has lived the bloodiest year in recent times. At least people have died due to gang violence, a figure higher than in 2023, when . Entire communities have been decimated by some of the most violent massacres our nation has ever seen. Just a few days ago, by the leader of a gang in the marginal and impoverished commune of Cité Soleil, in Port-au-Prince, in one of Haiti’s worst mass murders in decades.
The horrors that women and girls face are especially chilling. Rape and sexual violence are rampant, and perpetrators act with almost total impunity. Women are attacked in their homes, on the streets and on public transport. Between January and October, more than 5,400 cases of gender violence were reported, 72% of them related to sexual violence. These figures, which are already alarming, are probably only a small part of the real figure.
And yet, the world looks the other way. The international attention that briefly settled on Haiti is now dimming. It is being installed in countries and international organizations. Mass murders barely make the news headlines. Aid is declining even as crises such as earthquakes, climate disasters and political violence increase, and governments are thinking twice before committing to new investments. At the same time, hopes pinned on the Kenyan-led police mission are fading as the violence continues, unchecked and relentless.
Last week, 200 displaced women and girls staged a sit-in to demand protection of their rights. They are the backbone of Haiti, but they cannot do it alone
A war against women and girls
The terror being inflicted on women and girls in Haiti demands that we not look away. When I talk to survivors, and how powerless they feel to protect their sons and daughters. Gangs use rape as a weapon to terrorize communities. Women whose homes have been burned or looted are forced to live in displacement camps, where they face deplorable conditions and further violence. An 18-year-old mother I spoke to fled her neighborhood in search of safety in a displaced persons camp. Instead, she was attacked again. His words haunt me: “What I am going through is not human.”
Survivors of violence and abuse need medical care, safe houses and psychological support. But funding for these critical interventions has fallen dangerously low. The UN has raised only 42% of the $674 million (€642 million) needed for Haiti’s humanitarian response this year, with only a percentage going to protecting women and girls. This is a moral failure.
You often hear violence against women described as a “hidden epidemic.” But in Haiti, the rape and torture of women and girls is not “hidden.” It is a deliberate and inhumane tactic of gang warfare. It is painfully visible and unbearably ignored. The women and girls I meet every day don’t hide either. They are fighters. Girls are using community radio to talk about their rights. Last week, 200 displaced women and girls staged a sit-in to demand protection of their rights. These women are mobilizing in their communities and offering hope for a future free of violence. They are the backbone of Haiti, but they cannot do it alone.
The Kenya-led UN intervention will not offer a solution if it is only a short-term remedy and is not backed by a clear and well-funded plan to address the structural causes of violence, in particular gender-based violence.
There’s no time to wait
The safety of women and girls in Haiti is non-negotiable. In addition to stepping up efforts to confront gangs, the international community must prioritize funding women-led organizations to provide medical care, safe shelters, and justice to survivors of their brutality.
Of course, the horrors faced by Haitian women and girls will not end until gang violence is ended. However, given the past failures of international security and peacekeeping missions in Haiti, it will not offer a solution if it is only a short-term remedy and is not backed by a clear and well-funded plan to address the causes. structures of violence, in particular, gender violence.
With 2025 upon us, we must ask ourselves what kind of world we are willing to tolerate. Haitian women and girls deserve more than our sympathy. They deserve action to be taken. Let’s not wait for the next grim milestone to respond.
