the grassroots women’s group GBV in the IDP camps and cited lack of information as an adequately to the KOFAVIV. The better part of the day impediment to their response. The Director General ofthe threat of sexual was spent trying to locate a clinic Haitian Police, Mario Andresol, stated in aninterviewthat violence is that would see her immediately; there had been only 20 cases of rape reported to the police contributing to the and the facilities that were from January-March in the capital? When questioned by humanitarian ultimately provided were sorely an AI Jazeera news correspondent about the regular crisis.’ Though lacking in privacy and staff. She was reports of rape in a camp adjacent to a UN base, UN Police there have been accompanied to the General : : : Hospital, where she waited for three Spokesperson Jean-Francois Rezina discounted the some reports of . . , . LL . . hours before being led to a dirty cot women’s stories, saying it simply was not true andthatthe limited perimeter . bli h k “tdidl not h nf K bout trol d in a public room, where a male UN “[ id] not have any information about rapes every patrols aroun doctor intended to conduct the : » : night. camps during the exam. in the end, the midwife who daytime, the failure accompanied her conducted the One factor that has most enabled GBV in the campsisthe to patrol when and exam herself in another doctor’s lack of a security presence, particularly at night, provided where the majority living quarters. by any formal police or military agency. According to of crimes are committed—inside 8 Id. As Linda Basch, President of the National Council for Research on Women, the camps and slums after dark—has meant that formeal wrote in an editorial in the New York Times, “The gender dimension of aid and security has had little effect on deterring GBV. Military and security policies has only recently come under scrutiny, despite widespread police officials cite their own security concerns as occurrences of sexual assault and rape. There is neither an adequate system for . inef documentation of these claims, nor judicial capacity to handle sex violence preventing meaning ul patrols. reports.” Linda Basch, After Haiti’s Quake, Another Form of Horror, N.Y. TIMES, July 1, 2010 (Letters to the Editor), available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/ Even where a security presence does exist, camp residents 02/opinion/l02haiti.html?_r=1#. ü : . # Beverly Bell, “Our Bodies are Shaking Now” -- Rape Follows Earthquake in Haïti, note that security forces are not effective largely because HUFFINGTON POsT, Mar. 24, 2010, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly- of their lack of coordination and failure to engage in bell/our-bodies-are-shaking-no_b_511397.htmIl. See also Appendix A, KOFAVIV : . : su partnerships with neighborhood associations and Preliminary Report on Rape (July 19, 2010). k 26 2 Assessing Needs After the Quake: Preliminary Findings from a Randomized community.”"” The lack of coordination and meaningful Survey of Port-au-Prince Households, University of Michigan/Small Arms Survey security patrols does not necessarily reflect a shortage of (forthcoming 2010). ue ? site visit to Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) Delmas 31 (May 2010). MSF military personnel and resources on the ground. Better reported treating 212 victims of sexual violence in the 5 months following the coordination with grassroots groups in developing the aid earthquake. Emergency Response After the Haïti Earthquake: Choices, Obstacles, response provides a promising pathway to improving the Activities and Finance, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), July 2010, available at https://www.msf.or.jp/info/pressreport/pdf/haiti_six_months_EN_LOW.pdf. 2 Interview with HNP Director General Mario Andresol (May 4, 2010), (on file with authors). In April, the HNP statistics note 34 rapes were reported in all ten Departments. http://www.pnh.ht/news/index.php?id_news=128 (last visited July 18, 2010). ———————— # Fault Lines — Haiti: Six Months On, AL JAZEERA ENGLISH, July 12, 2010, available at 5 Amnesty Intl, Haiti’s Emergency Response must Include Protection from Sexual http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx2EQxz7MXQ. Violence (Mar. 25, 2010), available at http://www.amnestyusa.org/document. 2 Amnesty Intl, Haiti: After the Earthquake: Initial Mission Findings (Mar. 2010) php?id=ENGUSA20100324002&lang=e. at 8, available at www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR36/004/2010/en. 2 INURED, supra note 12 at 11. 8 [page 9] situation.” INURED writes that “relief institutions have little to no local knowledge and poor coordination with the communities.” This lack of engagement with Haiti’s civil society and vulnerable populations has left relief organizations without valuable information and tools needed to develop an adequate response. Fortunately, many grassroots organizations have mobilized, actively designing their own relief efforts and addressing problems that have arisen since the earthquake. Indeed, “neighborhood-based associations are capable and active in facilitating aid distribution as well as recovery efforts and fostering safety even in these challenging conditions.” Organizations started before the earthquake continue to be active and are working to re-establish the social safety nets necessary to a meaningful recovery. Women's organizations in particular have mobilized quickly to address the needs of their members and communities, many of whom were displaced. The UN Cluster System’s development and aid relief has been commendable as it works to establish services and meet basic humanitarian needs. However, the international community in concert with the Haïtian Government must act quickly to provide true security and protection from rape and GBV to women and girls, especially those in the most vulnerable situations, such as IDPs. It is essential to provide access to comprehensive sexual violence services that address health, safety, and psychological needs of survivors, as well as secure places to report incidents of violence. As the rebuilding process in Haiti moves forward, a coordinated and comprehensive plan that prioritizes the safety of women and girls must be implemented. 7 Beverly Bell, From Disaster Aid to Solidarity: Best Practices in Meeting the Needs of Haiti’s Earthquake Survivors (April, 2010). See Gen. Rec. No. 19, supra note 1. 2 INURED, supra note 12 at 8. À Jesuit Refugee and Migration Service, Haitian NGOs Decry Total Exclusion from Donors’ Conferences on Haïtian Reconstruction (Mar. 18, 2010), available at www.jrsusa.org/news/news_100330b.php/ (last visited July 18, 2010). #0 INURED, supra note 12 at 4. 9 [page 10] Methodology Organization (WHO) Ethical and safety recommendations for researching, documenting and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies (2007), ensuring the safety and A AZ confidentiality of all victims.®? The interviews took place at OR dE: the BA in private rooms or secluded outdoor spaces within We: LS e- ZX HER the BAI gates. Victims were made aware of their ability to jo fu à) 4 Vs cease the interview at any time or refuse to answer AR à ul de NO questions and provided informed consent. À parent or a \| L\ at s 7 / VW guardian provided information about girls under 18. Two - : L A : Vs D - 14 ® grassroots women’s organizations working within Port-au- ns — LP : k Prince, KOFAVIV and FAVILEK, referred the women and £ Z'4P} girls, and have provided follow-up care and services. #T© y The primary purpose of these interviews was to collect on: é. AA de evidence for pursuing legal cases in domestic and international fora through the BAI and international From May 1-10, 2010, a delegation of eight U.S. lawyers partners. Members of the delegations also conducted two community researchers and a women’s health . informal interviews with dozens of other rape survivors, es Ÿ ! their family members, and witnesses to rapes during group specialist investigated the prevalence and patterns of rape k . k nn and other GBV against IDPS in Port-au-Prince in the meetings or trainings held at the BAI and during visits to aftermath of the earthquake and the humanitarian the camps. All interviews were conducted in Haïitian Creole response. The delegation was organized by the Lawyers’ with English translation provided by female interpreters Earthquake Response Network (LERN), which is from the Haïitian Education and Leadership Program and coordinated by the Institute for Justice & Democracy in bilingual delegation members. Additionally, delegation Haiti (UDH) members were provided with training in interviewing ° victims of violence, and many already had undergone such Prior to traveling to Haïti, the delegation conducted training. extensive background research and held a series of . . : : Le . Lu : us The LERN delegations also held a series of meetings with trainings with experts on conditions in Haïti and general . , 7 experts on GBV. In Haiti, the delegation worked out of leadership of grassroots women's groups, wamen's rights : ° ne . : dh ights leaders, b f the judici d DH's Haïiti-based affiliate office in Port-au-Prince, the Hit Non b M ss den Ft t Ju tbe an Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) and made site aitran , a lona o'ice, an represen ai Ives ol tne se : Le . Women’s Ministry, international agencies, and NGOs that visits to several IDP camps, medical clinics, and hospitals ide legal dical. and jal GBV . mn R . rovide legal, medical, and socia services. providing services to survivors of rape, Government p £ Ministries and tribunals, and the UN Logistics Base, all of : . . : which are located in Port-au-Prince All interviews and meetings are preserved in the form of ‘ interview notes and, where available, digital recordings. All From June 7-9, 2010, TransAfrica Forum sent a follow-up respondents provided us pr to pe cer delegation of three U.S. lawyers to the BAI. The delegation statements. Names an 9 er “ ent ers ave peen conducted a second round of interviews with rape removed to protect the identities of survivors and survivors and also made site visits to IDP camps in the pseudonyms have replaced real names in this report. capital. Collectively, the LERN delegations formally interviewed 54 survivors of rape since the earthquake from at least ten different IDP camps and neighborhoods, including: Bicentenaire, Cabaret, Champ de Mars, Fontamara, Gerard Bataille, Martissant, Place Ste. Anne, Peru, Soure, and = Village de Dieu. All research followed the World Health ** Available at http://www.who.int/gender/documents/OMS_Ethics& Safety10Aug07.pdf. 10 [page 11] Findings: Rape in the Displacement Women reported that the earthquake destroyed their support networks and livelihoods, which further increased Camps their vulnerability. Many women also lost adult male family members who provided physical security and a source of income.* Surviving women are left with the primary : nes — responsibility for the care of the most vulnerable, including ?] A] 5 | V ; infants, children, the elderly, and the thousands of newly ; f Le ‘ cc disabled people. Of those interviewed, very few had any F : w { 41 to. : source of steady income. Prior to the earthquake, most J de A1 in de L women worked as merchants in the informal market, but 2 1e # these activities have been hampered because many lost ” 7 gr w. ” + à à their supplies in the earthquake.Ÿ Ever-deepening poverty \ . RE) Ch à constrains women’s choices about where to live, how to Fe SEE _ PCR 0 travel —essentially all aspects of their lives —further Ps < 4% À “rer increasing their vulnerability to sexual assault. Ke # LL Il. Circumstances of Attacks/Characteristics of | Perpetrators This Report does not attempt to provide a quantitative analysis of the prevalence of rape or GBVinthe aftermath The vast majority of the women who were interviewed of the earthquake. Rather, it provides a qualitative analysis reported being raped by two or more individuals, who of the current crisis of safety and security for Haitian were unknown to them and almost always armed with women and girls. These findings are based on the guns, knives or other weapons. Most of the women interviews conducted in May and June 2010 of over 50 interviewed stated that they would be unable to recognize women who had been raped since the January earthquake, their attackers because: a) the rapes occurred at night, * b) and observations made while touring the camps and other the perpetrators wore masks covering their faces or areas where the attacks took place. The rape survivors sunglasses,”” or c) the trauma of the event impaired interviewed ranged in age from 5 to 60. Unless otherwise memory.f5 Some survivors were able to recall certain indicated, this Report makes observations only with identifiers of their attackers, including the color or style of respect to the women interviewed. However, we believe their hair, stature, tattoos, and piercings; but no obvious they are likely applicable to the larger IDP population given patterns with respect to the identity of the rapists the strikingly similar patterns among the testimonies that emerged.*” Women most commonly identified the emerged. perpetrators as members of neighborhood gangs and escapees from prison.“ Although the victims’ perceived 1. Vulnerability of Haitian Women and Girls motivations for the rapes were not discussed in detail, the interviews indicated that the attacks are primarily to Conditions in the IDP camps in Port-au-Prince are bleak. perpetrate sexual violence—there were only a few Overcrowding, lack of privacy, and weakened family and occasions where the rapes were accompanied by other community structures, among other things, render women crimes such as robbery. and girls particularly vulnerable to rape and other sexual — violence. Women and girls live in inadequate shelter, often % see, e.g., Interview #6 (May 3, 2010), (on file with authors). sleeping on the ground under nothing more than a tarp or See, e.g., Interview #1 (May 3, 2010), (on file with authors). : f : d friends cl See, e.g., Interview #12 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). blanket, with no means of protection and no friends close +5 à 0" Interview #11 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). by. They bathe in public, in view of men and boys. Many ? See, e.g., Interview #4 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). 38 . ie young girls live alone or with friends, with no adults looking ,, #2 2-9 Interview #2 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). 32 For example, a few interviewees noted that their rapists wore dreadlocks or after them. had facial hair. See, e.g., Interview #3 (May 5, 2001); Interview #5 (May 5, 2010), {on file with authors). Others remembered their assailants had piercings affixed to various body parts including ears and penises. See, e.g., Interview #18 (May 5, 2010), Interview #45 (June 2010), (on file with authors). ——— * This was also noted by Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in 3 See, e.g., Interview #16 (May 3, 2010), (on file with authors). Haïti, Michel Forst, supra note 7 at {| 28. 11 [page 12] The majority of rapes reported occurred at night, in the taken steps towards . . k M.V., 38 years old, lives with dark, between the hours of 9:00pm and 3:00am, although ending their life. At least . . . her three children, one of it is not uncommon for women to be attacked during the one woman stated that whom was conceived in a rape day. Women reported being attacked inside the IDP camps she had contemplated that occurred in 1994. On May in tents and under tarps, in latrines, and on nearbystreets. killing herself and her 2, 2010, M.V. was walking near A few survivors stated that their attackers had used a blade children. One woman a police station at Rue Pavée to cut the tent to gain access. One woman was kidnapped said that she wanted to around 7:30pm. lt was dark out from her camp and taken to a house at an undetermined end her life because and she was alone. Two men location where she was gagged and gang raped by an “this life has gone bad.” demanded her purse and when : they found she had no money, unknown number of assailants. She was held at the house She lost her husband and th led h th for two to three days and repeatedly beaten and raped home in the earthquake. ey pur ed her away from the . ai streetlight and took turns until she was able to run away. Her uncle had abused . . ° raping her. Despite sustaining her growing up, and the injuries, M.V. had not yet seen Survivors interviewed also spoke of the widespread attack re-traumatized a doctor eight days later occurrence of transactional sex to obtain food aid cards, her profoundly.