Since the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, women and girls living in the internally displaced persons camps face alarming rates of rape and other forms of gender-based violence. In many camps, the rate of gender-based violence has exploded to three times pre-Earthquake levels.
In response, the Goldin Institute partnered with grassroots women’s organizations like KOFAVIV and partners at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti to train and equip a team of twenty-five male security and sensitization agents to patrol the Place Petion camp. Through their leadership, the reported incidents of rape were brought to zero for over eighteen months.
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3XRates of Gender Based Violence exploded to 3 times pre-earthquake levels for displaced women and girls.
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0The security team brought the reported incidents of rape to zero in the Place Petion Camp in Port au Prince.
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18The program stopped rape for 18 continuous months but had to stop when the camp was forcibly closed.
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25Although the camp is closed, 25 male security agents continue the work of raising awareness to stop GBV.
In addition to the immediate impact of stopping gender-based violence in the Place Petion camp, this project has also made visible the efficacy of direct partnership with grassroots women’s groups who have largely been cut out of the rebuilding process in post-earthquake Haiti.
