Cases of incest and an increase in sexual abuse against displaced people have been documented by a human rights organization on the ground
When it happened, the student was on their way to visit family members.
The clothes seller was on her way to the market.
These two women were respectively intercepted by gang members in the Artibonite.
Local organizations are overwhelmed by these cases.
« I have been working since 2006 [in Gonaïves, the capital of the Artibonite department] and I have never seen a situation like this, » Louisette Vertilus, head of the Platform of Organized Women for the Development of the Artibonite (PLAFODA), told AyiboPost.
Between April and June 2024, PLAFODA recorded 43 cases of sexual assault, for Gros-Morne, L’Estère, Ennery and Gonaïves.
I’ve been working since 2006 [in Gonaïves, the capital of the Artibonite department] and I’ve never seen a situation like this.
– Louisette Vertilus
Gangs, including Gran Grif de la Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, are formally responsible for many of these assaults.
The human rights organization has recorded cases of incest and an increase in sexual abuse against displaced people in the department.
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In May, the association assisted a teenager who had been sexually abused at the home of one of her relatives in Port-au-Prince.
Back in Gros-Morne, nearly four members of Ti Bwadòm’s gang intercepted her and collectively attacked her.
« She is starting to feed suicidal thoughts, » warns Vertilus of PLAFODA.
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At 36 years old, the merchant, who is also a mother, lives in Saint-Michel.
She regularly goes to Ouanaminthe and Saint-Marc to buy clothes.
On the afternoon of December 27, 2023, members of the Gran Grif gang in Savien kidnapped the van in which she was traveling along with merchandise on National Route #1.
The driver resisted. He was riddled with bullets.
The mother of four will spend two weeks in captivity.
Starving, she reported being « hit on the head » and « burned with plastic wax. »
One of the bandits sexually abused him for 13 days.
The ransom demanded depletes her savings.
Her health is taking a hit, she said during a meeting with AyiboPost at the regional office of the feminist organization Solidarité fanm ayisyèn (Sofa), in the commune of Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye.
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In January 2024, this same woman was on her way to a medical appointment in Mirebalais when she found herself in the middle of a clash between gangs and members of the population in Morne-à-Cabrit.
She was hit by « a stone to the knee, » which paralyzed her.
« I almost died, » she says.
Today, the former shopkeeper lives thanks to the generosity of her family members. They help her feed her children.
A 50-year-old mother of 5, kidnapped with her, died in January 2024 after her release.
« We have to accept what we cannot face, » she relents with a long sigh.
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In May 2024, the United Nations noted an « alarming increase » in gender-based violence in the Artibonite.
One particularly violent case, followed by the suicide of the victim the previous year, was recorded. The young woman was 22 years old.
Women’s bodies have been used as a battlefield by gangs for years in the Artibonite department.
Between April and June 2024, PLAFODA recorded 43 sexual assaults, for Gros-Morne, L’Estère, Ennery and Gonaïves.
In November 2022, gangsters from Kokorat San Ras kidnapped 73 people – including 13 women – from a minibus in the locality of Ti Bwadòm in Gros-Morne.
Thirteen of those kidnapped were women. They were all abused for several weeks.
In May 2023, members of the Gran Grif gang attacked six transport vehicles on National Route #1.
They took the opportunity to rape 15 women in the presence of the other passengers, on the side of the road.
This gang is also responsible for episodes of collective sexual assaults of children in Liancourt on August 4, 2023.
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Sometimes, victims are sequestered for several days.
This is the experience of a 28-year-old medical laboratory student.
She was on her way to Bassin-Bleu to visit her parents when the car she was in was intercepted in Gros-Morne by hooded bandits armed with weapons of war.
The young woman and the other passengers would spend three days in captivity in the open air, surrounded by dried grass – without drinking water and food.
One of the five guards abused her on the first evening. « Every time I think about that moment, I want to die, » the young woman told AyiboPost.
She, along with the other woman quoted in this article, requested anonymity for privacy reasons.
Cover image: A woman who was a victim of rape in Gressier testifies during an interview with AyiboPost in July 2024.
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