“ because she didn’t think she although each interviewee denied having engaged in could afford it. She did not go transactional sex herself. The occurrence of coerced Almost all of the to the police because “pa tap transactional sex—tself a form of rape—is beyond the survivors complained of vini” — they will never come. scope of this Report, and merits an independent some physical When asked ifshe had investigation? discomfort, including recommendations for ways to stomach pain prevent the rapes, she merely . . headach diffi l shook her head and said “Pa Il, Psychological and Physical Effects eagaches, aifficu ty gen kadreman” - It will always walking, and vaginal & happen. Several members of the delegation have worked with infection and bleeding. trauma survivors in other settings and been trained in At least one woman 46 recognizing and responding to associated mental trauma. became pregnant as a result of the rape.”” Only one In addition, another delegation coordinated by LERN woman reported that her attacker wore a condom.” Of the traveled to Haiti in March 2010 to identify potential few women that had been tested for HIV, results were applicants for humanitarian parole to the U.S., including negative. In addition to the rapes, many women and girls victims of gender-based violence and those with other interviewed suffered beatings, stabbings and other injuries compelling circumstances. These delegations involved in the course of the attacks and had scars and other visible psychiatrists and trauma victim specialists. The injuries to show. In one of the most egregious cases, humanitarian parole delegation conducted 69 medical several men attacked a woman in her 30s at her home in evaluations of earthquake victims, several of who were Martissant, during which one of the men stabbed her with . . . . 48 victims of rape or other sexual assault, and found that an ice pick. Her small children witnessed the attack. 95.7% of the victims were suffering from PTSD and 53.6% were suffering from depression.“ IV. Access to Medical Services Congruent with the humanitarian parole delegation The majority of the women and girls interviewed had not findings, many of the women interviewed appeared to seen a doctor or other medical professional at the time of show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the interview. There were several reasons for this: a) lack including extreme fear, nervousness, helplessness, inability of knowledge of where to find services, b) lack of to sleep, nightmares and signs of depression. Several knowledge that services were provided free of charge,“ women indicated suicidal tendencies and some had even “Interview #45 (June 2010), (on file with authors). “ Interview #41 (June 2010), (on file with authors). *? These testimonies are supported by additional reports on post-quake sexual See, e.g., Interview #18 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). violence. See, e.g., INURED, supra note 12 at 12; Amnesty Int’! /nitial Mission < Interview #26 (June 7, 2010), (on file with authors). Findings, supra note 24 at 12. * Interview #18 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). Victor G. Carrion, International Psychiatry in Haïti at the Aftermath of the # Interview #43 (June 2010), (on file with authors). Earthquake, PowerPoint Presentation, Apr. 2010, (on file with authors). See, e.g., Interview #2 (May 10, 2010), (on file with authors). 12 [page 13] : els 55e 50 : "56 c) inability to pay for the transport togetto a clinic, and police.” Many women RC, a mother of two, went to d) fear of retaliation and stigma.” For those that had stated that when they . k . . buy food for her children. On sought medical care, the majority only sought general first approached the police her way back to the Champs de aid care for injuries associated with the rapes and did not for help, the police said Mars camp, three men caught disclose the rape to the healthcare provider because they that there was “nothing her near her tent. They took her were embarrassed or felt uncomfortable. Rape carries a they could do” and the inside a tent, where they each stigma in Haitian society, as it does in most places. Victims survivor should return raped her while holding a gun were extremely reluctant to reach out for support or to when she had “identified to her head. She told police on even discuss their ordeal before meeting a member of and/or captured her patrol what had happened” KOFAVIV or FAVILEK, in whom they had trust and could attacker.” One survivor son eperuers lle pole confide. When victims did reach out, they were often reported that the officer 19 not get ou of er Jeep, nor h d'ori d h ke with saïd it did they accompany her to find shunned or ignored. she spo e Wi sai L : the tent where she had been was not his responsibility raped. Although she sought Of those who had been to see a doctor, the quality and and that it was the medical care the following day, type of care varied depending on the facility and problem of Haiti’s she was too embarrassed to tell availability of supplies. Some clinics did not offer services president, René Préval.°? the male doctor what such as HIV prophylaxis or emergency contraception. In another case, the happened and, as a result, Women faced prohibitively long waits, and left without police told the survivor received limited treatment. R.C. being seen by a doctor. Women also reported a lack of to take her case to the continues to suffer abdominal privacy, and limited access to female healthcare providers. camp committee, an pain and bleeding, and has : Le : . 52 : : moved to another part of the Medical certificates were not routinely provided.” Only informal leadership . . .. : a | camp in the hope that she will two women reported receiving medical certificates; others structure organized by feel safer reported that they were unaware of the importance ofthe camp members.5? certificates in documenting rape and their right to request them. In one instance, a clinic stated that they were out of Where the police have taken some action, the outcome is certificates.” Several survivors reported treating their rarely significant. For example, in March 2010, a woman injuries with traditional remedies, including special teas who had been raped reported the crime to the police. She and baths.** told interviewers that the police circled the camps with extra patrols each night for about a week after the attack, V. Access to Justice but did not find the assailants. They stopped the patrols without doing any further investigation”? Women reported limited access to justice in Haïti for rape and sexual assault, a result of several barriers that include Other barriers to reporting include fear of retaliation and lack of access to legal services, and unwillingness of police Stigma. In many cases, perpetrators threatened the women to respond. Rape survivors told interviewers that reporting and girls with future harm or death if they told anyone rape to the police is “an exercise in futility.” In fact, of all about the rape. These threats, coupled with a low the women we interviewed, there was only one instance likelihood of the rapists being caught or jailed, form a where a woman reported that her assailant had been considerable deterrent to reporting. Moreover, there is no arrested and was still in jail.” In nearly all instances, witness protection available, and most women do not have women who reported sexual violence crimes to the police the resources or ability to move, making it easy for their were ignored or mocked. rapists to find them again. Women expressed frustration, noting that poor women do Police corruption presents another obstacle to justice. On not find justice—“only the rich get the attention of the one occasion, a woman in her early 20s was gang raped by three young men. When she reported the incident to the 5 See, e.g., Interview #17 (May 7, 2010), (on file with authors). * See, e.g., Interview #12 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). ———————————————— ? See, e.g., Interview #9 (May 3, 2010), (on file with authors). 5 See, e.g., Interview #28 (June 8, 2010), (on file with authors). . Meeting with SOFA (May 7, 2010), (on file with authors). *7 Interview #16 (May 3, 2010), (on file with authors). S See, e.g., Interview #4 (May 5, 2010), (on file with authors). # Interview #23 (June 7, 2010), (on file with authors). Interview #54 (June 2010), (on file with authors). Interview #25 (June 7, 2010), (on file with authors). 13 [page 14] police, they said that her family would have to pay to geta and, with their international connections, were able to find warrant. Her uncle, a lawyer, twice paid the police. the funds to relocate.*° However, the police did nothing, simply demanding even more money to pursue the case. On another occasion, when a victim approached the police to report a rape, they demanded that she buy them gas so they could drive to the camp, which was reportedly within walking distance. She gave cash to the police, who did nothing.®° The lack of access to legal services is yet another barrier faced by Haitians living in the camps. There is no tradition of publicly funded legal aid in Haïti. The few organizations°! that do provide legal aid or accompaniment through the legal process report being overwhelmed and unable to meet the demand. Many women mentioned other barriers to accessing these services, such as a lack of transportation, lack of confidence or trust in such services, and lack of awareness that such services even exist.°? VI. Continued Vulnerability The survivors interviewed continue to be vulnerable to rape and other sexual abuse in the camps. Lacking other options, most remain living in the same area where they were attacked, and the attackers remain at large. None of the interviewees were aware of safe spaces or shelters where they could go. At least three of the women interviewed were raped on two separate occasions since the earthquake and several others had been raped during previous periods of unrest.%* In one case, the LERN delegation interviewed the grandmother of a five-year old girl who had been raped. Both the grandmother and her daughter were raped during the 2004 coup period; the daughter became pregnant with the little girl as a result. Such vulnerable populations have access to even fewer resources in the wake of the earthquake. individuals working in the IDP camps to assist victims of GBV are themselves susceptible to additional violence. Recently, two KOFAVIV leaders and their families were threatened at gunpoint in the camp. They fled the camp © Interview #7 (May 7, 2010), (on file with authors). For example, two well known Haïitian women’s NGOs include Kay Fanm and Solidarité Fanm Ayisyen (SOFA). 2 BAl is currently working on developing a greater capacity in order to pursue cases using a victim-centered approach, and to support women’s empowerment groups to build a movement around justice. —— % Interview #30 (June 8, 2010); Interview #37 (June 8, 2010); Interview #52 (June s Rape in the Camps: Lacking Security, Women Organize to Protect Themselves, 2010); Interview #54 (June 2010), (on file with authors). Democracy Now!, http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/14/rape_in_the_ See, e.g., Interview #2 (May 10, 2010), Interview #7 (May 3, 2010). camps_lacking_security. 14 [page 15] Responses to Rape During the last several years, the Government of Haïti (GOH) undertook a number of initiatives to address violence against women, including enacting legislation NES | RSR. 02 enhancing penalties for rape.® In 2003, the GOH launched .. fs E'er À 0 SR the Table de Concertation Nationale Contre la Violence & HT al “E evl | Faites aux Femmes (National Dialogue on the Prevention of + \ : “LP | | | Violence Against Women), a partnership between the \. : IL R — | 1) Ministries of Women, Health, and Justice, on the one hand, rs N = à! L ) \ and civil society, including women’s groups, NGOs and 4 \ JV Te services providers, and UN agencies, on the other.° The =: À KI RL à Fr ——. ; Concertation Nationale is tasked with promoting 2 2 ! cul coordination between the various actors in the fight 5 nn. 4 ——— against violence against women and to develop and st : des A implement a national plan. In 2005, Haïti adopted the ee 2006-2011 National Plan to Combat Violence Against Women, aimed at preventing violence and attending to victims. The Plan’s objectives include putting in place a Government of Haïti Responses mechanism for systematic data collection, prevention of violence, capacity building through promoting a multi- 1. Pre-Earthquake Responses sectoral approach, and other strategies. In 2008, Haïti reported to the Committee on the Elimination of AÏl Forms Haiti is no stranger to violence against women. In the mid- of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for the first 19905, under the illegal regime of General Raoul Cedras, time since ratifying the Women’s Convention in 1981. rape and other forms of gender-based violence were used as instruments of terror. Women were targeted for abuse Although progress on these laudable goals was made, because of their political support for democracy, their many initiatives —even before the earthquake—were intimate association with other activists, their class, and hampered by insufficient resources and fell short of their their gender. Gender-based violence encompasses a stated goals. As the Inter-American Commission on Human variety of concepts in Haïti, including the view of women as Rights (IACHR) observed last year in regards to the services property, their roles as breadwinners and activists for provided by the State: “they are slow to be implemented women’s rights, their functions as mothers and heads of and are not yet fully operational.””° For example, during households, and their involvement as advocates for civil the Commission’s visits to Haïti, “the Ministry of Women society. particularly regretted the absence of a state-run shelter for women and the lack of free legal services for indigent In the aftermath of the 2004 ouster of President Jean women victims of violence.’ Tragically, some of the Bertrand Aristide, under the Interim Government of Haïti Government’s most committed gender-equality advocates (IGH), rape again “became a political weapon by armed perished in the earthquake.”? insurgents to instill fear and to punish women believed to have supported the democratic government.” Amortality For more information on the history of violence against women and legal study for Port-au-Prince published in The Lancet concluded development in Haïti, see Benedetta Faedi, The Double Weakness of Girls: December 2006 in Port-au-Prince alone. Almost 12% ofthe piscrimination, OEA/Ser.L/V/ll,doc. 62 at 9 98 (Mar. 10, 2009) [hereinafter INTER- perpetrators were identified as right-wing political actors.°? AM. CHR, Free from Violence]. : See UNFPA Haiti, La Concertation Nationale, http://www.unfpahaiti.org/ ConcertationNationale.htm (last visited July 7, 2010). s ATERAME C.HR., Free from Violence,supra note 68, 144. ss Amnesty Int’, Don’t turn your back on girls: Sexual violence against girls in 7? Those mourned include Myriam Merlet, Chief of Cabinet of the Ministry of Haiti, AI Index: AMR 36/004/2008, 23 (2008), available at Women’s Condition and Rights and founder of the umbrella women’s http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR36/004/2008/en. organization National Coordination for Advocacy on Women's Rights and Myrna #7 Athena R Kolbe and Royce A Hutson, Human Rights Abuse and Other Criminal Narcisse, Director General of the Ministry of Women'’s Condition. UNIFEM Violations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: A Random Survey of Households, THE LANCET Mourns the Deaths of Women's Rights Activists in Haiti (Jan. 21, 2010), available (2006); 368: 864-73. at http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1014. 