Haiti faces sexual violence and abuse crisis as gang violence spreads, health charity warns

By DÁNICA COTOThe number of sexual abuse cases being treated at a clinic in Haiti’s capital has tripled in the past four years as gang violence surges across the troubled Caribbean country, a health charity warned Wednesday. The clinic has treated nearly 17,000 patients in the past decade, including 2,300 alone in the first nine months of last year. Prior to 2022, half of all cases at the clinic involved patients younger than 18, compared with 24% today. Gangs control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince, with many resorting to sexual abuse to instill fear, experts say. MSF called on Haiti’s government to allocate more funds to free health care and services for sexual abuse survivors.