UN Warns: Sexual violence risk soaring for displaced Haiti women

Thousands of women and girls displaced by Haiti's gang violence are under threat from a surge in sexual assaults.

Living amid deplorable conditions in makeshift camps, they have nowhere to turn. More than half of the latrines and many showers in these camps are not separated by gender, several shower doors have no locks, and many sites have no nighttime lighting.

"When they saw that I didn't have a man with me, they attacked me while I was 4 months pregnant," said one mother of seven who was living in a Port-au-Prince shelter and was sexually assaulted while sleeping in a public square.

"With what I've been through, I'd rather have died."

Despite the challenges, UNFPA remains determined to continue our work in Haiti. We’ve deployed mobile teams to offer sexual and reproductive health services, as well as safe spaces and a hotline for women and girls to receive psychosocial support.

But as the humanitarian crisis exacerbated by gang violence worsens in Haiti, we cannot turn away from the women and girls who are most vulnerable.

Will you make a gift to deliver lifesaving care to women and girls in Haiti and around the world who are most vulnerable during times of crisis?

Thank you for being there for women and girls.

— USA for UNFPA