Médecins Sans Frontières releases new report about sexual violence in Haiti

Photo ©Benedicte Kurzen

 Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) recently released a report on sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in Haiti and is calling for more support to address the issue.

The report includes quotes from victims of SGBV (with their names changed to protect their anonymity) and their stories are as heartbreaking as you think they are.

The report states that official statistics do not exist on the scale of violence against young people and specifically violence against girls and women in Haiti. Nonetheless, available evidence suggests that 28 per cent of women aged 15-49 reported having experienced physical violence, and more than one in 10 Haitian women have faced sexual violence at some point in their lives.

“The lack of coordination between actors intervening in the field of SGBV is a huge constraint for consolidated data and statistics,” said a spokesperson for MSF in an email interview. “Additionally, SGBV cases are likely underreported due to stigma and shame, as well as fear of reprisal from perpetrators or the community. Many survivors do not seek medical help, or do not know services for SGBV survivors exist. A referral network of service providers for SGBV survivors, efficiently coordinated at national and local levels, is urgently needed both to improve access to services for survivors and to have a better understanding of the overall picture.”

In May 2015, MSF and other agencies opened a clinic called Pran Men’m (Haitian creole for “take my hand”), to help those affected by sexual violence. From its opening until March 2017, the clinic has provided care for 1,300 SGBV survivors.

More than 80 per cent of those who have gone to the clinic have been raped and 80 per cent of those are under the age of 25, according to the report.

Since abortion is illegal in Haiti, MSF has to work within that legal framework.

“Abortion is illegal in Haiti,” said the spokesperson. “That is why MSF informs the community in its outreach activities about the importance for survivors to seek care as early as possible, preferably within the first 72 hours after abuse, to be able to use emergency contraception and avoid unintended pregnancies. When the survivor is already pregnant when arriving at the clinic, our psychologists provide extended counselling and encourage these patients to follow adequate antenatal care. Social workers also help survivors to seek social assistance when they need to by referring them to adequate services.”

Although the vast majority of SGBV victims are women, boys and men comprise three per cent of the people who are treated at the clinic. Of this group, 70 per cent are minors. The report suggests the risk of stigma leads to boys and men to be less likely to report sexual violence or seek medical care.

The report recommends: rapid availability of free medical and psychological care for SGBV survivors; more training for health professionals; emergency contraception and medicines for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections; more sexual education in schools, especially in primary and secondary school systems.