15 [page 16] Il. Post-Earthquake Responses In February, MINUSTAH reported that UNPOL and HNP officers had established a permanent joint presence at the The lack of a meaningful response on the part of the largest IDP camps in Port-au-Prince, the Pétionville Club ses stcto di 4 :1 80 Haitian Government to the rape crisis in displacement and Cité Soleil.” These accounts have been largely camps is a result of both a lack of resources and a lack of contradicted by reports from camp residents who said that political will. Haiti’s already fragile bureaucracy and civil they rarely see police inside the camps on foot or at : ï 81 service suffered deep blows from the earthquake, as night.” Moreover, to the extent that HNP and UNPOL ministry buildings were destroyed and many personnel conduct patrols, there is no strategic policing plan in place ; 73 FAT : ; ini Li 82 ses were killed.”” For example, two specialized police units to maximize limited resources.” In a positive step, on July inaugurated prior to the earthquake to receive reports 21, UN police arrested two men suspected of being su : ï ï 83 from women victims of violence were among at least 40 responsible for several rapes in the camps. police stations—in and outside of Port-au-Prince—that collapsed or were severely damaged in the earthquake./* Another major issue is the lack of female officers in police ; : : Le ï 84 : More than 70 police officers died; another 60 are missing, stations.” Women survivors are generally uncomfortable and many others were injured./° reporting crimes to male officers. HNP Principal Inspector Magalie Borno explained that, while all police stations do The loss of officers and police stations seriously not have specialized officers to hear gender-based violence compromised the capacity of the police to maintain complaints, they all should have female officers to whom security and enforce the law. As of April 2010, there were victims can report a crime. Moreover, Ms. Borno told LERN only 2,261 police officers serving Haiti’s population of 9 that the HNP was working towards recruiting and dll : : 76 seins : : million people, a ratio of one officer per 3,981 people. sensitizing more women officers to hear complaints, The UN Security Council has responded to the general need conduct patrols, and talk to camp committees about the : ; : : : 85 : : se: for more police units by increasing the UN police force problem of rape.” Nonetheless, in some instances, officials assigned to Haïti (UNPOL) to approximately 4,400./° In attributed the problem of rape to promiscuity and : ici 861: : : . June, women welcomed the arrival of an all-female force domestic violence.” This antipathy has a cascading effect; deployed by Bangladesh to patrol some of the camps. The victims perceive law enforcement as ineffective or effect of the Bangladeshi force has been minimal, however, unsympathetic and, consequently, fail to report crimes. because the officers speak neither Haitian Creole nor Government officials in turn insist that no such “epidemic” French, making meaningful communication with camp of gender-based violence exists, and allocate even fewer ; ; ; 78 : j residents impossible. In spite of these efforts, the number resources to address it. of Haïitian police remains grossly inadequate in terms of the : 79 —————— overall population. POP (last visited July 6, 2010). ———— 5 Report of the Sec’y-Gen. of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haïti (2010), UN 7 Haiti at a Crossroads, À Report to the Members of the Committee on Foreign Doc. S/2010/200. Relations, 111th Congress 2d Session, S. Prt. 111-51 (June 22, 2010). #1 MINUSTAH Joint Security Assessment, Mar. 30, 2010, 44 2-3. These 7 See Interview with Magalie Borno, HNP Principal Inspector, Assistant Director observations are consistent with testimony heard during LERN Delegation victim of Women's Coordination, (May 6, 2010), (on file with authors); Forst, supra note interviews. 7. #? IDP Camp Joint Security Assessment Report, MINUSTAH Human Rights Section 5 Amnesty Int’! {nitial Mission Findings, supra note 24 at 8. (Mar. 30, 2010), at 4 [hereinafter JSA Report]. This assessment recommended 7 In comparison, slightly larger countries like Portugal (10.6 million) and the that the Government of Haïti and the UN design an “IDP Camp Strategic Policing Czech Republic (10.5 million) each have at least 40,000 police officers, a ratio of Plan” that proposes new models for joint (HNP, UNPOL, UN military) policing to no less than one officer for every 263 people. See email correspondence from maximize available resources; schedules the maximum number of patrols, Portuguese National Police Commissioner with Erin Krinsky (July 7, 2010), (on file including on foot and at night; establishes a high number of static posts, possibly with authors); With UN military backing for police; includes women officers; seeks training; http://www.interpol.int/public/Region/Europe/pjsystems/Czech.asp. includes regular meetings between HNP/UNPOL and committees and other Barbara Crossette, “Hurricane Season Looms in Haïti as the UN Prepares for community policing aspects. Disaster,” June 23, 2010, available at http://www.unausa.org/worldbulletin/ # UN Police in Haiti arrest fugitives suspected of rapes inside camps for displaced, 100623/crossette (last visited July 7, 2010). U.N. News Svc., July 23, 2010, available at http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/ 8 Id. rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-87MSWB?0OpenDocument&RSS20=02. 7 In late April 2010, the United Nations reported that there were 10,565 % These reports came from women interviewed, as well as from KOFAVIV and uniformed personnel in Haiti, comprised of 2,261 police officers and 8,304 troops. FAVILEK. A BAI staffperson visited one of the two police stations established to It is important to note that Haiti disbanded its military in 1995. See, United receive complaints from victims of GBV and confirmed the absence of female Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, United Nations Peace and Security Section police officers. of the Department of Public Information in cooperation with the Department of # Interview with Magalie Borno, HNP Principal Inspector, Assistant Director of Peacekeeping Operations, “MINUSTAH Facts and Figures,” Apr. 30, 2010, Women’s Coordination (May 6, 2010), (on file with authors). available at http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minustah/facts.shtml % Interview with HNP Director General Andresol, supra note 22. 16 [page 17] Apart from a lack of Haïitian law enforcement, police United Nations (UN) Responses officials reported a dire lack of resources and equipment to combat GBV effectively. In an interview with the LERN 1. The Role of the UN’s GBV Sub-Cluster delegation, HNP Director General Mario Andresol reported a lack of forensic scientists in Haiti, as well as funding, In 2005, the UN's Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) computers, cameras, and other equipment to successfully established nine “Clusters” consisting of UN agencies, document, investigate, and prosecute criminal and legal NGOSs, and other international organizations grouped 87 . n cases.” MINUSTAH representatives cited a lack of : around an issue or service provided during a humanitarian transport and coordinated policing strategy as significant crisis. Each of the nine Clusters”’ is led by a designated obstacles to successful HNP patrols. According to Director agency, and many contain “Sub-Clusters” working on more General Andresol, the HNP Commissioner for Women's specific issues Coordination, Marie-Louise Gauthier, has lamented the lack of accurate statistics on crimes against women and The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs expressed the need for prosecutors to have a standard (OCHA) is the primary agency responsible for oversight of form to respond to cases. Haïiti’s Cluster system. Each Cluster is responsible to “call on all relevant humanitarian partners” to address gaps in Without a comprehensive system to track incidents of rape humanitarian action? Ifthe partners are not capable of since the earthquake and a concerted effort to do so, fully addressing these needs, the Cluster is expected “to police officials will remain ill equipped to understand the commit itself to filling the gap” insofar as its funding magnitude and nature of the problem. Criminal cases are permits. rarely pursued through the Haïitian judicial system, resulting in a culture of total impunity for rapists and The Gender-Based Violence Sub-Cluster (Sub-Cluster) in criminal gangs who continue to prey on women and girls in Haiti is coordinated by UNFPA and UNICEF, and includes 89 the camps. UN and NGO membership as well as the GOH; and is a part of the IASC Cluster family. The Sub-Cluster takes the lead pentes At the end of May, the Women's Ministry (MCFDF) on addressing gender-based violence in complex : ; : ü ; launched a national campaign against rape, End rape in emergencies, natural disasters and other such situations.° Temporary Settlements!” The campaign encourages The Sub-Cluster describes itself as being: women to come forward and report incidents to the police. This is a welcome effort. However, this campaign must [A] mechanism for inclusive participation coordinate with other key participants in the criminal and engagement of all stakeholders. Sub- justice system, including the police and judges, to put in Cluster members also work to integrate place mechanisms to ensure that police follow through on GBV prevention and response activities their duties to investigate, and that protection is provided across other clusters and sectors. The Sub- to victims who fear reprisal. Cluster is comprised of technical experts, activists, and advocates who share the belief that even one case of GBV is one too many. % The nine Clusters are Protection, Camp Coordination and Management, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Health, Emergency Shelter, Nutrition, Emergency ———————————————————— Telecommunications, Logistics, and Early Recovery. Two additional clusters, # Id. Education and Agriculture, were later added. # Id. ? U.N. One Response, http://oneresponse.info/. # Impunity for perpetrators of violence against women was highlighted as one of % GBV AR Working Group, GBV Coordination at the Local Level, One Response the primary concerns of the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in Haïti. See (July 4, 2010), available at http://oneresponse.info/GlobalClusters/Protection/ Forst, supra note 7 at 4 28. See also Interview with Juge d’Instruccion Durin Duret GBV/Pages/Gender-Based%20Violence%20Working#%20Group.aspx. (May 10, 2010), (on file with authors) (noting that he had not presided over any * Gender Based Violence (GBV) Sub-Cluster, Haiti Response Must Address Needs rape cases since the earthquake). of Women and Girls, One Response (June 30, 2010), available at 2 En finir avec le viol dans les abris provisoires! LE NOUVELLISTE, May 28, 2010, http://oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Protection/Gender- available at http://www.lenouvelliste.com/article.php?PublD=&ArticlelD=80049. Based%20Violence/Pages/default.aspx. 17 [page 18] Since the earthquake, the role of this Sub-Cluster has been and involvling] [them] in 0 . Lu »97 S.L., 18 years old, lives in Gerald to track what remains of Haïiti’s human resources and the Assessment Team. . Le rats k ù n Batille Camp near Mais Gâté momentum of the Concertation Nationale, and to “support Furthermore, the IASC 88. On April 28, 2010, she was and build on prior activities.” The LERN delegation Gender Handbook in taking out the trash when she attended the weekly Sub-Cluster meeting on May 4, 2010, Humanitarian Action found herself surrounded by six met with several representatives individually in person, (2005) clarifies that the men. They dragged her to a and conversed with representatives via email both before IASC Policy Statementon nearby house where they each and after the meeting. LERN remains in contact with the Integration of a Gender raped her, while covering her Sub-Cluster. Perspective in mouth and threatening her Humanitarian “re sun to moe nersten . ne . ü ; silent. She went alone to see a Il. GBV Sub-Cluster Response to Rape in Haïti’s Operations “commits as u jority to th doctor two days later, because Displacement Camps a priority lo the she had felt too ashamed to tell participation of women anyone in her family what Poor women report that they were not included in post- in the planning, happened. Although she has disaster needs assessments or in the planning of GBV designing and since told her aunt and mother activities, and have difficulty accessing sub-cluster monitoring of all aspects about the rape, she begged activities. Failure to adequately include poor women in of emergency # them not to make a fuss about project planning prevents those designing and programmes.” it. S.L. never reported the rape : : : Lo : : to the police because she implementing projects from obtaining the information they Deabi . The reasons supportin doesn't think that they will do need to create successful programs. In January 2010, the pp 8 hina. She I d ° this approach are anything. She lamented, Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery released the ! “Someone could be getting Guide to Gender-Aware Post Disaster Needs Assessment practical as well as killed and you wouldn't find (the Guidelines). Among its recommendations, the ethical. The IASC anyone to help.” Guidelines call for (1) substantive consultation with emphasizes that “the women, girls, boys and men in the identification of their active participation of needs, priorities and interests; (2) design of gender aware People affected by crisis in identifying needs and designing recovery initiatives that are informed by, and respondto, and implementing relief programmes to address those the articulated and demonstrated needs of the affected needs substantially improves program effectiveness and Lite »99 " . communities and the entities serving them, and; (3) sustainability.”"”" In addition, among other things, identification of spontaneous recovery activities ofwomen, mMeaningful participation: takes into account power men, and marginalized communities that can be supported dynamics among groups (political, social, economic, and strengthened. Six months after the earthquake, the gender, etc.) with control over resources and those Sub-Cluster still has not effectively implemented these without; enhances accuracy of needs assessment data; fundamentally important steps. helps individuals and communities to identify actions to take on their own behalf; and sets the foundation for a. Substantive consultation with impacted groups greater self-sufficiency, safety and protection among individuals and communities, and more sustainable : 100 A rights-based approach to protection means that those program results in the long-term. impacted should be directly involved in formulating durable solutions. This principle is clearly incorporated into The Sub-Cluster collaborates with the Women’s Ministry the Guidelines, which articulate core principles, including: and established human rights and women’s organizations. taking a “Participatory Approach” by “engagling] in However, the Sub-Cluster, in large part, has failed to substantive consultations with women and men, include the voices of poor women living in the camps in government mechanisms and NGOs working on women’s, planning and leadership roles. Haiti’s history and the deep gender, and youth issues during the assessment process: fissures within Haitian society between the poor majority % Gender Based Violence. “Haiti Response Must Address Needs of Women and * Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC), {ASC Gender Handbook in Girls,” Haïti Earthquake 2010. One Response. 30 June 2010. Humanitarian Action (2005), {| 32. % UN. Development Programme, Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery, % Id. at 931. Guide to Gender-Aware Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (2010). 