The story of even one rape in the post-earthquake tent camps of Haiti would be tragic and newsworthy. But, according to Amnesty International and a Haiti-based research institute, rape is now a widespread and systematic problem in quake-ravaged Haiti.

Haiti's police and judicial services were decimated by the quake and more than 4,000 prisoners escaped from the main jail. Women have lost their male protectors, and many men are jobless and frustrated.

Sexual violence was a reality for many in Haiti before Jan. 12, but the quake has exacerbated the problem. Preventing rape and providing medical and psychological support to victims are proving major challenges for local authorities and relief agencies.

"All the vulnerability factors that existed before are now increased because of the situation in the camps, because of the situation in the camps, because of the overcrowding ... and the fact that the justice and policing structures were completely overwhelmed themselves by the earthquake." said Chiara Liguori, Caribbean researcher at Amnesty International, who returned last week from a three-week research trip to Haiti.

Liguori interviewed rape victims aged mostly between 13 and 21. There have been reports of much younger victims. Amnesty concluded that sexual violence was "widespread" in the camps. [The victim, in the photo below, was raped by three men who grabbed her as she walked to use the bathroom.]


"Rape is a systemic problem in Haiti. Now, with no security in the camps and no privacy ... and a lot of escaped prisoners, this is something that was waiting to happen," said Louis Herns Marcelin, chancellor of the Haiti-based Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED). Source: Rape blights lives of Haiti's quake survivors, AlertNet.com

The research also found that sex-for-food and sex-for-shelter were becoming common practice. Victims feel shame and fear reprisals and often don't speak out. To add insult to the injuries, the attackers often live in the same camp as the victims. They share what slivers of shelter and rations available.

Jayne Fleming, a U.S. human rights lawyer who visited Haiti earlier this month, met 30 rape victims during a one-week stay. She said some had nowhere to sleep, others felt suicidal and many had not received any medical treatment for prevention of pregnancy or HIV/AIDS.

Haiti has the worst rate of HIV infection in the region and officials fear the quake will set back years of progress in fighting the virus. Source

The United Nations is leading a group of agencies, using radio and leaflets, to educate women about gender-based violence in Haiti. The information informs women about what they can do to help prevent an attack and urges victims to report to a medical facility within 72 hours of being raped.

Tents for women and children, called "safe spaces," are being installed in some camps. Thousands of solar flashlights will be distributed to women in camps and the United Nations is also looking at installing LED street lights in settlements.

Policing has also been stepped up in some camps and seems to be yielding results, said Lina Abirafeh, coordinator of the gender-based violence subcluster of agencies.

"We've encouraged police to patrol inside the camps on foot at night, which is different from before when they just did a big loop on the main road but didn't actually go in," Abirafeh told AlertNet from Port-au-Prince.
Abirafeh said women in the downtown Champs de Mars camp had told her they'd noticed more patrols in past weeks and one potential perpetrator had been caught. Source

Until quake survivors have shelter, with lockable doors and enough police officers to patrol and secure all of the camps, it is unlikely that the attacks will dissipate any time soon.