Haitian women and girls face ‘alarming’ violence in displacement camps: UN

Lack of infrastructure in Haiti’s makeshift camps puts women and girls at risk of gender-based violence, UN report says.

Haitian women and girls are facing an “alarming” level of violence, including threats of rape, in makeshift displacement camps that have sprung up as a result of a surge of gang violence in the Caribbean nation, the United Nations says.

In a report released on Wednesday, UN Women said the camps lack basic necessities, such as lighting and locks for bedrooms and toilets, which leaves women and girls “particularly at risk of sexual and gender-based violence”.

“Gender-based violence has reached alarming levels, with aggression against women and girls, and more specifically rape, being used in most camps as a deliberate tactic to control access to humanitarian assistance,” the agency said.

The report comes as a second contingent of Kenyan police landed in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince this week as part of a UN-backed mission that aims to tackle a surge in gang violence.

Haiti has reeled from years of violence as armed groups – often with ties to the country’s political and business leaders – have vied for influence and control of territory.