10 Id. 18 [page 19] and more affluent, educated classes, require attention to networking results in international funding for the larger ensure these collaborations meaningfully include poor NGOSs, grassroots groups don’t benefit institutionally. women. Centuries of social and economic barriers make Consistent with the IASC Gender Handbook on building bridges now—particularly after the earthquake— Humanitarian Action, being mindful of these dynamics in difficult, even for well-meaning humanitarian workers. developing programs could be transformative. The Sub-Cluster leadership has not yet met with several b. Design of gender aware recovery initiatives informed by grassroots organizations operating within the IDP camps: needs of affected communities. Fanm Viktim Koperativ, 1 FAVILEK, 2 1FKB,*% KOFAVIV, 1% KONAMAVID, 5 and KONAMSI.1% Combined, these The Sub-Cluster printed and distributed referral cards organizations represent over 3,000 women living in the providing information to survivors of sexual violence. After camps and poor neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince. The the earthquake, about 50,000 cards and leaflets were former GBV Sub-Cluster coordinator, Lina Abirafeh,*°” printed in French and Haïitian Creole and distributed within recognized the need to meet with women leaders working the displacement camps.!# on the ground. She told the LERN delegation that she had invited grassroots leaders to the Sub-Cluster meetings. An informal survey of clinics listed revealed that the card When it was pointed out that such meetings are held atthe contained inaccurate information, including out-of-service UN compound, far from the camps, with no travel stipends phone numbers and incorrect street addresses, which or daycare provided, Ms. Abirafeh responded that the could discourage survivors from attempting to access such meetings are often difficult to coordinate and that resources. Survivors also complained that some of the grassroots women have communicated that they arenota clinics had neither female doctors on staff nor separate good use of their time. Leaders of the grassroots groups reception areas for women, inhibiting them from disclosing working with the BAI did not recall ever being invited to the rape and seeking appropriate treatment. Further, the Sub-Cluster meetings. cards urge victims to seek medical attention within 72 hours after a rape. They do not inform women that they In a positive step, a Haïiti-based staff member of the should obtain medical attention and have the right to a International Rescue Committee (IRC) and a member of medical certificate even after this period has elapsed, and MINUSTAH’s Human Rights Section, both of which even if some evidence has been lost. Moreover, the cards participate in the Sub-Cluster, have met with some of the do not differentiate between clinics with designated grassroots leadership at the BAI office. The Sub-Cluster will women’s health reception and those that provide basic relocate its meetings to the Women’s Ministry on July 27,a first aid, more appropriate for emergency and non rape- more central location in Port au Prince, which may also related injuries. help provide opportunities for inclusion. The LERN delegation raised these issues in the Sub-Cluster In interviews with the LERN delegation, grassroots groups meeting, pointing out specific inaccuracies and expressing expressed appreciation for the occasional outreach efforts concern about potential harms. Sub-Cluster members made by the UN and international NGOs (INGOs). However, responded that the information on the cards is checked on where the initiatives do not allow for grassroots a regular basis. participation and benefits on an equal basis with INGOs and middle class Haitian women’s NGOs, grassroots LERN delegation members, along with a representative of women have expressed feeling exploited. Where such KOFAVIV, also brought this issue, among others, to the attention of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in June.®° a In response, the Sub-Cluster Chair issued a formal Cooperative of Women Victims. 12 Fanm Viktim, Leve Kanpe or Women Victims, Get up Stand up. *% Association des Femmes Victimes de Bel-Air or Association of Women Victims — of Bel-Air. 1% U.N. One Response, http://oneresponse.info/ (last visited July 22, 2010). See 24 Komisyon Fanm Viktim Pou Viktim or Commission of Women Victims for Appendix D, Referral Card. Victims. 10 MADRE, KOFAVIV, the Institute for Justice & Democracy for Haiti (JDH), and 1 Kodinasyon Nasyonal Viktim Direk or National Coordination of Direct Victims. UVA School of Law Human Rights Program Statement submitted to the U.N. 1 Viktim Koperativ ak Ti Komes or Victim Cooperative and Small Business. Human Rights Council on Sexualized Violence in Haiti’s IDP Camps (May 18, 17 Lina Abirafeh was the GBV Sub-Cluster Coordinator during the LERN delegation 2010), http://ijdh.org/archives/12081. See Appendix C, Oral Intervention of visit to Haiti in early May. She ended her term and will leave Haiti in July 2010. Malya Villard-Appolon (June 7, 2010). 19 [page 20] statement, stating that “referral cards are verified weekly” security responses. For example, when questioned by an Al and that “[nJot all telephone numbers work at all times. ... Jazeera news correspondent about the regular reports of However, the most important information on the referral rape in a camp adjacent to a UN base, UN Police cards is the physical addresses of hospitals and women'’s Spokesperson Jean-Francois Rezina expressed disbelief in organizations and that information has always been the women’s accounts, saying it simply was not true and correctly printed.” 1° He did not respond to the that the UN “[did] not have any information about rapes delegation’s substantive findings. every night.” c. Support for community-driven efforts According to the UN Secretary General’s study on violence against women, “It is the responsibility of States to ensure The Sub-Cluster has not prioritized the systematic tracking the systematic collection and publication of data, including of rape cases, stating that their position on data is simply through supporting NGOs, academics and other actors “one rape is too many.” "1 In March, several weeks after engaged in research.” Ÿ The Secretary General also arriving in Haïti, the former head of the Sub-Cluster advised that data collection on violence against women be reported that she had not heard the testimony of a single carried out “in consultation with a wide range of rape victim.!"? Yet, KOFAVIV informally tracked 230 rapes stakeholders, including data suppliers, advocates and in 15 camps between January 12 and March 21 (based on agencies providing services to women, policymakers, the findings of a few camp-based outreach workers legislators and researchers.” 1% Without any transportation, other research capacity, or sometimes even cell phones, presumably reflecting only a d. Interface of UN Cluster System and Government of Haiti percentage of the actual incidence). The data system initiated by the Concertation Nationale before the As part of its efforts to prevent and respond to GBV, the earthquake has yet to be revived. This knowledge and Sub-Cluster regularly communicates with the HNP, to system would greatly enhance responses and directly report incidents of GBV, and to collaborate in the creation support trusted community-driven efforts that have of separate spaces for interviewing women who have been already proven effective. victims of crimes." More specifically, one of the Sub- Cluster’s goals is to engage the security sector, including While rape in Haïti has gained greater visibility within the the HNP, to increase patrols (including on foot and at night) UN and INGOs, and attracted more media attention, there in areas where rape and other sexual violence are likely to remains a dearth of reliable data on its causes and occur. consequences. Few domestic measures or humanitarian initiatives address root causes of violence or challenge The Sub-Cluster also engages in capacity building with the cultural norms that promote the institutionalization of GOH, providing sensitization training for psychosocial violence such as rape and domestic violence. Such data is service workers and police officers receiving complaints crucial in determining effective strategies for preventing about GBV.* It aims to mobilize communication resources and redressing GBV. Reliable data would help ensure that from the public and private sectors to support scarce resources have a greater impact. communications between multi-actor mobile teams addressing GBV in temporary shelters and to establish a Moreover, as recently as this summer, UN officials national hotline! In May, the UNFPA reported supporting continue to downplay the problem, impeding effective the police academy, training of 725 cadets and 75 on-duty 19 See Appendix F, Igor Bosc, Chair Sub GBV Cluster [sic], Letter to Diana Duarte, 1% Fqult Lines — Haiti: Six Months On, AL JAZEERA ENGLISH, July 12, 2010, available at Media Coordinator, MADRE, (June 4, 2010), in response to a statement submitted http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx2EQxz7MXQ. to the U.N. Human Rights Council on sexualized violence in Haïti’s IDP camps (on Secretary-General’s study on violence against women, 61st session of the file with authors). The statement was submitted by MADRE, KOFAVIV, LDH, and General Assembly Item 60(a) on advancement of women, UN Doc. UVA School of Law Human Rights Program. A/61/122/Add. 1 (forthcoming 2010). 7 Lina Abirafeh, Even One Rape in Haiti is Too Many, Ms. Magazine Blog, Mar. 6 Id. 25, 2010, http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/03/25/even-one-rape-in-haïti- 7 Id. is-too-many/. 28 GBV Sub-Cluster Update, Mar. 2010, available at https://www.cimicweb.org/ Id. cmo/haiti/Crisis#20Documents/Protection%20Cluster/GBV_sc_Update_for_PC_2 13 Beverly Bell, The Urgency of Housing in Haïti, À Priority in Addressing Rape, 8_March.pdf.. May 5, 2010, available at http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/ 1% protection Cluster Targeted Strategy, (Mar. 24, 2010). view/1950/1/. 2 Id. 20 [page 21] police, and creating 13 safe spaces in three of Haïiti’s ten urban areas, and coordinated with USAID the set-up of 30 Departments. Included in its long-term goals, the UNFPA 5kw diesel generators supporting a series of 30-foot pole plans to build four police stations and clear spaces for an lights throughout three priority sites: Pétionville Golf Club, additional eight.!? Parc Jean Marie Vincent, and Saint Louis de Gonzague. The World Bank reported purchasing solar lanterns to be MINUSTAH has assisted in the recovery of documents and distributed “per household;” the March 24, 2010 CCCM records and worked closely with UNDP and the Ministry of report indicated that 16,000 lanterns had been distributed, Justice and Public Security to finalize a joint recovery work- and another 30,000 were expected to be delivered by the plan for the period up to September 2011. Priorities areto end ofthe month.!# In its May monthly report, the GBV recruit and train 30 new magistrates and to provide in- Sub-Cluster reported that UNICEF was distributing solar service training to current prosecutors, justices of the lamps “to ensure proper lighting of latrines and camp peace, and registrars. 7? In addition, the UN reportedthat facilities”??? MINUSTAH and UNFPA supported the HNP in a pilot project establishing reception facilities for victims of sexual The Sub-Cluster Chair asserted in a formal statement to violence in two police commissariats.! Finally, as part of MADRE that the HNP “have been patrolling camps—at its monitoring mission, the Sub-Cluster plans to work with night, on foot, in areas that are problematic. . . 8 The the Concertation Nationale to revive the system of GBV Sub-Cluster also claims as an achievement in their six- case tracking that was destroyed in the earthquake and month report that “members [of the Sub-Cluster] have renew usage of a pre-existing national tracking form."* worked with the security services to ensure patrols of camps are adequate and responsive to women’s According to an IASC study evaluating the cluster approach concerns.” ? in Haïti pre-earthquake, coordination with the GOH suffered from redundant structures and weak capacities in Such claims contradict what women and girls living in the practice.” The earthquake has made coordination allthe camps report as a persistent lack of security and lighting. In more important to meet increased need. addition, Director General Andresol explained to LERN delegation members that the HNP did not have the Il, Failure to Meet the Need for Security in capacity to patrol inside any significant number of camps Displacement Camps on a regular basis. What's more, the police have been unable to effectively identify the problem areas, given the In the absence of an effective government in Haitiandin lack of reporting and information on where and when the light of the limited UN response to requests for systematic lapes are occurring. security in the displacement camps, grassroots women’s organizations such as KOFAVIV have organized their own In March, MINUSTAH military and police led a Joint volunteer security patrols providing women escorts to Security Assessment (JSA) mission with the HNP, UNICEF, bathrooms and showers at night. Nonetheless, the Camp and UNFPA in the IDP camps. They concluded that: Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM)/Protection “Reports from the HNP and UNPOL of the frequency, Cluster reported in March that the International including on foot, of their patrols rarely matched Organisation for Migration (I0M) purchased 30,000 crank corresponding reports from IDPs who said they hardy saw solar flashlights to be distributed in smaller sites in inner police, almost never at night and then only in vehicles driving by.” ?? The JSA recommended: (1) working with 7? See GBV Sub-Cluster Monthly Update, May 2010, available at communities to develop security plans and including http://oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Protection/Gender- women in the process; (2) making changes in camp spaces Based#20Violence/Pages/defauit.aspx. : __. . inline with internationally recognized principles and Report of the Secretary General on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Apr. 22, 2010), { 10 (“covering major developments since... report of 1 ——— September 2009 (5/2009/439) until 15 April 2010, with a focus on the period 7% CCCM Cluster Guidance and Update on Camp Security, Mar. 24. 2010. since the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010”), UN Doc. S/2010/200 (Feb. 7 May GBV Sub-Cluster Monthly Update, supra note 121. 22, 2010) (sic) [hereinafter UNSG Report]. 7% Bosc letter to MADRE, June 4, 2010, supra note 110. 18 Id. at 11. 7% Haiti: 6 Months After, Report released by the UN and Government of Haiti, July *# protection Cluster Strategy, supra note 119. 12, 2010. 7 Andrea Binder and Francois Grunewald, Inter-Agency Standing Committee Interview with HNP Director General Andresol, supra note 22. (IASC) Cluster Approach Evaluation, 2" Phase, Country Study: Haïti, at 16 (Apr. 1 JSA Report, supra note 82. 2010). 12 Id. at 2-3. 21 [page 22] guidelines, such as providing adequate lighting; and (3) personnel.“ These efforts are commendable, but more is ensuring adequate community policing on a 24 hour basis needed to address the heightened need for a holistic and and including at least one woman in every patrol.? coordinated response to the systemic insecurity in the IDP camps. The JSA Report noted that “[t]he responsibility for providing protection to IDPs lies with the Government of Haiti. However, MINUSTAH’s mandate and the wider responsibilities of the international community also require a reinforced effort to protect IDPs, including women and children, from their exceptionally vulnerable circumstances.” * In April, the Office of the UN Secretary General (UNSG) issued its semi-annual report on MINUSTAH referencing the JSA and noting that security remained a problem. The UNSG reported (and we heard from the director of the HNP) that precincts “staffed by female officers of the Haïitian National Police and United Nations police have been established to encourage reporting of gender-based violence. Working in support of the HNP, United Nations police are conducting patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” * The report does not say where, how often, or how many officers are being deployed. Nor does the report provide details on patrols or on incidents of GBV. According to interviews conducted by LERN, and corroborated in the JSA Report, *° the police are rarely if ever inside the camps. Rather they may patrol the periphery in cars. Police officers also verified this, expressing the concern that patrolling inside the camps was dangerous to their own safety. 