Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Haitian women hold together families, communities, and the country.  Despite this, violence against women and girls remains a persistent problem.  The kindnapping, torture, and murder of a high school girl has infuriated civil society who are pushing artists, influences, and politicans to do more to prevent and respond.  The girl, Evelyne Sincère, has become a symbol of injustice - but not indifference this time.  If Haiti is to change, both civil society and the government will need to work tirelessly for the protection of women and girls.  The best way to honor Evelyne is to prevent it from happening to anyone else.  The full article by Miami Herald journallist Jacqueline Charles follows. 

Haitian women are holding the country together - yet are vulnerable to gender-based violence and other abuses.  According to USAID, one out of every three Haitian women between the ages of 15 - 49 has experienced gender-based violence.  In this era of #MeToo, women are increasingly choosing to be voices for change instead of suffering in silence.  Haitian comedian Gaëlle Bien-Aimé is a brave Haitian comedian who has shared her experience as a rape survivor and became a human rights activitist.  Through her performances, her outreach, and her example she encourages other survivors to do the same.  Most about this inspiring activist in the full article below. 

The Haitian government has a responsibility to determine who can and cannot enter/stay in the country and under what circumstances.  In the wake of the Oxfam prostitution scandal, the government has indicated that it intends to review all charities to determine the extent to which their staff have been involved in/reported sexual abuse and exploitation.  The list of foreigners who have sexually exploited Haitians is long - but it especially stings when committed by people who claim they are there to help such as UN peackeepers, rogue missionaries, and aid workers.   This review could be a first step to improving oversight of the multiltudes of NGOs in Haiti.  The full article by Reuters journalist Joseph Gulyer Delva follows.   

As the UN Peackeeping Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) winds down, it leaves a mixed legacy - less insecurit and better police along with an ongoing cholera epidemic and a number of Haitian women who became pregnant by U.N peacekeepers. Reuters journalist Makini Brice notes in her article below that while the United Nations has a "zero tolerance" policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, peacekeepers move on while their children grow up without any support. Haitian lawyers intend to file law suits although the timing is unclear.  The United Nations has a long track record of promising but under-delivering on accountability in peace-keeping operations - how these women are treated will be an indicator of whether anything has changed.