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Gender-based violence
We fight injustice by making health care accessible to those who need it most.
Improving the situation of women affected by sexual violence
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against girls and women in Haiti is a serious health and human rights problem. Access to care, psychological and health services and legal remedies is limited due to lack of resources, political will, economic insecurity, gender imbalances and widespread poverty. Reports indicate that one in three women in Haiti, age 15 to 49, experienced physical and / or sexual violence, and for girls aged 13 to 17, school settings were the second most common spaces for unwanted touching. Zanmi Lasante (ZL) strives to engage a vast institutional network to provide services and improve the situation of women affected by sexual violence in the Central Plateau and the department of Lower Artibonite.
The ZL Women's Health team, working closely with the Psychosocial Support team, Multipurpose Community Health Workers (ASCPs), and community educators, provides prevention, care and treatment services to victims of rape and sexual violence. ZL takes a robust community approach, also working with local police forces, the Ministry of Women and Women's Rights, district health directors and women's groups to increase awareness of available GBV services, as well as provide emergency psychosocial and medical support in all clinics and hospitals supported by ZL. Although ZL has made significant strides in providing treatment and support to victims of sexual violence, much remains to be done and more resources mobilized for this cause in order to reinforce women's rights for healthcare, in relations to GBV and social and legal justice.
With regard to child protection, ZL supports a network of around 10,000 orphaned and vulnerable children (EOV), including 800 HIV-positive children, across the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite who benefit from a set of support services, such as educational allowances and psychosocial resources. ZL provides educational assistance to around 2,500 EOVs and has helped around 8,500 children collect birth certificates in close collaboration with the Institute for Social Welfare and Research (IBESR) in Haiti.