1? Some organizational members of the Sub-Cluster have attempted to address security issues in the camps. For instance, in April, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) performed safety audits in displacement camps Teleco, Villambetta, and Champ de Mars." In May, the American Refugee Committee (ARC) requested that UNPOL provide patrols to the Terrain Acra/Delmas camp.° The Sub- Cluster has reported that they have been successful in providing GBV training to police officers and medical staff. Since January 12, UNFPA has completed GBV training of approximately 800 police officers"* and 32 medical Id. 2 Id. at 15. 5 UNSG Report, supra note 122 at {| 43, { 31. 16 JSA Report, supra note 82 at 4 12. 7 Human Rights Council Statement, supra note 109. 1 Gender Based Violence (GBV) Sub-Cluster. “Preventing GBV: Security.” Monthly Update — Apr. 2010. 21 June 2010. http://groups.google.com/group/GBVSC_Haiti. # Gender Based Violence (GBV) Sub-Cluster. “Preventing GBV: Security.” Monthly Update — May 2010. 4 July 2010. http://groups.google.com/group/GBVSC_Haiti. ———————— 10 Id. 1 Id. Authors were unable to ascertain how many of these officers are female. 22 [page 23] Legal Framework Gaps still remain both in the laws themselves and enforcement. ”” Due to rampant corruption within the judicial system and the HNP, most rapes go unreported and n 147 unpunished. ” Actual sentences—even where prescribed—are often lighter than what is provided for in nt 148 k the criminal code. # * Victims seeking to prosecute perpetrators of rape face F F À 149 : # s ù numerous procedural hurdles. ” À woman’s word is more ; likely than not to be discounted or altogether ignored—as D | is the case with gender-based violence in Haiti and d | elsewhere. Haïitian judges, prosecutors and police routinely 4 ES d dismiss rape cases where the victim does not have a ÆA medical certificate or did not seek treatment within 72 hours, even though Haitian law does not require the 2€: 150 n certificates. ” In May, Michel Forst, the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in Haïti, reported that the General A : ei Hospital of Port-au-Prince had ceased issuing medical Prosecuting Rape Under Domestic Haïitian Law pi . ’ em certificates to rape victims because it was considered a + ñ 151 : : . au Le . ü “non-essential service.” ” While medical evidence can be Haiti’s Constitution explicitly recognizes that “[tlhe State . . ne: : : important to some cases, in many cases, such as where a has the absolute obligation to guarantee the right to life, . . . . ue victim did not physically resist because the perpetrator had health, and respect of the human person for all citizens : . . . see : . . . a gun, such evidence might not be useful. Imposing a without distinction, in conformity with the Universal dical certificat k t'eliminat : : 142 : medical certificate requirement eliminates many cases, Declaration of the Rights of Man.” ”” As discussed below, b icti q ft ble to find y ff d : : . : ecause rape victims are often unable to find or affor. protecting against rape and other gender-based violence is . p . Lu . : nel Lu nc medical services, or feel intimidated trying to access them. included within these obligations. Moreover, Haïti is a Ù . É party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of In fact, the Ministry of Justice has urged courts against : : 152 Len in nes : : 13 dismissal. Discrimination Against Women (Women's Convention), which mandates changes in domestic law as needed to be consistent with the obligations of the Convention (Article TT : ces detailed history of the development of Haitian law regarding violence against 2). Until very recently, however, Haïti had a weak statutory women and Current reform effort, see Faedi, supra note 68. : framework for deterring violence against women. After $ See Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, years of persistent advocacy by Haïitian women’s Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination . . . against Women: Haiti, | 24, U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/HTI/CO/7 (Feb. 10, 2009) advocates, Im 2005, Executive Decree No. 60 introduced [hereinafter U.N., Concluding Observations]; INTER-AM. C.H.R., Free from Violence, changes to existing provisions in the Haïtian Penal Code, supra note 68; Amnesty Int’l, Don't turn your back on girls, supra note 66. For : : se: : A A example, laws, or lack thereof, on sexual harassment, conjugal violence and including the reclassification of rape, Increasing the provisions on abortion still discriminate against women. U.S. Dep't. of State, 2008 severity of penalties. Sentences now include 10 years of Human Rights Report: Haïti, 7 (Feb. 25, 2009); U.N., Concluding Observations at 4 : : 144 : Le . . M Le prison for the crime of rape; 15 years ifthe victim was 24; INTER-AM. C.HR., Free from Violence, supra note 68 at { 98; Thony Belizaire, der 16 f Th t fi b th The List: The Worst Places to be a Woman, FOREIGN POLICY (May 2008); Library of under years of age. e sentence Tor rape Dy more an Congress, Federal Research Division, Country Profile: Haiti (May 2006). one person was and continues to be life in prison. #7 INTER-AM. C.H.R., Free from Violence, supra note 68 at { 109. # Id. at 9 115. ————— 1# In an interview, former Judge Patrick Pélissier (currently with MINUSTAH’s 2 Constitution d'Haïti [Constitution] 1989, Art 19. Human Rights section) told us that women face hurdles such as corruption in the 1 Ratification July 20, 1981, see http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx? justice system and societal discrimination. (May 4, 2010), (on file with authors). src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-8&chapter=4&lang=en. 159 In 2007, doctors and hospitals began issuing (free) medical certificates to 1 Under the statute, the punishment is forced labor in Haïitian prisons, but this is survivors of rape, as evidence of the assault. These certificates are intended as not usually the case. evidence to support the victim. U.S. Dept. of State, 2007 Human Rights Report: Le decret modifiant le regime des agressions sexuelles et eliminant en la Haiti (Mar. 11, 2008); INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, GENDER AND DIVERSITY matiere les discriminations contre la Femme [Decree Changing the Regulation of UNIT, SOCIAL SECTOR, À Response to Violence Against Women in Haiti: A Study on Sexual Aggressions and Eliminating Forms of Discrimination Against Women]; Domestic and Sexual Violence 24 (May 2008). Decree No. 60 of Aug. 11, 2005, Art. 2,(modifying Art. 278 of the Penal Code), Art. it Forst, supra note 7 at { 9. 3 (modifying Art. 279), Art. 4 (modifying Art. 280), Journal Officiel de la 12 Us. Dep’t. of State, 2008 Human Rights Report: Haïti, supra note 146; Faedi, Republique d'Haïti [J.0.][Official Gazette of Haiti], Aug. 11,2005, p. 1. Fora more supra note 68 at 191. 23 [page 24] The failure to effectively prosecute denies victims justice, 1. The Prohibition of Gender-Based Violence Under normalizes gender violence and provides prospective International Law perpetrators assurance of impunity. Prosecuting cases in Haitian court presents challenges, but with adequate In General Recommendation No. 19 (1992), the CEDAW support, training and capacity building for the GOH, they Committee took the lead in addressing gender violence as are not insurmountable. a form of discrimination against women, thereby dispensing with the need to compare the treatment of men . and women, and outlining state responsibility to prevent Obligations Under International Law to Address violence against women.” General Recommendation No. and Prevent GBV 19 explains that the definition of discrimination against women in Article 1 of the Women's Convention includes International human rights law expressly and implicitly gender-based violence, defined as “violence that is addresses GBV by, among other things, prohibiting directed against a woman because she is a woman or that discrimination on the grounds of sex, protecting the right affects women disproportionately.” "8 It includes acts of to bodily integrity, and guaranteeing the right to be free physical, mental, or sexual harm or suffering; threats of from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or such acts, or coercion. Further it clarifies that gender-based punishment. The Government of Haïti has ratified various violence may breach other provisions of the Convention, international human rights instruments that have direct even if those provisions do not expressly mention violence. bearing on women’s human rights, including the right to be free from rape and other GBV. These include: the Women's Furthermore, General Recommendation No. 19 recognizes Convention, International Covenant on Civil and Political that “gender-based violence is a form of discrimination Rights (ICCPR), International Convention on the Elimination that seriously inhibits women’s ability to enjoy rights and of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and freedoms on a basis of equality with men.” }* The CEDAW Convention on the Rights of the Child (Children’s Committee notes the “close connection between Convention)."® In the Latin American and Caribbean discrimination against women, gender-based violence, and region, Haiti is a member of the Organization of American violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” "°° States (OAS), and has ratified the Inter-American Gender-based violence therefore constitutes both a direct Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication violation of women’s human rights and contributes to their of Violence Against Women, known as the Convention of inability to enjoy the full range of civil, political, economic, Belém do Par, as well as the American Convention on social and cultural rights that are guaranteed under Human Rights (ACHR).1* international law. According to the Haitian Constitution, upon approval and The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against ratification, international treaties become part of domestic Women, adopted by the General Assembly in 1993, serves law and abrogate any conflicting laws.}*° Moreover, as as an important milestone in women’s human rights noted above, Article 19 of the Haïitian Constitution because it makes specific reference to violence against recognizes the State’s “absolute obligation” to guarantee women in both the public and private domain.!? Inspired certain human rights (i.e., “the right to life, health, and by the UN Declaration, the Organization of American States respect of the human person for all citizens without (OAS) adopted the Convention of Belém do Pard as a distinction”).1*6 binding treaty on June 9th, 1994 to affirm “that violence against women constitutes a violation of their human rights NES : and fundamental freedoms, and impairs or nullifies the Haïti ratified CERD in 1972, CEDAW in 1981, ICCPR in 1991 (by accession) and the Children’s Convention in 1995. See, the UN Treaty Collection Databases, Status of Ratifications, available at http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Treaties.aspx? ———————————— id=4&subid=A&lang=en. #7 Gen. Rec. No. 19, supra note 1. #% Haiti ratified the Convention of Belém Do Paré in 1997 and the ACHR in 1977. “Id. at 6. See, http://www.cidh.oas.org/Basicos/English/Basic.TOC.htm. 1 Id. at {1 5 “Les Traités, ou accords internationaux, une fois sanctionnés et ratifiés dans 10 Jd. at 14. les formes prévues par la Constitution, font partie de la Législation du Pays et #1 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. abrogent toutes les Lois qui leur sont contraires.” Haïtian Const. Art. 276-2, supra (1993), Art. 4, “States should condemn violence against women and... . should note 142. pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating 16 Jd. at Art. 19. violence against women ... .” 24 [page 25] observance, enjoyment and exercise of such rights and occurring in public or in private life.” #% This definition freedoms.”*? States arties “agree to pursue, by all follows the 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of appropriate means and without delay, policies to prevent, Violence against Women and the Inter-American punish and eradicate such violence and undertake,” among Convention of Belém do Parä. other things, to adopt new legal and administrative measures, amend or repeal existing legislation, and establish A large number of victims of gender-based violence in Haïti fair and effective legal procedures, to address the various are girls. International law prohibits sexual violence against 163 ï : : : forms that GBV takes. ” States Parties also agree to children, notably through the Children's Convention. !”° For “undertake progressively specific measures, including instance, the Children’s Convention specifies that States programs: (i) to foster international cooperation for the Parties shall “take all appropriate national, bilateral and exchange of ideas and experiences and the execution of multilateral measures to prevent. . . the inducement or programs aimed at protecting women who are subjected coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual to violence.” The Convention also includes a series of activity.” 71 A failure and unwillingness to protect female measures and programs in which States Parties agree to children from sexual violence and to prosecute their undertake and implement the needs of particularly perpetrators violates Haïti’s obligations under international 165 : : vulnerable groups of women. and regional law, as well as that of other nations.!”? UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which constitutes Il. Addressing Rape in Haïiti’s IDP Camps Through Due binding international law, calls for the equal participation Diligence of women in all levels of peace processes, protection from : : : 166 sexual violence, and the prevention of conflicts. ”” Other Over the years, international law has increasingly internationally recognized standards also address gender Lecognized that States have positive obligations with discrimination, including the UN Guiding Principles on regard to rights, notably, to act with due diligence to Internal Displacement. | These Principles reflect and are brevent, investigate and punish acts of violence against consistent with international puman rights law and women whether perpetrated by State or private actors, humanitarian law. They are designed to provide guidance and to adopt and revise domestic laws that protect victims ta States that are faced with the phenomenon of internal of violence, especially for women living in dangerous displacement. situations, including internal displacement camps. Le : “ For example, Principle 11 explains that, Internally A “fundamental principle connected to the application of displaced persons, whether or not their liberty has been the due diligence standard is that of non-discrimination, restricted, shall be protected in particular against: (a) Rape hich implies that States are required to use the same ... and other outrages upon personal dignity, such as acts level of commitment in relation to prevention, of gender-specific violence, forced prostitution and any investigation, punishment and provision of remedies for form of indecent assault. According to Walter Kälin, violence against women as they do with regards to the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human other forms of violence.” *”* The due diligence obligation Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, gender-specific must be implemented in good faith.7° violence is understood under the Guiding Principles “as an act of violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering on Ba f ñ d includi th ts of h act Walter Kälin, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement Annotations, Studies account of ones gender, including threats of such acts, in Transnational Legal Policy, No. 38, The American Society of Int’l Law, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether Washington, DC (2008). 7% Convention on the Rights of the Child, Arts. 16, 19, 34 G.A. Res. 44/25, U.N. = GAOR, 44th Sess., Supp. No. 49, U.N. Doc. A/Res/44/25 (1989), reprinted, 28 12 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of I.L.M. 1448. Violence Against Women “Convention of Belém do Paré,” preamble June 9, 1994, 7 Id. at Art. 34. 33 1.L.M. 1535. 7? Id. at Art. 19 28 Id. at Art. 7. 7 Yakin Ertürk, The Due Diligence Standard as a Tool for the Elimination of 1% Jd. at Art. &(i) Violence Against Women, { 25, E/CN.4/2006/61 (2006), available at 16 Jd. at Arts. 7-9. