UNICEF and UN human rights monitors reported a dramatic increase in sexual violence against children in Haiti in 2023, with the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict documenting 383 verified grave violations against children in Haiti during the year — the first time Haiti had been included in this annual report, which typically covers the world’s most severe armed conflict zones.
The inclusion of Haiti in the Children and Armed Conflict report was itself a significant marker: it placed the country in the same category as active war zones in terms of the severity of violations against children. Gangs were documented as systematically using sexual violence against children as a tool of territorial control, community intimidation, and punishment of communities associated with the Bwa Kale movement.
Sexual violence against children took multiple forms: rape of girls and boys during gang raids on communities, forced marriage of girls to gang members, sexual exploitation of children recruited into gang networks, and targeted attacks on children of community leaders or Bwa Kale participants. The systematic nature of the violence pointed to organized criminal policy rather than individual criminal behavior.
Child protection organizations that were trying to provide services to survivors faced enormous operational challenges. Reaching children in gang-controlled areas was dangerous for aid workers. The stigma surrounding sexual violence in Haitian society prevented many families from reporting cases or seeking help. Medical and psychosocial services for survivors were dramatically understaffed and under-resourced relative to the scale of need. The crisis in child protection was severe and was receiving far less international attention than its magnitude warranted.