Sexual violence in Haiti ‘severely underreported,’ ‘largely unpunished’ UN says

A report released Thursday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in Haiti, which faces severe gang violence, found that sexual violence in the country is “grossly underreported.”

report Said that According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), gangs in the Caribbean have used “sexual violence to spread fear, subjugate and punish populations.”

“Sexual violence remains grossly underreported due to community stigma, significant threats of retaliation by perpetrators, lack of medical and psychosocial services for survivors, and lack of trust in the justice system. ” states the report. “Even when such incidents are reported, impunity for sexual violence remains widespread.”

In a press release, OHCHR also said: mention Sexual violence in Haiti goes “largely unpunished.”

The report said OHCHR recorded at least 4,451 deaths due to gang violence in Haiti in 2023, of which 3,801 were men, 538 women and 112 children. The report said that between early January and the end of February this year, 686 people “who were not involved in the violent exchange taking place” were killed.

“Addressing security insecurity must be a top priority to protect the public and prevent further human suffering. It is equally important to protect institutions essential to the rule of law, and is being attacked to its core,” Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a press release.

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced he would resign earlier this month in the wake of escalating gang violence in the country.

“The government I run cannot remain callous in the face of this situation. No sacrifice is too great for our country,” Henry said in a video statement, according to the Associated Press. “The government I run will immediately dismiss the council after it is installed.”