There are places in the world where women are screaming into a silence that should shame the rest of us. Haiti is one of them.Haiti is living thro
There are places in the world where women are screaming into a silence that should shame the rest of us. Haiti is one of them.
Haiti is living through an extraordinary human-rights and humanitarian crisis. Armed gangs control communities, families have been driven from their homes, hospitals struggle to function, children are being recruited by armed groups, and women and girls are enduring horrifying levels of sexual violence.
We need to know what is happening because nobody should have to survive atrocities while the world barely looks their way.
Here are seven devastating truths about Haiti.
1. Sexual Violence Has Become a Weapon of Control
Women and girls are being raped in their homes, on public transportation, in displacement sites and while simply trying to move through neighborhoods controlled by armed groups.
The United Nations verified conflict-related sexual violence against 1,863 people in Haiti during 2025: 1,668 women, 187 girls, two men and six boys.
That represented a 163% increase over 2024.
Gang rape was the predominant form of documented sexual violence, accounting for 77% of the UN-verified violations.
This is not adequately described as random criminal violence.
Women and girls are being sexually violated in a climate where rape can be used to terrorize communities, punish people associated with rival territories and demonstrate control.
2. More Than 8,000 Incidents of Gender-Based Violence Were Recorded in 2025
The broader numbers are even larger.
The United Nations reports that more than 8,000 incidents of gender-based violence were recorded in Haiti during 2025.
More than half involved sexual violence.
Nearly two-thirds of those sexual-violence cases involved gang rape.
And we must understand what “recorded” means.
It means someone survived.
Someone reached a service provider.
Someone disclosed what happened.
Someone was counted.
Thousands more may never appear in a database at all.
3. Hundreds of Haitian Children Have Suffered Sexual Violence
Children are being pulled into the nightmare too.
The United Nations documented 566 cases of sexual violence against minors in 2025, including 160 cases of gang rape.
Other UN monitoring has verified rape and other forms of sexual violence against children as part of the grave violations occurring amid Haiti’s armed violence.
These children are growing up where schools have been attacked, families displaced and armed groups have recruited and used children.
A child should be worrying about homework.
A little girl should be deciding what game she wants to play.
Childhood should not require a survival strategy.
4. Women Are Being Raped as “Punishment” for Where They Live
This is one of the most chilling developments.
Between March and July 2026, the UN documented more than 176 women and girls raped, including through gang rape, in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac and Cité Soleil areas.
Some were attacked as a form of punishment simply because they lived in neighborhoods controlled by rival gangs.
Think about what that means.
A woman’s address can place her body in danger.
She does not have to participate in the conflict.
She does not have to belong to a gang.
She can simply live on the wrong street, in the wrong neighborhood, at the wrong moment.
And men with weapons can decide that her body will pay the price.
5. Some Women Are Being Abducted, Repeatedly Raped and Sexually Exploited
The United Nations has received credible accounts suggesting that sexual slavery and sexual exploitation are much more widespread than documented statistics reveal.
Survivors have described being kidnapped, taken away, threatened and repeatedly raped by multiple gang members.
Some sexual assaults have occurred alongside kidnapping and killing.
The UN has also documented cases involving girls subjected to gang rape over prolonged periods.
Some were killed.
Sexual violence here cannot be dismissed as an unfortunate byproduct of insecurity.
It has become part of the machinery of terror.
6. Even Getting Medical Care Can Put a Woman in Danger
There is another cruelty buried inside this crisis.
Surviving the assault does not mean a woman can safely reach help.
Women may have to cross gang-controlled territory simply to reach a doctor.
That can delay access to emergency contraception, HIV prevention, treatment for injuries, pregnancy care and psychological support.
Doctors Without Borders reports that insecurity has repeatedly disrupted healthcare in Port-au-Prince. Women have described being afraid even to leave their neighborhoods for medical appointments.
Meanwhile, approximately 1.5 million Haitians have been displaced from their homes.
Many women are living in overcrowded displacement sites where privacy and protection are limited.
So a woman can escape one dangerous neighborhood only to arrive somewhere that cannot fully protect her either.
7. The Numbers We Know Are Almost Certainly Not the Real Numbers
This may be the most important truth.
Sexual violence in Haiti is severely underreported.
Survivors may fear retaliation from armed groups.
They may fear stigma.
Police protection may be inaccessible or distrusted.
Hospitals and Survivor services may be difficult or dangerous to reach.
