Addressing Haitian women’s particular needs through their leadership role

The economic and social development of Haiti continues to be hampered by political instability, increasing violence, unprecedented levels of insecurity, and exacerbated fragility. For the past three years, Haiti has been facing an upsurge in acts of violence of all kinds organized by armed gangs fighting for control of territories, as a way of better positioning themselves during national elections.

Gender-based violence has reached alarming levels, with aggression against women and girls, and more specifically rape, being used in most internally displaced persons (IDP) camps as a deliberate tactic to control access to humanitarian assistance. Children live in an environment that is ill-suited to their needs; they find themselves out of school, malnourished, and exposed to the unhealthy acts and behaviours of poorly educated adults.

In April 2024, UN Women collaborated with the Youth Development Initiative (IDEJEN) and the Network for Gender Equality in Humanitarian Action (REGAH), civil society organization-led committee members, to conduct a rapid gender assessment (RGA) to shed light on the specific challenges and needs of women and girls in the current context, and to propose recommendations on how to best address them. The RGA was conducted in the six most populated and diverse IDP sites of Port-au-Prince in the west department.