Saturday, January 15, 2011

What Does Water On The Ankles Mean

Haiti: increasing sexual violence against women



Women and girls living in makeshift camps in Haiti are at increased risk of suffering rape and sexual violence, said Amnesty hospitalization.

A year after the earthquake that killed 230,000 people and injured 300,000, more than a million people still live in appalling conditions in "cities" built tents in the capital, Port au Prince, and South the country, where women are at greatest risk of sexual assault. The perpetrators are mostly armed men roam the camp after dark.

In the first 150 days have elapsed after the earthquake of January, more than 250 reported rape cases in several camps, according to data cited in the Amnesty International report Replicas. Women reporting sexual violence in Haiti camps.

"Women, who are already struggling to accept the loss of their loved ones, their homes and livelihoods due to the earthquake, now suffer the additional trauma of living under the constant threat of sexual assault" , Said Gerardo Ducos , Haiti researcher at Amnesty International.

"To end the prevalence of sexual violence, the incoming government must ensure that the protection of women and girls in the camps is a priority. This is something that has been largely ignored in the response to humanitarian crises in general. "

sexual violence was widespread in Haiti before January 2010 but has been exacerbated by conditions after earthquake. The limited assistance provided by the authorities has been undermined by the destruction of police stations and courts, making even more difficult to report sexual violence.

A year later, continue to arrive almost daily rape survivors to the office of a local support group for women.

No security for women and girls in the camps. And they feel abandoned and vulnerable to attack. Armed gangs attack when they want, with the security that comes from knowing that they still have little chance of prosecution.

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