For a week, media and some organizations denounce the gang rapes perpetrated on students leaving the University https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27800-haiti-security-female-students-victims-of-gang-rapes.html . Faced with this new form of aggression, Lawyers Without Borders Canada (LWBC) is indignated and reminds the Haitian State that the prevention, protection and care of female victims must be one of the Government's priorities. .

"Women victims should not be forced to shut up for fear of reprisal or stigmatization by public opinion, or for lack of trust in the justice system because of the many cases that go unpunished. As long as the State fails to ensure a healthy care for these women, the fight against these types of violence will not progress.

The fight against violence against women is a challenge that every society faces. It is up to the States to give themselves the means to fight this scourge which affects the woman in all her physical and psychical integrity, but also her entourage" affirms Pascal Pascal Pascal, Director General of LWBC.

LWBC reiterates the recommendations made to the Haitian State by the organization "Kay Fanm", the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC) and LWBC during their participation in the 171st hearing of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), held in Bolivia in February 2019. In their brief "Impunity for violence against women and girls", it asks the Haitian State, inter alia, to :

• Ensure the protection of women's rights and ensure the effectiveness of the right to non-discrimination;

• Guarantee judicial independence and ensure that women victims of violence have access to non-discriminatory justice services and fair trials before independent and impartial judges;

• Take the necessary steps to modernize the normative framework for preventing and combating violence against women and girls;

• Establish an information system for the collection and processing of data on violence against women and girls, including taking into account regional disparities;

• Put in place measures and infrastructure, including shelters for women victims of violence, to ensure the protection of women and girls victims of violence;

• Establish communication programs to raise awareness of women's rights and the causes and consequences of violence against women and girls with a view to achieving a change in social norms.

With regard to sexual violence against female students, justice must act to bring all those involved before the competent courts. Violence against women and girls of all types and perpetrators must be punished. Victims must be provided with an integrated and adapted accompaniment for each situation in the respect and dignity concluded LWBC.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27800-haiti-security-female-students-victims-of-gang-rapes.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26067-haiti-social-campaign-on-sexual-education-violence-and-early-marriage.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25555-haiti-justice-more-than-30-rapes-of-minors-in-the-center.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-24346-icihaiti-security-nearly-a-rape-on-under-18-every-3-days.htmlhttps://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23483-haiti-flash-the-protector-of-the-citizen-alarmed-and-worried.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12579-haiti-social-gender-violence-hinders-the-development-of-the-country.html

HL/ HaitiLibre