Haiti's sexual violence survivors face dwindling support, report warns

By Sarah Morland

Survivors of sexual violence in Haiti face worsening risks and dwindling support amid the growing influence of armed gangs, a collapsed healthcare system and a frozen justice system, a report warned on Monday.

Nearly 4,000 women and girls reported being victims of sexual violence in the first 10 months of 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in the report, noting that many people do not report due to fear of retaliation and poor prospects of receiving help.

Those who do seek care often cannot do so within the critical 72-hour window to access drugs to treat HIV exposure or emergency contraception, the report said, as many cannot afford private healthcare and as public clinics shut down due to violence.

In October, the U.N. warned that just 24% of health facilities were operating in Port-au-Prince's metropolitan area. This month Doctors Without Borders, a major free healthcare provider, halted operations, citing rape and death threats from police.

Haitian feminist organization Neges Mawon said it has this year received reports of some 230 rapes in just two neighborhoods outside the capital, and four pregnant women died due to poor healthcare and blocked medical supplies.

Abortion is illegal in Haiti.

A 25-year-old mother of four told HRW that she was raped by four men in Port-au-Prince's Cite Soleil area while looking for water.

"Now they do whatever they want to all of us," she said. "I couldn't go to the doctor. I didn't have money."

In a separate report released on Monday, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC) said outgunned police, a "woefully" under-resourced international mission, political infighting and violent vigilantism are aggravating Haiti's general crisis.

"It is difficult to identify any meaningful inroads on the part of law enforcement," it said, adding that the transitional presidential council's recent ouster of the prime minister resulted in the council's "reigning over a mountain of ashes."

The prime minister's replacement saw the two women who previously held senior cabinet positions - foreign affairs and economy - removed from their posts.

"More than 150 feminist and human rights groups have endorsed an action plan to ensure the full participation of women," said Neges Mawon on X. "It is clear fighting violence against women and girls is not a priority for this government."