Haiti: Gender-Based Violence and Rule of Law

Gender-Based Violence in Haiti

As in many countries, gender-based violence is a serious concern in Haiti. The January 2010 earthquake in Haiti exacerbated existing structural inequalities, producing a spike in sexual violence in particular. In response to a request filed by women and girls in Port au Prince, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued precautionary measures requiring the Government of Haiti and the international community to prevent and respond to sexual violence in the displacement camps. The government has adopted some measures to protect against gender violence, and is currently revising its Penal Code in ways that may facilitate prosecutions for sexual crimes, but impunity remains high.

In January 2012, New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice reported that 14% of displaced households identify at least one member who has been a victim of sexual violence. An additional 70% indicated that their fear of sexual violence increased since the earthquake. The results from a separate survey of Haitian households released in March 2012 also indicate a dramatic escalation in criminal violence. Residents of low-income areas were 27 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than residents in wealthier and less densely populated areas. A grassroots movement of Haitian women’s groups mobilized in response, and attorneys at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux have been pursuing criminal complaints against aggressors with some success.

LGBT Discrimination and Violence in Haiti

Discrimination and violence against the LGBT community is also pervasive in Haiti and has increased since the earthquake as lesbians and gay men were blamed with having wrought the devastation. Local activists have documented numerous cases of LGBT violence, including verbal harassment, physical assaults, rape and, at the extreme end of the spectrum, murder. While Haitian law does not criminalize sexual acts between members of the same sex, LGBT individuals are also frequently harassed by the police and arbitrarily arrested under baseless charges such as public indecency or corruption of minors. As a result of this deep-rooted homophobia and violence, LGBT rights activism in Haiti has developed cautiously. However, it is gaining momentum parallel to developments in international law recognizing sexual orientation and gender identity as categories protected against discrimination.

CGRS Work in Haiti

CGRS has established partnerships with organizations in Haiti and abroad working to address sexual and gender-based violence and LGBT discrimination and violence in Haiti including MADRE, KOFAVIV, New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti and the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux. Our collaborations advance legal and policy reforms to combat impunity and to hold the government accountable for its obligations to prevent, protect, and punish aggressors. CGRS has submitted testimony to United Nations bodies monitoring Haiti’s compliance with its human rights obligations. We joined the legal team to work on implementation of the IACHR’s 2010 decision calling for accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence, and we collaborated with a coalition in Washington, D.C. to initiate a resolution drawing attention to gender-based violence in Haiti. CGRS works closely with local grassroots organizations and lawyers and is continuing to monitor efforts to enact comprehensive framework legislation on gender-based violence.

CGRS has also developed materials for Haitian asylum seekers in the United States and Canada to help secure protection for women, children, and LGBT refugees when the Haitian legal system fails. We provide technical assistance for attorneys who represent Haitians in immigration proceedings, offering strategic advice, documentation, and other litigation resources.

CGRS signed onto the leadership letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act. The effort was successful, and the bill (S.1104) was passed by the committee on June 24th and is slated for swift action on the Senate floor. The letter was also highlighted in a Huffington Post piece written by UUSC’s President & CEO Rev. Dr. Bill Schulz.

Promoting Legal Education: The Hastings to Haiti Partnership

CGRS Director Karen Musalo and UC Hastings Professor Richard Boswell established the Hastings to Haiti Partnership (HHP) in the late 1990s. HHP advances the rule of law in Haiti by supporting legal education and promoting human rights enforcement. HHP is a collaboration between the University of California Hastings College of the Law, including CGRS, and the École Supérieure Catholique de Droit de Jérémie (ESCDROJ), the Catholic Law School of Jérémie. CGRS Deputy Director Moira Duvernay and Co-Legal Director Blaine Bookey were student leaders in HHP and are now involved in a leadership role with the partnership, working closely with Haitian lawyers to launch the first and only law school clinic at ESCDROJ that will provide legal services to victims of sexual violence. More information about the partnership is available here.

Read HHP's Spring 2016 Newsletter here!