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/45377afb0.pdf [hereinafter Ertürk, The 156 U, N. Sec. Council Res. 1325, supra note 3. Due Diligence Standard]. 197 Guiïding Principles, supra note 3. P# Id. at 9 35. 28 Id. at Q 2. FF Id. at 36. 25 [page 26] What is more, it triggers States’ responsibility to prevent international human rights instruments; constitutional third-party interference with or harm of women'’s rights to guarantees of equality for women; the existence of non-discrimination and to be free from violence.” Article national legislation and/or administrative sanctions 9 of the Convention of Belém do Paré, for example, providing adequate redress for women victims of violence; explicitly recognizes that States Parties must “take special policies or plans of action that deal with the issue of account of the vulnerability of women to violence by violence against women; the gender-sensitivity of the reason of among others ... their status as migrants, criminal justice system and police; accessibility and refugees, or displaced persons ... [or because they are] of availability of support services; the existence of measures minor age, ... socio-economically disadvantaged, affected to raise awareness and modify discriminatory policies in by armed conflict or deprived of their freedom.” the field of education and the media, and the collection of data and statistics concerning violence against women. !*° CEDAW General Recommendation No. 19 affirms that the duty of States not to engage in acts of gender-based Thus, international law requires States, including Haïti, to violence extends to the liability for failure to act with due implement additional or special measures that are diligence to prevent, investigate and punish acts of specifically designed to ensure due diligence, including violence. International instruments that are concerned preventative measures that address the causes of such with racial violence have imposed similar due diligence violence. With respect to violations of bodily integrity in obligations on States. The CERD Committee has applied a particular, the Haïitian government has a duty to prevent, standard of due diligence with regard to the State’s investigate and prosecute such abuses, including when the positive obligation to address private racially motivated perpetrator is a private citizen. Where the State does not violence. In the case of L.K. vthe Netherlands," the CERD prohibit GBV or routinely fails to respond to evidence of Committee held that when threats of violence are made, rape or assault of women, it sends a message of the State has a responsibility to exercise due diligence and impunity—that such attacks are justified or, at a minimum, investigate such threats. will go unpunished. In this way, the GOH fails to take the minimum steps required under international law to protect Under General Comment No. 31 on Article 2 of the ICCPR, women’s rights to bodily integrity and, in some cases, to the UN Human Rights Committee asserts that if a State life. party permits or fails to take appropriate action to exercise due diligence to prevent, punish, investigate or redressthe III. Obligations of Donor States harm caused by private persons or entities, they may be in violation of Article 2(3).° The Committee explains that Under international law, the primary responsibility for the “[alll branches of government... and other public or protection of human rights falls to the government of the governmental authorities, at whatever level—national, individual State. However, this principle does not exempt regional or local—are in a position to engage the foreign states and international organizations from sharing responsibility of the State party”? to abide by Article 2 of this responsibility when donating to and operating within a the Covenant. When taken in conjunction with Article 3 particular receiving state. When the devastation is such that requires States to work to ensure the equal rights of men and women, Haïti is obligated to prevent GBV, which constitutes a form of discrimination. 1 Ertürk, The Due Diligence Standard, supra note 174 at { 32. #1 Itis worth noting that OAS member states have explicit obligations to one Women, Radhika Coomaraswamy developed a list of cooperative action, their economic, social and cultural development” (Art. 2(f)), considerations for determining State compliance with and “the fundamental rights of the individual without distinction as to race, . . ne . . " . nationality, creed or sex”(Art. 3(m)). Just after the earthquake, the Inter- obligations of due diligence, including: ratification of American Commission on Human Rights reminded the Haitian government, the international community, and implementing organizations on the ground of “the ——————— importance of respecting international human rights obligations in all ms ACHR, Art. 1.1; Belém do Par, Arts. 3-6. circumstances, in particular non-derogable rights and the rights of those most 7 Communication No. 4/1991 (1993), U.N. Doc. A/48/18 at 131. vulnerable.” INTER-AM. C.H.R., Press Release No. 11/10, IACHR Stresses Duty to 78 ICCPR, General Comment No. 31, The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Respect Human Rights During the Emergency in Haïti (Feb. 2, 2010), available at Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant, Art. 32, 175 4 8 (2004) U.N. Doc. http://www.cidh.org/Comunicados/English/ 2010/11-10eng.htm. Under Article A/59/40. 8(i) of the Convention of Belém Do Parä, “States Parties agree to undertake 1 Id. at 4. progressively specific measures, including programs: (i) to foster international 26 [page 27] that the government of the receiving state cannot Effectiveness, Gender Equality and Women's adequately perform its core functions, donor states must Empowerment## to harmonize approaches to support for pursue a course that protects human rights in partnership gender equality and endorse using global agreements and with the government of the receiving state. Key aspects of conventions such as the Women's Convention and the a human rights approach are accountability and monitoring 2008 Accra Agenda for Action ® to assess whether the of donor assistance. goals of gender equality and women’s empowerment are being met.!°° In recent years, the international community has agreed upon important principles for how foreign aid can be more Donor States must work in concert with the GOH to swiftly effective, and these principles have increasingly adopted a address the security crisis afflicting Haitian women in the gender focus. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), camps and uphold the human rights of women and girls}? some of which are considered to have reached the status of customary international law, ?? specifically identify gender equality and empowerment as a pivotal goal.!# The UN Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality outlined an operational framework of gender that prioritizes combating violence against women and girls, particularly in the poorest countries, and in conflict and post-conflict settings. ##* The linkage between an internationalized responsibility for meeting the MDGs, and the effectiveness of third party humanitarian intervention in the aftermath of natural disaster and situations of conflict lies in an integrative human rights approach. The Task Force on Education and Gender Equality notes that violence against women is an important development constraint.!# They note, further, that while “the international community has rallied to address other epidemics (such as HIV and tuberculosis), it has not responded in the same way to the epidemic of violence against women.” The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed Guiding Principles for Aid cooperation for the exchange of ideas and experiences and the execution of programs aimed at protecting women who are subjected to violence.” 182 Philip Alston, A Human Rights Perspective on the Millennium Development Goals, { 42, available at http://hurilink.org/tools/HRsPerspectives_ On_the_MDGs—Alston.pdf [hereinafter Alston, A Human Rights Perspective]. 7% See http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/gender.shtml. “Development policies and actions that fail to take gender inequality into account or to enable women —————— to be actors in those policies and actions will have limited effectiveness and #8 DAC Guiding Principles for Aid Effectiveness, Gender Equality and Women's serious costs to societies. The reverse is also true: the achievement of Goal 3 Empowerment, Gender equality: empowering women so that development is depends on the extent to which each of the other goals addresses gender-based effective (2008), available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/ constraints and issues. See Caren Grown, Geeta Rao Gupta and Aslihan Kes, 14/27/42310124.pdf. The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women, Millennium (www.oecd.org/dac) is an international forum where donor governments and Project, London: Earthscan (2005) at 1-2, available at http://www.unmillennium multilateral organizations come together to help partner countries reduce project.org/documents/Gender-complete.pdf [hereinafter Grown, Achieving poverty and achieve the MDGs. Gender Equality and Empowering Women]. *# Accra Agenda for Action (2008), available at http://siteresources. 18 Jd. at 2-17, see especially 3-4. worldbank.org/ACCRAEXT/Resources/4700790-1217425866038/AAA-4- 1 Alston, A Human Rights Perspective, supra note 183. SEPTEMBER-FINAL-16h00.pdf. 1 Grown, Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women, supra note 184 at 199 Id. 111. 11 See Appendix E, Letter from 12 U.S. Senators to USAID Administrator Rajiv 187 Id. at 119. Shah (2010) (urging prioritizing security for women and girls). 27 [page 28] Conclusions and Recommendations The State must also review, revise, and remove discriminatory laws against women. In situations of _ _ . _ . conflict, post-conflict and internal displacement, where sil RTE € k Na 14.274 \ women are particularly vulnerable to violence, additional Ne . 4 dé CALE a measures of protection should be put in place. Moreover, . = women affected by these issues should be involved in all Te & ar — stages of planning as required by UN Security Council CÉS vi | Resolution 13254* and other internationally recognized N ; > standards. International law requires that a gender 1 : Ÿ / he 67 0 perspective be integrated into ongoing discussions and ? ‘A Fe dr planning. Such a human rights-based approach is > l | d Pda mandated by international law and crucial to addressing D A Æ a ji and preventing the sexual violence women living in "Rs. de : ; Li 0 displacement camps face. More specifically, the UN Guiding Principles on Internal The Government of Haiti has an obligation to promote Displacement call on donor governments to consult with equality between men and women as well as to provide a Haïtian women and ensure their participation in decisions legal framework that protects women’s human rights that impact their lives. Effective consultations enable including preventing violence against women, The UN participants to actually influence outcomes and are Secretary General’s study on violence against women anchored in formal partnerships with Haitian women’s : : roups (particularly local grassroots groups), who are concludes that States are not only responsible for directly groups (p y 8 8 L ps), re : : : empowered and resourced to take public leadership in the addressing violence against women but also for rocess of reconstruction.” These Principles include: “identifying patterns of inequality that could result in p ‘ p ‘ violence and taking steps to overcome them.”1°2 Le ue 196 1 ne Participation: ”” Haitian women are both : : La disproportionately impacted by the crisis and key to When States fail to bring perpetrators to justice, they th p p try y MP Haiti y , ÿ Le : Li . : eir country’s recovery. Haitian women'’s implicitly condone such violence, giving rise to impunity iati y hould N f b Ited and Le : organizations shou erefore be consulted an that facilitates further abuses and normalizes GBV. Thus, : ë dedi d dd k dth LL: included in needs and damage assessments, an e the lack of accountability leads to further endangerment . . . Be : ” . for women. Furthermore, women lose faith in the justice design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation for LL : . addressing and preventing sexual violence as well as all system as prevailing gender inequalities are reinforced. lief 4 A ti 8 R tati £ : . : relief and reconstruction programs. Representatives o Guaranteeing that perpetrators of violence against women , pi g' p . are held accountable requires more than increasing grassroots women's organizations must be materially : : : : compensated for time spent working on relief and penalties for their actions. The State must act with due p p É 8 . diligence in preventing violence against women and recovery efforts and offered childcare, transportation oo tiicgt and other support to enable their full and equal providing justice for women who have already suffered ticipati pp q : : : : articipation. violence by implementing effective measures to ensure p p thorough and timely investigation, prosecution and punishment, as well as by providing access to redress for victims. The standard of due diligence is clear in CEDAW General Recommendation No. 19.1° 1 SC Res. 1325, supra note 3, affirming “the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stressing the a importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the 2 Secretary-General’s study on violence against women, 61st session of the maintenance and promotion of peace and security” (Resolutions 1880, 1888, and General Assembly Item 60(a) on advancement of women, U.N. doc. 1889 reaffirming). A/61/122/Add. Para. 1 (forthcoming 2010). # One methodology is available in the UNHCR Tool for Participatory Assessment 13 Additionally, the CAT Committee made it clear in its General Comment No. 2 in Operations, available at http://www.unhcr.org/450e963f2.html. that States must exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and 155 Guiding Principles, supra note 3 at 18(3) and 23; also reflected in the Accra punish gender violence. CAT/C/GC/2 (Jan. 24, 2008). Agenda for Action, 21(b), supra note 190. 28 [page 29] Non-discrimination: ” Reproductive health services organizations themselves to develop mechanisms to must be provided to women, and measures to protect hold governments and non-State actors accountable to women from sexual violence must be implemented. their commitments. Such aid must also require open These include safe access to storm-resistant temporary and transparent systems of accountability, so that the shelters, adequate street lighting, and safe spaces implementation of the commitment to gender equality where women can organize and access culturally may be monitored. appropriate psychological counseling and other services. Communities must be rebuilt in ways that are We respectfully call upon donor States, UN agencies, safe and inclusive of women and uphold women'’s NGOs, the GOH, and all civil society stakeholders to affirm property rights. these principles and follow the Report recommendations in the planning for Haïiti’s national relief and reconstruction Capacity Development: # Provide resources and throughout the PDNA process and beyond. Additionally, we facilitate technical assistance for women's urge all stakeholders in Haïti to: organizations to rebuild and enhance their capacity. Such programs should meet needs identified by 1. Immediately provide for increased security and lighting women’s organizations themselves and be in the camps; implemented by grassroots and other women’s groups when feasible. Economic recovery programs must be 2. Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against geared towards women who work in the informal Women to visit Haïti; sector and who are single heads of households, offering them a full range of training, credit and 3. Guarantee women’s full participation and leadership in business support services. all phases of the reconstruction of Haiti as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and other Accountability:"” In order to ensure accountability, it internationally recognized standards; is critical to establish fair and transparent systems with the active engagement of all sectors of Haitian 4. In collaboration with civil society organizations, enact a government and civil society, including women’s systematic collection of data that documents the groups. Accountability is crucial to fulfilling national prevalence and incidence of all forms of violence and international gender equality commitments made against women in the IDP camps; and by Haiti at all levels of governance and reconstruction efforts. Reform aid mechanisms, consistent with 5. Act with due diligence to prevent, investigate and Haitian sovereignty, to strengthen democratic punish acts of violence and promote the full protection governance and build the national economy to reflect and promotion of women’s human rights. the rights and priorities of Haiti’s poor majority. We applaud the actions of the GOH, the UN, and donor Transparency:° Every new pledge toward the States to assist the people of Haïti in this time of crisis, and recovery and reconstruction of Haiti should require hope the findings of this Report help guide governments, that international assistance to the country’s public international organizations, and other stakeholders in and private sectors integrate gender equality issues providing for even more effective protection and and concerns, including through the participation of promotion of women’s human rights in Haiti. The women in the decision-making processes relating to rebuilding process in Haïti, as in other disaster areas, the distribution of international financial presents serious challenges. However, with persistence, assistance. Governments and aid agencies should these challenges are not insurmountable. With improved provide funding and training to enable women'’s coordination of UN agencies and aid relief coupled with the insight and expertise of the full spectrum of Haitian women 19 Guiding Principles, supra note 3 at 4, 11212): 1902). leaders and NGO groups, the UN Cluster System’s efforts 18 Id. at 4(2), 18, 22, 23(3), 28, 29; also reflected in the Accra Agenda for Action, would likely prove to be very effective and result in durable supra note 190. . protection of women and girls’ human rights. Guiding Principles, supra note 3 at 27; also reflected in the Accra Agenda for Action, supra note 190. 2% Id. 29 [page 30] Addressing the right to be free from violence goes hand-in- hand with rebuilding Haiti. As UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo stated: If we are to secure women’s rights and their freedom from violence, it is imperative that we adopt an integrated human rights perspective that stresses the equal importance of civil and political rights and economic and social rights. Unless women can develop their capabilities and achieve economic independence, the human rights they are promised will not be realized. 21 Statement by Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Its Causes and Consequences, to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, 54th Session, Mar. 3, 2010, available at http://www.un.org/women watch/daw/beijing15/general_discussion/SPECIAL%20RAPPORTEUR%200N%20VI OLENCE%20AGAINST#20WOMEN.pdf. 30 [page 31] Acknowledgments Overall Editor and Coordinator Blaine Bookey, Esq., Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (JDH)/Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) Report Authors Blaine Bookey, Esq., IJDH/BAI Lisa Davis, Esq., MADRE Jennie Green, Esq., University of Minnesota School of Law Deena Hurwitz, Esq., University of Virginia School of Law Royce Murray, Esq., Independent Consultant Kasia Paprocki, Goldin Institute Erica Richards, Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLP Additional Research and Writing Flynn Coleman, Esq. Roxane Dimanche, Av., École Supérieure Catholique de Droit de Jérémie Amanda Gray, JD Candidate, University of Virginia School of Law Christel Green, Esq., U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants Christina Ashie Guidry, JD Candidate, University of Virginia School of Law Danya Harnett-Robinson, JD Candidate, Columbia University School of Law Meghan Heesch, JD Candidate, University of Minnesota School of Law Erin Krinsky, JD Candidate, Emory University School of Law Jessica Lopez, JD Candidate, Emory University School of Law Tania Rose, Esq. Amy Senier, Esq., Foley Hoag LLP Investigative Teams: Lawyers’ Earthquake Response Network May 2010 Anne-Carmene Almonord, Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLP Blaine Bookey, Esq., IJDH/BAI Tamara Brown, Esq., Independent Consultant Lisa Davis, Esq., MADRE Betsy Freeman, Certified Nurse Midwife Tamara Gaw, Esq., TransAfrica Forum Deena Hurwitz, University of Virginia School of Law Colleen McLaughlin, Goldin Institute Royce Murray, Esq., Independent Consultant Kasia Paprocki, Goldin Institute Erica Richards, Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLP June 2010 Rachel L. Jensen, Esq., Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Jennifer Lai, Esq., Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Nicole Lee, Esq., TransAfrica Forum Translation Team: Haïtian Education & Leadership Program Anne Martine Augustin, Faculte de medicine et de pharmacie (Universite d'Etat d'Haïti) Michel Ange Dagrain, Ecole Superieure Infotronique d’Haiti Nemdia Daceney, Quisquéya Emmanuella Delsoin, Faculte des sciences (Universite d’Etat d'Haïti) 31 [page 32] Appendix A KOFAVIV Camp Security Report Port au Prince, Haïti S | 18 July 2010 NN \S KOFAVIV KOFAVIV (Committee of Women Victims for Victims) is a grassroots women’s group that has members living and operating in camps throughout Port au Prince and has been working with victims of sexual KOMISYON FANM VIKTIM POU VIKTIM violence since 2004. We have 25 agents (ajan) in different camps that THE COMMESSION OF WOMEN VICTIMS FOR VICTIMS k Li provide support for victims and document rape. We have found that the problem of insecurity in the camps is still unresolved. Contrary to the recent UN report that claims security has been provided in problem areas, people living in many camps are forced to provide their own security through banding together, forming informal security patrols or “brigades,” and using whistles as a deterrent for rape with little resources. Each night, there are groups of armed men who come to harass camp dwellers. There is no police protection. There have been some camps including Stad and Fomekredi Meranata that have received electricity during the evening to increase visibility and safety. However, those camps do not have official or unofficial security patrols to augment those improvements, resulting in a continued lack of security. Several women reported that they were aware of at least two camps that have adequate and more consistent lighting as well as informal security, which has resulted in decreasing levels of rape and other violence against women. Informal security efforts, which have demonstrated success should be supported with resources. For example, flashlights, salaries, telephones, t-shirts and small salaries would be of little cost and go a long way towards making women and girls safer. The following list describes the current security situation in the camps, as measured by lighting and informal security, as documented by KOFAVIV in the camps where our agents operate: This is an example where the coupling of lighting with informal Kafoufey Yes Yes No security has had a positive effect. Improved lighting, even though only on the perimeter, has appeared to Stad Yes No Yes decrease the number of cases. Camp managers have issued an identification cards for people who live in the camp to control entry, but it has not been entirely Kasim Matisam No No Yes effective without other resources. Kanaren 2 No No Yes Fomekredi Meranata Yes No Yes There were two rapes between July Mon Jn Pije No No Yes 11-17 reported to KOFAVIV. There is security during the day, but Fils Pye Lwi No Yes Yes there is no security during evening. Sant Pilot 1 No No Yes Sant Pilot 2 Yes Yes No Reïji Site Soley No No Yes 32 [page 33] Plas Petion (CDM) Yes No Yes Matisan 2B No No Yes Mozele 7 No No Yes Tiplas Kanzo No No Yes In addition to sexual assault, there have been other security concerns, Soley 17 Yes No Yes such as robbery. Plas St Ann No No No Plas Dessalines (CDM) No No Yes KOFAVIV started an informal brigade of local residents to help Sit CSDSM No No No provide security. Camp residents have started an Krwa De Bouke (Duval 30) No No Yes informal committee for security. Krwa De Bouke, Lyse St Jak No No Yes La Hochel — suplas No No Yes La Hochel - de uzin Yes No KOFAVIV has documented at least 15 rape cases here since the Petion Ville Club No No Yes earthquake. Some flashlights have been distributed, but that is not a substitute for security alone. The informal brigades and committees that camp community members created for security cannot do their job without proper resources including lighting. Because of the continuing insecurity, people cannot leave their tents at night, and instead are obliged to stay inside their tent and must remain awake because they are scared of violence. There have been several cases of younger girls who are victims of rape. Children are often left unaccompanied, either because they have no parents or their parents must leave in search of food or work. KOFAVIV also reported that young girls have been lured away by one man to a secluded area where 10 more will be waiting to gang rape her. Because water is not provided to a camp, young people must leave to search for water for the family, which puts them at a greater risk for rape. KOFAVIV has a presence in these camps where our members live. These are the facts on the ground in the camps as we experience them daily. As mentioned previously, there are some camps that have electricity in the evening as well as informal security patrols. Those camps do not have problems of violence against women and rapes, and we hope that more camps can receive these services now. For more information, please contact: Malya Villard-Appolon or Eramithe Delva Co-Coordannatrice fanmkofaviv@yahoo.fr (509) 3453-0081 / 3450-5053 / 2515-7020 33 [page 34] Appendix B ee 1 Inatitute for Justice & Democracy in Haïti SEdAA Bureau des Avocats Internationaux VY IRG ï NI A For Immediate Release May, 17,2010 Contacts: Blaine Bookey, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (DH), (415) 515-8956; blaine@ijdh.org Lisa Davis, MADRE (212) 627-0444; lisadavisnyc@ gmail.com Deena Hurwitz, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law (434) 924-4776; deena( virginia.edu US. Delegation Finds Inadequate Response, and “Victim-Blaming” Approach to Rapes in Haitian Displacement Camps Lawvers collect rape survivor accounts and plan legal strategy PORT-AU-PRINCE (May 17, 2010) — In over a week of on-site interviews and exploration, a delegation of U.S. lawyers, health professionals, and community activists found continued alarming rates of rape and other gender-based violence (GBV) in the displaced persons camps throughout Port-au-Prince since the Haitian earthquake in January. Expressed sentiments on the part of some Haitian government officials that victims are somehow to blame for the rapes is outrageous 10 human rights attomeys and community members, who find that women face a grave lack of security necessary to prevent and respond to the sexual violence crisis. Medical services are overwhelmed and unable to meet women’s healthcare needs stemming from the assaults. “Its critical that we dispel the myth that these rapes are a result of promiscuity,” said Blaine Bookey, an attorney with the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (LDH), and coordinator of the delegation. “These are violent crimes being perpetrated by strangers in the dark of night and they merit the attention of the police and other groups helping organize the camps.” The vast majority of the women and girls reported being raped by groups of armed, unknown assailants who often beat them in the course of the attack, and threatened them with further violence if they reported the rape. Perpetrators often attack at night, when women are asleep beside their children; or when they go to the latrines, men wait for them in the dark stalls. “It is totally unacceptable for these rapes to continue to go unpunished.” said Mario Joseph, Managing Attorney at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), which hosted the delegation at its office in Port-au-Prince. “We are now building strong legal cases to hold rapists accountable and bring these women the justice they deserve.” 34 [page 35] Women who report rapes to the police describe being turned away, not taken seriously, or told to notify the police if they see the rapists again. “Pa tap vini” or “They never would have come,” described one woman as to why she did not report her rape. These experiences foster the perception that reporting to the police is futile, especially if the survivor cannot identify her assailants. “If we are going to overcome a culture of complete impunity for rapists, we must create environments in which survivors are able to report these crimes and be taken seriously” said Lisa Davis, an attorney with MADRE. ‘“Haiti's political and economic crises both before and as a result of the earthquake still do not relieve the authorities of the responsibility to protect women from sexual assault,” said Deena Hurwitz, associate professor and director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law. Information regarding medical and legal services for survivors of rape is largely unavailable, and where available, it is generally incorrect and incomplete. Where services exist, women face prohibitively long waits, lack of privacy, and limited access to female healthcare providers. “I accompanied a 15-year-old rape survivor to the General Hospital, where we waited for three hours before being led to a dirty cot in a public room, where a male doctor was to conduct the exam. I ended up conducting the exam myself in another doctor’s living quarters.” said Betsy Freeman, women’s health specialist on the delegation. Medical certificates, instrumental in documenting cases of rape, are not reliably issued. Based on these findings, the Port-au-Prince based BAI and the Lawyers’ Earthquake Response Network, LERN, call on the government of Haiti, UN agencies, donor nations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in Haiti to immediately improve services for rape survivors, and take concrete steps to reduce rape in the camps. Police patrols must increase to include all camps, and officers must patrol inside the camps, not just around the perimeter. Patrols should, where possible, include female officers. Police stations must have female officers who can help victims file reports, and all officers should have training to sensitively take women’s reports. About the Organizations Coordinated by the HDH-organized Lawyers' Earthquake Response Network (LERN), the delegation included representatives from MADRE, the University of Virginia School of Law, TransAfrica Forum, the ABA Section of International Law, and the law firm of Morrison and Foerster, Members met with grassroots women’s organizations, including KOFAVIV and FAVILEK, and larger NGOSs including Kay Fanm and SOFA. LERN now has over 360 lawyers and law students responding to various post-earthquake needs. LDH and BAI fight for human rights and justice in Haiti and for fair and just treatment of Haitians in the United States. LE 35 [page 36] Appendix C Oral Intervention of Malya Villard-Apollon Human Rights Council 14" Session — June 7, 2010 1. Council Members, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. 2. My name is Malya Villard-Apollon. I am a leader of KOFAVIV, a grassroots women's organization that works with victims of sexual violence. I, myself, was a victim of rape in 1992 and again in 2003. We work with several partners including MADRE, the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haïti and the law firm Morrison & Forster. © 3. Conditions in the displacement camps, following the January 12 earthquake, have exacerbated women’s vulnerability to rape. Women and girls live in constant fear for their safety. 4. Ilive in a tent in a camp. I have witnessed violence against women and girls. And, Lhave also witnessed the completely inadequate government response. KOFAVIV has recorded at least 242 cases of rape since the earthquake. But, we have yet to see a case prosecuted. 