There is a humanitarian crisis going on right now in Haiti. Tens of thousands of men and boys have lost their lives in the conflict. But gender-based violence against women has also crept onto the island nation targeting women and girls as a means of torture and control.
And as I say this, it hits me in a very sobering way. Why? Because it is the country of my ancestry. Such a sad statement to make about a country that is known historically as the first and only successful slave revolt against Napoleon --- and won its independence in 1804.
Soon after Haiti’s independence, the island nation helped many other countries in Latin America gain their freedom too. For instance: Columbia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Panama. Haiti also helped it’s neighbor the Dominican Republic fight Spain in the Dominican Restoration War. Now, we know that history is sacred and those facts will never change but, if you didn’t know the history of Haiti, the current crisis has turned the country 180-degrees ---- from what it once was.
Gender based violence is harm, whether physical, sexual, psychological, or economic, directed against an individual because of their gender. The gender-based violence that is crippling the country right now is primarily committed by the over 200 armed gangs that have taken over 90% of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. And the current police force is finding it very difficult to get control of the situation. ---In 2023, there were on average over 15,000 police officers for the country of 11 million people; That is a ratio of about 1 to 709 people. Which is considerably below the accepted police to civilian ratio of 1 to 450 people.
Right now, over 700,000 people are currently homeless because of armed gangs. And without any formal camps set up to house those who have lost their homes due to gang violence, ---- many of the homeless now take shelter in schools across the capital city.
Now, Correctly determining the rate of increase in sexual violence in Haiti is difficult due to several factors like the absence of government institutions, gang control over 90% of the capital city, victims’ inability to report incidents because of the ongoing stigma surrounding these crimes, and a history of repercussions for those who come forward to report these crimes.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
So, what are some possible solutions, you might ask? Well, this crises in Haiti is multi-tiered and because there are so many facets to it, I suggest a multi-faceted solution. For one, there’s a ground swelled discussion currently happening right now in the diaspora fully supporting reparations to Haiti from France. And I agree 100%. You see, 20 years after Haiti won the war against Napoleon, France demanded reparations. It was in the amount of 121 million Gold Francs which is equivalent to $21 Billion U.S. dollars today. --- That money was in fact paid back bringing the island nation financially to its knees. Haiti was bankrupt. ---- Now how could that reparative money be used? Well, it could be used in a number of ways but most importantly it should go to rebuilding the country. Which means using it towards infrastructure development, agriculture, health care and rebuilding hospitals with state of the art equipment, building birthing centers. It should go towards education, mental health services and a myriad of other areas. Another very important issue that needs to be addressed is a paradigm shift that must occur within Haiti’s government and local leadership. The corruption that has existed in these spaces has also played a role in this current crisis and it must be addressed.
