Haiti’s displaced women and girls face escalating violence amid funding cuts

As gang violence across Haiti escalates and the United States and other donors reduce humanitarian funding, 1.3 million people who have fled their homes are facing severe consequences.

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Women and girls are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Gender-based violence (GBV), including gang rape, is widespread—particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince—and worsened by precarious conditions in displacement camps. Recent funding cuts have forced the shutdown of centers providing sexual and reproductive health and GBV services, while insecurity has made existing services difficult to access.

Christian Vovi, the UN reproductive health agency’s (UNFPA) Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti since 2022, described the challenges ahead of World Humanitarian Day.

“Sometimes there is the possibility of an attack, so we are obliged to work from home,” he said. “This situation has limited our capacity to go to the field to see the affected people, to meet with women, to observe the situation in the camps and communities, so security is a barrier for us sometimes. We can organize meetings virtually, meet with women online and with the partners to follow up and monitor activities.”

Vovi warned that displacement is creating new GBV needs at a time when resources are dwindling. “There is a continuous increase in the number of reported cases of GBV,” he said. “In some of the cases we manage, we hear about how gang members arrive in the community, burn houses and then rape a mother or father in front of the family. When you talk with women, they are desperate as they struggle to secure even the most basic necessities. Because women don’t have access to financial resources, there has been an increase in the cases of prostitution.”

According to UNFPA, Haiti now has more than one million displaced people, with only 11 or 12 of over 100 displacement sites covered by GBV protection services. “There is also the issue in terms of shelter, because when we have many families living together in a small room, there is a larger risk of GBV,” Vovi explained.

The agency distributes dignity kits and provides goods and services, but the needs far outweigh the resources. “Since 26 per cent are women of reproductive age, we need to mobilise millions of dollars so we can meet their urgent needs,” Vovi said.

In 2020, the United States provided around 65 per cent of humanitarian funding for Haiti’s response plan. But with recent cuts, UNFPA says it is no longer able to provide services to 25,000 women and girls in certain displacement sites. The US also funded all post-rape kits procured since 2023, leaving current stocks dangerously low.

Despite these setbacks, UNFPA continues its work in Haiti, leading the GBV coordination mechanism and offering remote support through a hotline. “We continue to ensure that if movement is limited, the affected people can access the services, psychosocial support and information on available services through the telephone hotline,” Vovi said.

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Calling for urgent international action, he stressed: “The Haitians think that their situation is neglected because they believe that the humanitarian international community has all the assets and funding to stop the violence and assist the affected people. The government, diplomats and the international community should advocate now for a clear end to the current violence and to stop the retaliation against women and girls in Haiti. It is important to act now because for me, tomorrow is too late regarding the humanitarian need and the living conditions of the women in the displacement sites.”