52 Haitian Women Were Victims of Gang Rape in Cité Soleil

On Tuesday, the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) presented a report with testimonies from 52 women who were victims of gang rape in the Cité Soleil neighborhood in Port-au-Prince.

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"Over 20 women were raped in the presence of their children. Another in the presence of her parents and two in front of their spouses... Six women witnessed the execution of their husband before being raped and four were abused while pregnant," local Haiti Libre outlet summarized using information from the RNDDH report.

More specifically, this report mentions that one of the victims is a 14-year-old adolescent, 12 victims are between 18 and 25 years old, 38 women are between 26 and 49 years old, and one woman is 55 years old.

The crimes occurred between July 7 and 17, a period in which the dispute over control of the territories of the capital city had the gangs "G-9 an Fanmi e Alye" and "G-Pep" as protagonists.

"Many abuses were committed, no one was spared. While many men who crossed paths with bandits were murdered, women and girls were systematically victims of repeated or collective rape, beaten, and humiliated with great violence," Haiti Libre commented.

The women's testimonies show that none of the rapists used protection and most of the victims were unable to go to the hospital within 72 hours of the rape.

“During these bloody events, the bodies of women and girls are often used as a weapon of war to reach a rival group,” the RHDDH report pointed out.