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Women, Peace and Security Initiatives: Haiti
In-country | International

In-Country

A City in the Sand: Women in Politics for the Transformation of Haiti: The Story of a Coaching Program for a New Leadership
Nava Almog and Nadine Puechguirbal
This book tells the story of a group of Haitian women, leaders in their communities, who, with strength and perseverance in the face of adversity, participated in a training and Coaching program aimed at strengthening the capacity of women in politics. With eyes wide open, they advanced in the program, questioned their habits and behaviors, and came to understand that in order to change their country they had to begin by transforming themselves . . . and they did it!

International

Integration of a gender perspective into the Haitian post-electoral process: coaching in ‘Women and Leadership’ for women in politics
The Gender Office for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) initiated training on capacity building for women in politics, including Coaching sessions, in June 2006. This program intends to provide support for the women who ran for office in the 2005/2006 presidential, legislative and local elections. It targets women who were elected at all levels of governance, e.g. Mayor, Senator or as Members of Parliament, as well as those who lost but want to remain involved in politics. The training is organized in six cycles for eighteen months and includes workshops and individual Coaching sessions for around twenty women coming from all over the country. Personal Coaching is a vehicle to transform problems into opportunities, develop constructive and dynamic behavior, identify clear priorities and establish creative ways of communication.

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Haiti Solidarity Week: U.S. imperialism, No! Strengthening Haiti's Democracy, Yes!
March, 2003
Haiti Solidarity Week is an annual event organized by Haiti Reborn/Quixote Center to educate people in the United States about the current situation in Haiti. The theme for 2003 was Let Haiti Live!. The main objectives were to performe a symbolic collection of Humanitarian Aid supplies for Haiti, to educate people in the United States about the Bush Administration effort to destabilize democracy in Haiti by withholding over $500 million in humanitarian aid from Haiti, and to create a mobilization to pressure Members of the House of Representative and the United States Senate to demand that the Bush Administration release the aid to Haiti, and not use humanitarian aid as a political weapon against the Haitian people. To become a co-sponsor of Haiti Solidarity Week click here. For more information visit Haiti Reborn.

Justice for Haitian Rape Victims
February, 2003
Dwa Fanm ("Women's Rights") based in Brooklyn, New York, and ENFOFANM (“Info Women”) located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, demand justice for Natacha Jean-Jacques and countless of other women who are victimized daily by the Haitian penal system. Natacha Jean-Jacques, an 18 year-old girl and still a minor under Haitian law, was raped in February 2002 by a health care practitioner at Fort National in Port-au-Prince, where Natacha was wrongfully imprisoned for almost 3 years after killing a gang young men who intended to rape her. Despite previous complaints to the police, and the young men history of sexual assault, harassment and abuse of women and girls in the community, Natacha was immediately arrested and incarcerated, violating her rights to due process. To read the full story of Natacha Jean-Jacques click here. For more information visit Dwa Fanm.

Haiti Solidarity Week: We Seek Justice to End Fear
March 3-10, 2002
Haiti Solidarity Week is an annual event organized by Haiti Reborn/Quixote Center to educate people in the United States about the current situation in Haiti. The theme for the 2002 event was “We Seek Justice to End Fear”. The focus points were educating people in the United States and Haiti about the current status of human rights in Haiti and efforts to end impunity, creating a mobilization to pressure the United States to stop obstructing justice in Haiti, broadening and rebuilding the grassroots solidarity network for Haiti, and particularly, acting to deport Emmanuel "Toto" Constant, a well-known terrorist convicted of human rights violations in Haiti's first large scale human rights trial who lives in impunity in Queens, New York. To become a co-sponsor of Haiti Solidarity Week click here. For more information visit Haiti Reborn.

Let Haiti Live Campaign!
2001
The Let Haiti Live campaign aims to unite organizations and individuals to advocate for United States policies which respect the independence and self-determination of the Haitian people. The Let Haiti Live Coalition coordinates the camapign and is committed to building a dynamic and well-informed network of solidarity to support the Haitian people in their pursuit of democracy, human rights and equitable development. During the 2003 Haiti Solidarity Week, the Let Haiti Live Coalition urged the United States to release over $500 million in humanitarian aid to Haiti to provide Haiti’s population access to potable water, health care, education and rural road rehabilitation. For more information visit Haiti Reborn.

Haitians Against Violence at Home
September, 2000
Dwa Fanm, meaning "Women's Rights" in Haitian Creole, launched the Haitians Against Violence at Home (HAVH), Dwa Fanm's largest initiative, to advocate for women at risk, battered women and survivors. HAVH has undertaken an educational campaign against violence to women through workshops on public Haitian television and radio, well known Haitian street corners, and at community based organizations and institutions throughout New York City. The purpose is to helps battered women survive domestic violence by teaching them about their right to safety, birth control options, ways of protecting themselves from sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS, and opportunities for financial independence. For more information visit Dwa Fanm.

International Tribunal Against Violence Against Haitian Women
November, 1997
The International Tribunal for Violence Against Women was organized by Kay Fanm, a Haitian women's non-governmental organization, in colaboration with the National Coalition for Haitian Rights. Other participating Haitian organizations were M'ap Viv, Haiti Solidarit Internationale, and the Platform des Organisations des Droits de l'Homme. More than 600 participants, and at least 24 women's, popular, and human rights groups discussed issues such as the failure of the justice system to prosecute crimes of violent acts against women; the lack of appropriate police procedures to investigate sexual harassment cases and the need to work with parliament in reforming laws that discriminate against women; the necessity to dramatically increase social services to women in need; the responsibility to provide nonsexist education; and the importance of sensitizing all sectors of society to the human rights principal of equal rights. To read the newsletter click here. For more information visit the National Coalition for Haitian Rights.