Haiti gender-based violence tops 5,500 cases: UN

More than 5,500 cases of gender-based violence, mostly rapes of women and girls, have been reported in Haiti so far this year, the United Nations said Wednesday.

UN spokesman Farhan Haq said more than 1,000 incidents were recorded in June alone. He described an “alarming surge” in such attacks, driven by insecurity and displacement.

Haq said more than 3,000 of the 5,500 incidents recorded in the first half of the year took place between April and June. He said the figures were a sharp rise from last year, when UN partners recorded just over 8,000 incidents.

Roughly seven in 10 of the cases in the last six months involved rape, many of them gang rapes reportedly perpetrated by armed groups. More than half of the victims were displaced people.

Haiti has suffered years of instability as powerful gangs carry out killings, rapes, looting and kidnappings. A Kenya-led international force sent to support Haiti’s police has since been transformed into a UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force with a broader mandate to confront armed groups.

UN figures say nearly 1.5 million people are currently displaced in Haiti, which has a population of about 11 million, and more than five million people face severe food insecurity.