By Daniel Smith
Special to LE FLORIDIEN
Haiti, the gem of the Caribbean, has scurried down the lane of history and turned into a devastated land. And, amidst this devastation is an imminent surge in promiscuity, one of which is the business of trading sex and the violence surrounding the phenomenon. Ransacking the history of Haiti, it is established that the country was a premier spot for sex tourism. And, in recent times, the act which spared underage involvement has now plunged into what is called child sex tourism. This case of child sex tourism was reported in a 2017 article by Haiti Libre which was aimed at depleting the fast uprising decadence. In Haiti, prostitution still stands illegal, but that has so far proven ineffective in terms of curbing the widespread problem. The country has become a hub for sex working, which has spread from hotels into the streets especially in some areas like Port-au-Prince. A population estimation by UNAIDS in previous years established that there are about 70,000 sex workers in Haiti.
This brings us down to one of the surrounding component of the phenomenon — sexual violence. With the surge in prostitution, the violations occurring on the topic of sex has rapidly increased too. An article about eliminating gender inequality on UNAIDS website specified that “sexual violence has become a problem impeding public heath in Haiti today.” Another report by a news outlet shed light on the fact that thousands of assault cases happen against women and girls. It was also established at the time that half the population of women in Port-au-Prince had experienced one sexual assault or the other.
Discussed below are factors which have promoted the widespread problem
Desperation caused by extreme poverty
Haiti currently tops the list of poorest countries across the world. In America’s demography, the country is recorded as the only low-income country. It is established that the general population of the country is knee deep in poverty and about 65% of the country’s population live below poverty line. Many Haitians depend on peasant farming, but agriculture suffers a big setback in the country due to environmental disasters. Ranging from bad irrigation and soil erosion, to droughts and floods, the stronghold of Haiti’s agriculture suffers from different factors. Not to be forgotten is the 2010 Haiti earthquake that left the nation half dilapidated and forced recession on many Haitians. Where there are no other resources to sustain living, many Haitians turn to the business of prostitution.
Bad governance and democratic insecurities
Haiti, in recent times, has witnessed a decay in democratic morals and principles. A 2020 article on Haiti’s challenges titled “Good Governance and Corruption in the Caribbean” analyzed a significant declination in the adherence to the institutions and teachings of democracy globally. The article went ahead to point at the breakdown of the country’s national governance as a factor that has made it difficult to deal with systemic corruption. The magnitude at which Haiti’s democracy has been derailed could be proven with the fact that it was ranked by the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report Index, which measures the quality of institutions, as one of the world’s floor-lickers. To back this up, the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) specified that Haiti’s stronghold is significantly low in terms of quality government, regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption control. A nation whose economic and social institutions are in shambles will not only result in meltdowns but also force its citizens into the bounds of desperation.
Ineffective policing
Law enforcement in Haiti is lax — a statement by Procon and Chartbin in their analytics of different countries and their prostitution policies. Though prostitution is not legalized in Haiti; the level of strictness with which the uprising decadence is handled is very poor. Until recent times, many rapists go unpunished because the crime was not perceived to be as detrimental as it actually is. Due to the fact that the nation itself is a lagging institution, its policing system has become corrupt too. Reports recorded that even the United Nation’s peacekeepers were involved in many cases of rape and other sorts of abuse.
Another aspect in which ineffective policing has helped to spike sexual violence is its inability to strangle child labor and the use of hard drugs. It has been established that thousands of Haitian children known as rastaveks are forced into child labor and put through a grave risk of abuse. It is believed that a large percentage of these rastaveks are females, especially young girls. These (young) females are taken advantage of and molested in many cases, as they are seen as instruments of pleasure. On the other hand, alcohol usage and drug abuse is also on the loose. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that about 6.7 liters of alcohol is consumed by Haitians annually, and a good slice of the nation’s percentage engages in what is termed “drinking to stupor.” This abuse of substance is an integral factor of assault and molestation of sex workers.
Victim shaming
In the Haitian community, rape is a crime that is frowned at heavily. But this has its backlash in the sense that victims are perceived as tainted souls, and this shame eventually leads family and friends to stigmatize many victims. In the society, a victim’s marriageability is reduced. These acts of shaming result to many victims being reluctant to reporting cases as they want to avoid stigmatization. Underreporting has also been contributed to by the fact that reporting a rape to the police is a twisted and exposing process.
Conclusion
Both prostitution and the violence surrounding it has to be curtailed heavily as the continual widespread would dilapidate the nation with spreads of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and exposure of unguarded young citizens to the decadence. On a general note, it would also lead to degradation of human rights. Therefore, the palliation of the widespread problem is dire. A strict policing system should be established and the nation’s economic and political institutions should be upgraded.