Tous droits réservés. Republié avec l'autorisation du·de la détenteur·rice du droit d'auteur et de l'éditeur·rice, Le Nouvelliste.

This article explores the challenges that emerge at the intersection of economies of compassion and terror: local, national, and international forms of humanitarian assistance; security practices in insecure social and institutional environments; questions of

While gender-based violence is not a new phenomenon in Haiti, the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake further exposed the vulnerability of Haitian women and girls to gender-based violence and the limited possibilities for women to evince a judicial response to gender-specific violations of the law. Drawing from the experiences of Haitian lawyers and women’s rights advocates, this paper will examine women’s barriers to accessing justice in Haiti by drawing on actual examples of gender-based violence at each step of the investigatory process under the Haitian justice system.

The author argues that the sustained representation of rape purposefully draws our attention to gendered violence that has often been obscured in favour of broader forms of violence (in the forms of slavery, dictatorships, coups, occupations, etc.). Moreover, this paper deals with a writer whose approach to sexual violence also unveils its occurrence outside of contexts that are overtly political.

This report provides a gender profile of conflict in Haiti from the 1950’s up to 2004. Beginning in 1956 during the Duvalier regime, this report outlines the countless ways in which women and children in Haiti have continued to suffer from chronic political unrest. The report describes political, humanitarian, and economic problems that have impacted the lives of many women and children such as political rapes under the Duvalier regime or the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is ongoing.

This report provides a brief explanation of the cultural norms, relevant history, and recent events that have shaped Haiti’s criminal system and its response to gender-based violence. It describes the international human rights instruments adopted or joined by Haiti which mandate that countries secure certain rights to victims of sexual violence and bind Haiti to act on behalf of these victims.

The January 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti. Described by the UN Secretary-General as “one of the largest, most serious natural disasters in recent decades”, the earthquake unleashed a humanitarian crisis demanding unprecedented international action.1 More than 230,000 people were killed and 300,000 more injured. Large parts of Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Léogâne and other smaller towns and outlying areas were turned to rubble,
leaving nearly 2 million people homeless.

Sixteen-year-old Blanche left her grandmother's home in the Carrefour Feuilles neighborhood at dusk. She went to a nearby square to do her homework.
Like many other schoolchildren living in areas of Port-au-Prince without electricity, she was going to do her homework by the light of one of the only streetlights in the neighborhood still working.

While she was studying, a man approached her. She asked him to leave. He did so, but returned soon after, accompanied by other men who pointed guns at Blanche while the first man tore off her clothes and raped her.

Le séisme de janvier 2010 a dévasté Haïti. Depuis cette catastrophe, les besoins spécifiques des femmes et jeunes filles qui vivent dans des camps en ce qui concerne la prévention des violences liées au genre et les mesures à prendre pour y faire face n'ont pas été suffisamment pris en compte. Les risques de viols et d'autres formes de violences liées au genre dans les camps haïtiens ont atteint des proportions effrayantes au cours de l'année qui vient de s'écouler.

En Haïti, la violence sexuelle contre les femmes et les filles est omniprésente, et vise essentiellement les mineures. On estimait qu'en 2007 plus de 100 000 filles âgées de six à dix-sept ans étaient employées comme domestiques. Ces mineures courent tout particulièrement le risque de subir des sévices physiques et sexuels. Les enfants employés de maison sont souvent issus de milieux très défavorisés.