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Aid cuts are threatening women’s organisations responding to Haiti’s gang violence
As armed gangs expand their control, women-led organisations are providing critical support to survivors of violence and displacement, negotiating for humanitarian access, and supporting peacebuilding. Sweeping aid cuts put their work at risk.
Armed gang violence has exploded in Haiti in recent years. Once largely concentrated in Port au Prince, armed gangs have expanded their control across the country, bringing with it violence and insecurity.
Some 790,000 women and girls are among nearly 1.47 million people who have been forced to flee their homes. Gang members are using sexual violence as a tactic to terrorize, exploit and extort women and girls, and their communities.
Homes and businesses have been burned to the ground, or taken over by the gangs, and more than 1,600 schools have been forced to close. Healthcare and legal services have been decimated – all at a time when the need for them is colossal.
“Women are beaten, there is sexual violence against women, and women are dying.”
—Roselene Pierre, President of the Rassemblement des Femmes Engagées de Ouanaminthe (RFEO)
“There are some women who are raped and forced to be the wives of some of these gang leaders… If I was still there, I can’t imagine what could have happened to me”
—Katiana
More than 80% of women living in displacement sites are unemployed
Gangs are exploiting their poverty and displacement and using threats to coerce women and girls into joining, and serving, gangs
Women-led organisations are helping survivors rebuild their lives and communities
“I lost my brother. I lost my cousin. I lost my aunt. And I lost my friends, many people”, says Loudmia “They shot them, set them on fire. They burned their houses.” Loudmia faced severe trauma and sought refuge in Ouanaminthe. She was brought to RFEO by one of her friends who saw her living on the streets with her three children.
She describes the support as lifesaving: “It was because of this friend who brought me to RFEO that today I am here. I am living.”
How is UN Women supporting women and girls in Haiti?
UN Women is on the ground in Haiti, working with partners including government institutions, United Nations entities and women-led organisations, among others, to provide critical support and lifesaving assistance to women and girls impacted by the worsening humanitarian crisis.
As co-lead of the Network for Gender Equality in Humanitarian Action (REGAH), UN Women plays a key role in coordinating and promoting a humanitarian response that meets the specific needs of women and girls across the country.
Through our support to women-led organisations we provide psychosocial support to survivors of violence, cash transfers to help women set up small businesses, help families access critical services and necessities such as food, and strengthen protection, participation, prevention and recovery within communities.
How to donate to Haiti
Donate to Haiti online
Use this page to make your donation online to send urgent support to women and girls in Haiti.
Donate with your company
For information on how your company can support women and girls in Haiti, please email info@unwomenuk.org