The double weakness of girls: discrimination and sexual violence in Haiti.

• Author: Faedi, Benedetta

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION A. From Slavery to Independence B. "Where Pigs Feast and People Starve" III. PRACTICES OF DISCRIMINATION AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS IN HAITI A. Fieldwork and Research Methods B. Discrimination and Sexual Abuse Behind the Family Door C. The Girl's Body as Property: the Practice of Restavek D. Political Rape E. Gang Rape and the Girl's Body as Territory III. INTERNATIONAL LAW AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE TO SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN HAITI A. International Human Rights Benchmarks B. National Legal Framework C. Gender Inequality in the Criminal Justice Responses 1. Attrition of Rape Cases 2. Internalization of Gendered Stereotypes 3. Police Response to Sexual Violence 4. Dysfunctions and Gender Bias in the Criminal Justice Institutions V. PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE A. Women Fighting Back B. Recommendations for International Commitments C. Recommendations for National Interventions 1. Legislative Measures 2. Plan of Action for Police Forces 3. Reforms of the Criminal Judicial System and Alternative Models for Change D. Interventions at the Community Level VI. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION

[Rape] is something you never forget. I still carry it around with me in my heart, in my soul. I think of it when I go to bed and I think of it when I get up. It doesn't let you go. (1)

This Note is about poverty, inequality, and sexual violence. Using empirical research, it explores cultural beliefs, practices of abuse, and criminal justice responses to the widespread and systematic rape affecting girls in the shantytowns of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Dominated by the vestiges of the French colonization and plagued by destitution and political instability, Haiti faces rampant violence and disarray leaving the majority of its population in unbearable conditions of despair. Often regarded as a pariah state by the international community and erratically supported or invaded by foreign players, Haiti remains a forgotten country despoiled by human rights violations, decadence, and turmoil.

In the struggle of everyday life and open-air confrontations among armed groups, criminals, and political rivals, rape and practices of discrimination and abuse against girls alternatively become weapons of war and strategies for survival. When starvation, massive attacks, and deliberate slaughters occur, the distinction between distress and impermissible violence gets lost. Rape becomes an unfortunate damage and an inevitable tool of war. Shedding light on a secondary country, this paper discusses inequalities, social expectations, abuses, and legal responses to the secondary human rights for girls, who suffer the double weakness of being women in children's bodies. Given the critical condition of children and the widespread and systematic sexual violence affecting girls in the country, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict for the first time included Haiti in its Report to the Security Council of 2006. The dynamics of armed violence in Haiti are very different from the conflict situations of other countries. Adopting a pragmatic and cooperative approach, the Special Representative declared the use of rape as a weapon of war, affecting an estimated 50% of girls living in the conflict areas of Port-au-Prince, of particular concern. (2) Along the same line, the official delegation of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights visited Haiti in December 2006 to report structural violence against women and girls in the country. (3)

Given the increasing attention paid to this issue, this Note explores the link between historical heritage and political failure, as well as the connections between material scarcity, warlike terror, and sexual harm. It proposes an understanding of the cultural root causes underlying the practices of discrimination and sexual violence against girls and ultimately determining the experiences of love, loss, and denial of justice. By means of an engaged analysis of the international human rights benchmarks on the one hand, and the criminal legal responses on the other, this Note identifies the gap between international law aspirations and human rights outrages: where law is lacking and women lose, where justice fails and gender bias prevails. This same analysis serves the purpose of envisioning potential strategies, future preventive approaches, legal proposals, and policy recommendations aimed at ensuring effective protection for girls in Haiti and honoring the ultimate quest for human rights.

The first part of this Note focuses on the historical legacy and economic deprivation which profoundly shape the Haitian culture and inform current practices of discrimination and abuse against girls. Slavery, a warlike past, misery, and political instability are essential factors within the greater context of human rights violations and gender-based violence occur. The second part of this Note explores cultural beliefs, discriminatory thinking, and gender disparity which often degenerate into practices of sexual violence and exploitation behind family doors as well as in the public domain. Power-imbalanced relationships and domestic abuse naturally impair girls' and women's statuses within the Haitian social hierarchies and ultimately generate patterns of gender-based violence, becoming indispensable weapons for the blind purpose of war.

The third part of this Note describes international law standards regarding human rights for girls and the evolution of national legislation on the issue, largely informed by those standards themselves. Despite the efforts undertaken to comply with the commitments assumed by Haiti to the international community, the analysis reveals that, unfortunately, criminal justice responses remain inadequate and profoundly informed by corruption, internal dysfunctions, and gender bias. Finally, the fourth part of the Note provides an assessment of extant approaches of intervention adopted by international organizations and civil society institutions. This examination offers insight into designing future preventive measures, legal proposals, and policy recommendations aimed at protecting girls more effectively in Haiti.

The data informing this Note are the result of involved fieldwork comprised of thirty-eight face-to-face interviews conducted with interviewees from international and national institutions, governmental representatives, and a few victims. Pursuing this research in Haiti in the midst of political uncertainty, social malcontent, violent confrontations, and brutal reprisals against the local population and foreigners has been a challenging, but insightful, experience. Every work is partially the fruit of personal events that capture one's attention, this project was no exception. In particular, two very different episodes, in which I was either a powerless spectator or a silent and compassionate listener, motivated me to contemplate the unfortunate and hostile destiny of Haitian girls.

During my stay in Port-au-Prince in December 2006, I was driven home one night, as usual for security measures by United Nations personnel. On the way, I glimpsed an unusual movement on my side of the street. Drawing nearer to the window, in the dark of a secondary narrow path almost entirely obstructed by open-air garbage, I saw a group of young men forcibly dragging a little girl and beating her on the head while she struggled. I jolted up in my seat and screamed to stop the car, but safety rules in situations such as this require personnel to leave the area and promptly report the case by radio to security forces. This we did, but when the patrol arrived at the location only few minutes later, they could not find any trace of the victim or her aggressors. I will never know what happened, but I kept thinking about that night and the little girl long afterwards.

Only few days later, through an employee of Medecins Sans Frontieres, I arranged an interview with two representatives--victims themselves--of a national organization providing primary medical assistance to girls affected by sexual violence in a conflict area of Port-au-Prince. Because security measures prevented me from entering the area, both women consented to travel 1.5 hours each way, in the midst of political demonstrations and disorder, to reach the UNICEF compound where I was staying. On the day the meeting was scheduled, I waited for them in vain. Later I learned that they had come, but the receptionist had sent them away, being suspicious of their intentions. Nevertheless, both women returned the following day, not for money, but for the sole purpose of telling their stories. After a long, stressful, and poignant interview, they anxiously asked me to keep their names and participation confidential, fearing possible retaliations against their families or themselves. Therefore, their identities, like those of any other interviewee for this study, will remain anonymous. Their narratives, however, have inspired or informed the very core of this Note in many different ways and served as a painful memory of what no girl should have to endure.

2. CONTEXTUALIZING DISCRIMINATION AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS IN HAITI

   1. From Slavery to Independence

      Li pale franse

      (He speaks French (so he is likely deceiving you).) (4)

      The Republic of Haiti is located in the Caribbean between Cuba and Puerto Rico and shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Separated by only two hours by plane from the United States, Haiti has a unique historical heritage. No proper analysis of discrimination and sexual violence against girls and women in the country can be made without an understanding of its traumatic history. Slavery, war, and poverty represent important lenses through which to appreciate the cultural root causes of the current practices of violence, which taint the power-balance of the relationship...