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Supporting survivors: Addressing the surge in sexual violence in Haiti [1]
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Date: 2025-06
"Sometimes I want to hurt myself... to end my life. What keeps me alive, what prevents me from giving up, are my children", shares R., a 35-year-old internally displaced woman in Haiti who survived rape and sexual assault by armed gang members. To protect her identity, we refer to her as R., a practice used throughout this article to respect survivors’ privacy.
Since March 2024, the escalation of armed violence in Haiti’s Port-au-Prince metropolitan area has been marked by a surge in gender-based violence (GBV), predominantly affecting women and girls. According to Haiti’s GBV sub-cluster, co-led by the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights (MCFDF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), nearly 6,500 GBV cases were reported in 2024, with 1,250 more recorded in January and February 2025. Over 60% of these cases involve sexual violence, often tied to forced displacement. Humanitarian workers believe these figures are likely underestimated due to fear, stigma, and limited access to services.
R., 35, lives at a site for internally displaced people’s site after surviving rape and sexual assault (Credit: PAHO/WHO - David Lorens Mentor)
In response to this emergency, the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is working closely with Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) and local partners to meet the urgent health needs of GBV survivors, ensuring access to medical care and psychosocial support.
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[1] Url:
https://www.paho.org/en/stories/supporting-survivors-addressing-surge-sexual-violence-haiti
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