Haiti: Gangs use sexual violence to instill fear – UN report
Date of Publication
2022 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Human Security
Keywords
Human Rights, Haiti, Gang Violence, Sexual Violence
Description
The report painstakingly documents sexual crimes perpetrated against women, girls and boys of all ages, as well as to a lesser extent men, by gangs waging their turf wars and seeking to expand their areas of influence. LGBTI+ people have also been targeted. Armed gangs have used rape and collective rapes to instill fear, punish, subjugate, and inflict pain on local populations. Viewed as sexual objects, women, girls, and sometimes men, are also coerced into becoming the “partners” of armed elements, in gang strongholds. Refusing such sexual demands can lead to reprisals including killing and arson attacks. The report further highlights that sexual violence occurs in the context of kidnappings, when some women and girls are repeatedly subjected to rape, by one or multiple armed captors, at times over the course of several days or weeks. The kidnappers have even used recorded videos of the rapes to press the victims’ families to pay the ransoms.
Report Location
Haiti: Gangs use sexual violence to instill fear – UN report
The report painstakingly documents sexual crimes perpetrated against women, girls and boys of all ages, as well as to a lesser extent men, by gangs waging their turf wars and seeking to expand their areas of influence. LGBTI+ people have also been targeted. Armed gangs have used rape and collective rapes to instill fear, punish, subjugate, and inflict pain on local populations. Viewed as sexual objects, women, girls, and sometimes men, are also coerced into becoming the “partners” of armed elements, in gang strongholds. Refusing such sexual demands can lead to reprisals including killing and arson attacks. The report further highlights that sexual violence occurs in the context of kidnappings, when some women and girls are repeatedly subjected to rape, by one or multiple armed captors, at times over the course of several days or weeks. The kidnappers have even used recorded videos of the rapes to press the victims’ families to pay the ransoms.