Some women have been displaced repeatedly.
Some are caring for children while trying to find food, shelter and safety.
Some simply cannot risk telling anyone.
So when we read that thousands of incidents have been documented, we should never confuse the documented number with the actual number of women and girls harmed.
There are women whose stories have reached the United Nations.
There are women whose stories reached a hospital.
There are women whose stories reached an aid worker.
And there are Haitian women whose stories have reached nobody.
Yet.
Haiti Is Not Invisible
Haiti is sometimes spoken about as though suffering simply lives there.
It does not.
Haitian women were not born for suffering.
Haitian girls were not born to become statistics in somebody else’s report about instability.
Haiti is a nation born from one of the most extraordinary struggles for human freedom in modern history. Its people have created art, language, faith, music, literature, food, political
Resources for Learning More and Supporting Women and Girls in Haiti
Haiti’s crisis is not simply a story about armed groups, political instability or displacement. Women and girls are living through the consequences, including rape, gang rape, exploitation, displacement and the loss of safe access to health care and other essential services.
Haitian women have also been organizing, caring for Survivors and defending women’s rights for decades. Readers who want to help should begin by learning about the people already doing this work.
Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn (SOFA)
Founded in 1986, SOFA is a Haitian feminist organization working to defend women’s rights. Its work includes combating violence against women, improving women’s sexual and reproductive health, addressing women’s poverty and strengthening women’s participation in public life.
SOFA’s Centres Douvanjou provide support to women and girls who have experienced violence, including medical and psychosocial assistance. Its 2025 reporting describes the centers as community-based spaces providing psychological, legal, medical and socioeconomic support to Survivors.
Learn more about SOFA and its work in Haiti
Nègès Mawon
Nègès Mawon is a Haitian feminist organization working for the rights and protection of women and girls. For Survivors of rape and sexual assault, it has provided medical, legal and psychological accompaniment.
Kay Fanm
Kay Fanm has long worked with Haitian women and girls experiencing violence and abuse, including providing shelter and support. It is also involved in Haiti’s gender-based violence helpline.
For people in Haiti seeking assistance related to gender-based violence, the *322 helpline provides psychosocial support, information and referrals to services including medical care, legal assistance and temporary shelter. UNFPA reported that hundreds of people used the service during the first months of 2026.
Fanm Viktim Leve Kanpe (FAVILEK)
FAVILEK works directly with women who have survived sexual violence. Its support has included accompanying women to medical facilities, helping Survivors obtain medical documentation, connecting women with legal assistance and providing continuing psychosocial support.
Its presence on this list is important for another reason: organizations created by and connected to Haitian women affected by violence remind us that Survivors are not simply recipients of aid. Survivors can become organizers, advocates and builders of systems that protect other women.
FOSREF
FOSREF is a Haitian nongovernmental organization that has served communities since 1988. Its health programs include sexual and reproductive health, maternal health, HIV and STI prevention and treatment, psychosocial services, and care for women and girls affected by violence.
Learn about FOSREF’s health and Survivor services
UNFPA Haiti
For readers who want reliable ongoing information about sexual violence, women’s health and humanitarian conditions, the United Nations Population Fund is an important source.
UNFPA supports sexual and reproductive health care, mobile clinics, gender-based violence prevention and response, dignity kits and services for displaced women and girls. During the first quarter of 2026 alone, UNFPA reported reaching 5,580 people through gender-based violence prevention and response activities.
Do Not Let Haiti Become Only a Headline
There is something important to remember when reading about Haiti.
Haitian women are not waiting for the world to arrive and save them.
They are organizing.
They are running women’s organizations. They are accompanying rape Survivors to medical care. They are operating support centers, answering crisis calls, documenting violence, providing counseling and demanding accountability.
Some have been doing this work for decades.
Whenever possible, seek out Haitian voices and Haitian-led organizations. Read their reports. Learn their names. Support the organizations providing direct services. Share credible information about what women and girls are experiencing.
And remember that Haiti is more than its suffering.
Its women and girls are not statistics attached to somebody else’s geopolitical story. They are human beings entitled to safety, health care, dignity, justice, childhood, community and a future.
Women and children living in high-conflict zones need more than our attention. They need us to respond with the best of our common sense, the fullness of our hearts, and a clear understanding of our shared humanity.
Haiti has not stopped speaking.
The world must not become comfortable with looking away.