Sexual violence against Women in Haiti

Sexual violence against women in Haiti is widespread and has a long history. There are records of women being raped by soldier that arrived in Haiti with Christopher Columbus from 1492.

ADVERTISEMENT


When Haiti was the French colony known as Saint-Domingue (1625 - 1789) rape was a popular method of torture in the slavery based economy. Sexual violence was also rife during the Haitian Revolution (1789 - 1804) and the American occupation of Haiti (1915 - 1934).

In an effort to suppress political opposition, thousands of women were subjected to sexual violence during the dictatorships of Francois Duvalier, Jean-Claude Duvalier and Raoul Cedras, in the 20th century.

Nowadays, sexual violence against women in Haiti is still commonplace. It is difficult to ascertain accurate figures with under reporting common due to a number of factors including: the fear of reprisals, mistrust of the police, difficulties arising from a convoluted reporting process and efforts to avoid the social stigma attached to being raped.

UN reports from 2006 suggested that half of the women living in Port-au-Prince's slums had been subjected to sexual violence at some stage. The recent 2010 earthquake may have exacerbated this situation although it is difficult to say for sure as many instances go unreported. However, more than a million Haitians have been displaced to refugee camps where the conditions are poor and women are less protected from opportunistic perpetrators of sexual violence.

Human rights groups are taking action to help protect women such as providing self-defense training and whistles to call for help.

Reply to this article

Read more: Sex, Woman, Sex Abuse, Sexual violence, Culture

« Michigan Matthew Andrew Carter, sentenced to 165 years for sexually abusing children in Haiti | Main | Himmler Rebu revealed corruption and abuse at the Minister of Sport »

Return to Articles List

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

E-mail (required, will not be published)

Subject: Sexual violence against Women in Haiti edit

» »

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.