5. The violence is occurring in the camps because: a. There is no education around sexuality and women’s rights, b. Security is inadequate: c. There is a lack of secure housing: d. And, aid distribution is ineffective and aid agencies fail to consult grassroots groups, which deepens poverty and fosters violence. 6. Although violence against women is common, rape survivors like myself refuse to believe that it cannot be stopped and neither should the members of the Council. 7. Irespectfully urge the Council recommend that the Intermational Community work with the Government of Haïti to do the following: a. Provide human rights education, including gender sensitivity training for men and police, and know your rights trainings for women: b. Immediately provide security and lighting in the camps; c. Remind donors that the ‘UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement” implore governments to consult with Haitian women and ensure their participation in decisions that impact their lives: d. And, finally, all member States should condition funding on meeting these basic requirements to uphold women's rights. 8. Voices like mine are often not heard in forums like these, thank you again for your attention. 36 [page 37] Appendix D Pou akonpayman ak sipo kontakte: + Centre Douvanjeu, bureau SOFA (Salitarite Fanm Ayisyen} ñ Fe eue Villemensy. Part au Prince Tel 3455-4924, 3455-4922 Si yon moun ou konnen oswa ou menm ta sibi + Centre Douvanjou, Martissant 3 rue Nemours, Mariszant #7 Tel 3455-4915 kadejak, oswa lôt kalite vyolans, ou pa koupab. + Kay Fanm 11 Rue Armand Hally Tel 3495-4927, 5455-4930 Genyen 72è (3 jou) pou reyaji apre yon kadejak. Mounn nan dwe wè yon doktè nan sant sante sa yo Fôk ou siyale sa pou pita sou 3 jou (72è). Lè sa a + Centre GESKHIO 33 Blvd Marry Truman Tel 2222-0031, 2222-2241 ñ : : + Hôpital Bernard Mevs ou ka sove la vi pa-w, oswa lavi pa zanmi an tou. Village Salidarile - Rte de l'Aeropart Tel 1402.9095, 3508-1838 + SOFA (Solidarie Fanm Ayisyent Fantamars 45 #11 Tel 34554918 - … + Hôpital de la Paix Delmas 33 Protangé {en Face Menfrasa) Nou pare pou bay tout sipù ou bezwen yo, san lt + Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) Rue Capcis, Chamgs de Mars (pres de l'ambassade de France) moun pa konnen. * Clinique GAPSI {SOEUramel) 75 Rue Lamare Tel 3710-0767 + APROSIFA 122 Route des Dalles (Carrefour Feuilles) Tel 3557-5987, 3824-8191 : - * : Pour être soutenue, contactez Si quelqu'un que vous connaissez ou vous même : ù . . + Gentre Douvanjou, bureau SOFA (5alitariis Fanm Ayisyan) aviez subit un viol ou une autre forme de violence, rue Vilemonmy, Port au Prince Tai 3455-4924, 3455-4922 & + Centre Douvanjou, Martissant 3 rue Namours, Martissant 97 Tel 3455-4915 vous n'êtes pas coupable. + Kay Fanm 11 Rue Armand Holy Tel 3455-4927, 3455-4930 Dans les 72 heures, il vous faut recevoir des soins médicaux à Il faut que vous rapportiez les faits dans au moins + Sente GEBKINO 33 Bhd Harry Tran Toi 2222-0881, 2222-2341 + Hôpital Bemard Mevs 3 jours (72 :00 heures). Cette démarche peut Vilage Solidarits — Rte de l'Aeropont Tel 3402-9095, 3508-1835 S UE + SOFA (Soldarte Fanm Ayisyent Fontamar 45 #31 Toi 3455-4918 sauver la vie de l'amie ou la votre. + Hôpital de la Paix Delmas 33 Proiangé jen Face Hentrasa) + Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) Rus Gapois, Champs da Mars (pras de l'ambassade de France} ” ; ñ + Clinique GAPSI{SOEUramell 75 Rue Lamerre Tel 3710-0767 Vous pouvez tout de suite recevoir une assistance + APROSIFA 122 Route des Dalles (Caretour Feuilles) Tel 3557-5997, 3824-5191 en toute confidentialité. == « EG Misr Te ee) LS où IR LS #8 unicer®| 37 [page 38] Appendix E + 4 4 Qnite States Senatc WASHINGTON, DC 20510 May 12, 2010 The Honorable Rajiv Shah Administrator US. Agency l'or International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523 Dear Administrator Shah, We are writing to express our concern about thc protection and salely u[ women and girls in Haiti following the devastation of the January 12, 2010 earthquake. While we recognize the tremendous list of needs in Haiti, we ask that you make the safety and wellbeing of women and girls & high priority throughout relief assistance efforts in l'ort-au-Prince and throughout the country. Unfortunately, women and voung girls throughout Haiti are increasingly vulnérable 10 gender-based violence. As vou know, gender-bascd violence and rape were often used to intimidate and establish authority by the military de facto regime that controlled Haiti from October of 1991 Lo September ul 1994. The lawlessness during this time period bred a cycle of viulence against women within che Iaitian culture that has been hard to eliminate, While Haiti struggled with gender-based violence and human trafficking issues prier Lo the eurthquake, the ensuing lawlessness has increased vulnerability to and the occurrence of gender-based attacks. In addition, many of the programs and shelters established to halt such violence and exploitation were destroyed. As Haiti focuses on rebuilding efarts. the United States, and other donor nations, should provide funding specilically for gender-based violence programs and services that will protect women and allow them to earn a living, increasing cconomic stability in Haiti. In many developing countries, including Haiti, women are ollen the primary income earners and caretekers of their families. Women living in a safe environment are better able to care for their families, properly feed and educate their children, and contribute to the local economy. The safety of women is important and their unique perspective should be consulted in efforts 10 combat trafficking and gender-hased violence, The protection of women and girls must be integrated throughout rclicf assistance e[orts in Haiti. Among the immediate needs of food, shelter, cooking fuel und water, women need protection to be able to use latrines and bathe privately. Health services and secure places to report incidents of altacks and exploitation within these local communities are essential, as is access to comprehensive gender-based vialence services that provide adequalte relerral information and address the health. safety and psychological needs of survivors. 38 [page 39] Additionally, as the rebuilding process moves forward, a coordinated and comprehensive security plan should be created that prioritizes the salety of women and girls. The layouts of camps and settlements need to take safety concerns into account, including good lighting to minimize the risk of violence, Thosc who arc charged with providing security should understand the particular nccds of survivors of gender-based violence. Training on sexual exploitation, abuse, violence and human tralficking should be provided for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAIT) forces as well as the national police and local communities. Also, a zero tolerance policy for the sexual exploitation of women and girls should be established among MINUSTAH forces, Without a doubL, the road to rebuilding Haïti will be challenging. We appreciate the work you and your counterparts have undertaken to provide assistance, We urge you Lo continue 10 work with President Renc Préval and other Haitian government officials to establish long-term serviccs throughout Haili that provide for the safety and wellbeing of women and girls as well as lo ensure Lhal women are included in gender-based violence programming decisions, Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely. cc: The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinçon Secrelary of State Mike Johanns ; Frank R. Le À United States Senalor United States Senator Sam Brownback : " Johnson ; " United States Senator United Stat nator Richard J. Durbin Olympha 7. Sndwe United States Senulor United States Senator 39 [page 40] Dianne Feinstein Charles E, Schumer United States Senator United States Senator United States Senator fnited States Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. ie Kristen E. Gillibrand United States Senalor United States Senator 40 [page 41] Appendix F ..e ce A ..e PRO/301/GENDER 04 June 2010 10/066 Dear Ms. Duarte, The Haiti Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Sub-Cluster, a coordination mechanism with 350 members seeking to support coordination in the humanitarian context between Government, NGOs and UN in the fight against GBV, received the statement on violence against women in Haïti sent out by the organizations of the MADRE coalition. The coordination group appreciates the interest of the MADRE coalition and agrees with the concerns it raises. In the aftermath of the earthquake, there is an even greater need for support for women and girls. We believe that current response to gender-based violence does not meet existing demand. The Sub-Cluster is pleased to work together with MADRE in efforts advocating for improved response and increased protection of women and girls, especially those in the over 800 sites and other affected areas. The Haiti GBV Sub-Cluster agrees with point 14 of MADRE's statement about the need for continuous and increased coordination, especially between the Haïitian government and national and international actors. It also reiterates its collective will to upscale the response against GBV through the implementation of the National Plan To End Violence Against Women 2006-2011. The harmonization of the data collection system is a key part of the National Action Plan, and supporting the plan will indeed facilitate case registration in affected areas. Concerning UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and a possible visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women to Haiti, members of the Sub-Cluster, and in particular UNFPA, UNIFEM and UNICEF fully support the idea and any proposal advocating for respect, compliance and monitoring of international conventions and standards. The Sub-Cluster would like to share additional information and provide some clarifications regarding ongoing efforts to respond to and prevent GBV in Haiti. Following the earthquake, immediate actions are focused on responding to incidences of GBV by ensuring that women and girls have access to the services they need — medical, police, legal, and psychosocial protection. Most of these services available were discontinued after the earthquake. Mapping what remains — and helping women access it — has been an enormous challenge. This involves informing existing structures — police, humanitarian organizations, medical facilities, and many others — on how to refer cases appropriately, and to respond in a way that prioritizes the needs of the survivor above all. ED Ms. Diana Duarte Media Coordinator MADRE Fonds des Nations Unies pour la Population - Boulevard Toussaint Louverture - Minustah Log Base - Port-au-Prince, Haiti Boite Postale 557 - Port-au-Prince / Email : office@unfpahaiti.org 41 [page 42] UNIFEM supports Kay Fanm and SOFA in an innovative initiative to respond to the challenges that women and girls face in 49 sites. Specially trained psychosocial support teams sensitize the general population, women and girls in particular, and camp managers on GBV. The teams work with women and girls on how to protect themselves and prevent acts of violence; and teams play an essential role by contacting, listening to, and accompanying survivors of violence to Kay Fanm, SOFA, and the others referral sites where they receive medical, psychosocial and legal support. Other national and international organizations such as APROSIFA and CARE have benefited from the first round of training and also begun to provide proximity services in the sites where they are working. Other national and international partners are also demonstrating an increased focus on addressing the risks of GBV to women and girls in the aftermath of the earthquake. While GBV is under-reported everywhere — even in countries with well-functioning, high-quality services — efforts are underway to re-establish monitoring, reporting and coordination mechanisms by strengthening the national response and by building the capacity of public institutions. The “Concertation Nationale Contre les Violences Faites aux Femmes”, a taskforce comprised of government, international agencies including UNFPA, UNIFEM and UNICEF, and national organizations, has been working for many years to put in place a system and structures for preventing, responding to, and tracking GBV. This process was completed in December — less than a month later the earthquake decimated three of the four data collection units. Efforts are being made to revive the use of the National Form and to re-establish the process that existed prior to the earthquake. Following the earthquake, the law enforcement capacity of the Haitian National Police and the justice system were severely compromised as most of its infrastructure has collapsed and many officials remain unaccounted for. This is an unfortunate loss for this institution that, in close collaboration with the Concertation Nationale and UNFPA, had made concrete steps in the last year for improved services to GBV survivors, framed by a protocol signed between the Ministere a la Condition Feminine et aux Droits des Femmes (MCFDF) and the Ministry of Justice. Systematic training of police cadets and officers and the establishment of adequate physical spaces to receive GBV survivors in pilot police stations are tangible examples of this progress. While insecurity remains an issue in displaced camps, those addressing GBV are also being proactive about prevention and protection. incidences of violence can be prevented by ensuring that women are not at risk because of the construction or layout of camps and settlements, or as a result of the methods and modalities for distribution of humanitarian assistance. Engaging the security sector — particularly the Haitian National Police — has been a positive strategy. They have been patrolling camps — at night, on foot, in areas that are problematic — and this serves as a deterring force. Regarding the justice sector’s response to GBV, since the passage of a law in 2005 that criminalizes rape, efforts have been made to strengthen the justice response and inform judges throughout the country on relevant national laws and international conventions. As an example of the progress made, in 2008 18 rape cases brought before the justice system have resulted in penalties of 3-15 year prison sentences through the support of UNIFEM to the organization Kay Fanm. Other landmark rulings were also made in the North and the South East. In the aftermath of the earthquake, strengthening the response capacity of the justice system is a priority. 18 42 [page 43] The creation and distribution of cards providing referral information for survivors of GBV is an initiative of the GBV Sub-Cluster. In the immediate aftermath, nearly 50,000 cards and leaflets were printed in French and Kreyol to ensure that women and girls, as well as agencies who make referrals, have access to information on where to seek assistance. The referral cards provide vital information to survivors of GBV and the contact information for the referral centers are verified weekly by members of the GBV Sub-Cluster. Not all telephone numbers work at all times and many organizations listed are under-staffed, under-resourced, and lack the capacity to respond adequately to existing demand. However, the most important information on the referral cards is the physical addresses of hospitals and women’s organizations and that information has always been correctly printed. While all clinics do not always have a supply of anti-retroviral prophylaxis, a system is in place to accompany survivors from a clinic lacking ARVS to a clinic that has the drugs available. It is important to note that it is not unusual for such problems to exist in emergency contexts. Mobile phones have been distributed to psychosocial support teams and to support the referral process. Further, work is also being done to revitalize a national hotline number to field calls for all types of emergencies, including sexual violence. The challenges are great — but much work is underway. The GBV Sub-Cluster feels that the current challenge is in providing survivors with access to safe spaces and shelters and adequate case management. We hope that these small clarifications will be received as contributions to the great challenges that you are raising and we believe that the collective effort will improve the effective protection of women and girls of Haiti. Sincerely, Igor Bosc Chair Sub GBV Cluster 43