Haiti’s LGBTQ+ community, which has long faced discrimination and periodic violence in a socially conservative society, found its situation worsening during the political crisis of 2019 as the security vacuum created new vulnerabilities and some political actors deployed anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric as a mobilizing tool. Human rights organizations documented an increase in attacks on LGBTQ+ individuals and on the small community organizations that provided support services.
Haitian LGBTQ+ organizations had made quiet but significant progress in previous years, establishing community spaces, health services, and advocacy networks. The crisis of 2019 threatened this progress, as several community organizations reported being forced to suspend or relocate their operations due to security threats. Community members described increased harassment in neighborhoods where their presence had previously been tolerated.
Some political figures and religious leaders used anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in ways that advocates argued incited violence, framing demands for LGBTQ+ rights as foreign impositions contrary to Haitian values. These messages found receptive audiences in a social climate already characterized by high tension and a search for scapegoats.
International human rights organizations expressed concern about the deteriorating situation for LGBTQ+ Haitians and called for government protection of the rights of all citizens regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. They argued that the measure of a society’s commitment to human rights was precisely how it treated its most vulnerable and marginalized members.