III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 352 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should work 

with the Government of Haiti to address gender-based violence against 

women and children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 23, 2012 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States 

should work with the Government of Haiti to address 

gender-based violence against women and children. 

Whereas, since 1993, research has shown tens of thousands 

of women and girls have been victims of sexual or genderbased violence in Haiti, particularly in times of conflict 

or natural disaster; 

Whereas approximately 50 percent of the victims are adolescent girls under the age of 18, with many of the cases 

involving the use of weapons, gang rape, and death 

threats for reporting the crime; 

Whereas members of many medical professions are insufficiently trained to attend to the special needs of victims 


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of gender-based violence, whether they be children or 

adults; 

Whereas some medical providers report as many as 20 percent of adolescent victims they have treated for sexual violence become pregnant from their rape; 

Whereas some women’s rights groups in Haiti have witnessed 

dramatic increases in rates of sexual violence in many of 

the displacement camps formed after the earthquake; 

Whereas the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti increased the economic and social vulnerabilities of many 

women who are now unable to protect their young children from sexual predators, thereby increasing their risk 

for sexual violence; 

Whereas, according to data from public interest law firms 

litigating cases of sexual violence, significant genderbased barriers to justice continue to exist at all levels of 

the justice system in Haiti; 

Whereas an effective, transparent, and impartial judicial system is key to the administration of justice, and the failure to ensure proper investigations and prosecutions 

hampers the ability to hold perpetrators accountable for 

their crimes and discourages victims from formally seeking justice; 

Whereas inadequate financial, human, and technical resources, as well as a lack of forensic and technical expertise, have impeded the arrest and prosecution of suspects; 

Whereas members of the police, prosecutors, and judges are 

insufficiently trained to attend to either the special needs 

of women and girl victims of gender-based violence, or 

the special needs of boys and girls who are victims of 

other abuses such as forced labor, beatings, or violence; 


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Whereas the lack of protection measures discourages women 

and girls in Haiti from pursuing prosecution of perpetrators of sexual violence, for fear of reprisal or stigmatization; 

Whereas rape and other forms of gender-based violence in 

Haiti threaten the physical and psychological health of 

both the victims and their families; 

Whereas many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean 

face significant challenges in combating violence against 

women and girls, and violence against children, and international cooperation is essential in addressing this serious issue; 

Whereas the Government of Haiti has undertaken efforts to 

prevent violence against women, as evidenced by its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 

adopted December 18, 1979; the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of 

Violence Against Women, adopted at Belem Do Para, 

Brazil, June 9, 1994; and other international human 

rights treaties, and the enactment of laws and the creation of state institutions to promote and protect the 

rights of women; 

Whereas the Government of Haiti has been a signatory of the 

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 

adopted November 20, 1989, since December 29, 1994; 

Whereas the Haitian National Police and the United Nations 

Mission for Stabilization of Haiti have created special police units to address sexual and other forms of genderbased violence in Haiti; 


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Whereas the special police unit to address gender-based violence within the Haitian National Police remains significantly under-resourced, rendering it practically ineffective 

to carry out its mandate; 

Whereas, in March 2009, the Inter-American Commission on 

Human Rights issued a report recognizing Haiti’s history 

of gender discrimination that fuels gender-based violence 

and gives rise to a climate of impunity; 

Whereas, in December 2010, the Inter-American Commission 

detailed steps the Government of Haiti must take to protect women and girls from increased risk of gender-based 

violence in post-earthquake Haiti; 

Whereas, in 2012, the Ministry for the Status of Women and 

Women’s Rights in Haiti plans to unveil a comprehensive 

draft law that calls for the prevention, punishment, and 

elimination of violence against women; 

Whereas the United Nations and donor countries, such as the 

United States, continue to have a prominent economic 

and leadership role in the stabilization and reconstruction 

of Haiti; 

Whereas few mechanisms exist in Haiti to protect the rights 

of young children not living at home, such as restaveks, 

who are engaged in forced labor or are victims to other 

forms of violence; and 

Whereas the lack of protection for women and girls and continuing impunity for crimes against women is a threat to 

the rule of law, democracy, and stability in Haiti: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) sympathizes with the families of women and 

2 children victimized by sexual and other forms of gen3 der-based violence in Haiti; 

4 (2) urges the treatment of the issue of violence 

5 against women and children as a priority for the 

6 United States Government’s humanitarian and re7 construction efforts in Haiti; 

8 (3) asserts its support for the passage of Hai9 ti’s first comprehensive law on the prevention, pun10 ishment, and elimination of all forms of gender11 based violence; 

12 (4) calls on the Government of Haiti to estab13 lish urgent plans that address the needs of vulner14 able and unprotected children who are in situations 

15 of sexual exploitation, forced labor, or face sexual 

16 and or domestic violence, and to take steps to imme17 diately implement those plans, in consultation with 

18 grassroots organizations working specifically on the 

19 protection and promotion of the rights of children; 

20 (5) calls on the Government of Haiti to take 

21 steps to implement the recommendations of the 

22 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 

23 issued in response to increased levels of sexual vio24 lence in camps for internally displaced persons on 

25 December 22, 2010, including— 


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1 (A) ensuring participation and leadership 

2 of grassroots women’s groups in planning and 

3 implementing policies and practices to combat 

4 and prevent sexual violence and other forms of 

5 violence in the camps; 

6 (B) ensuring provision of comprehensive, 

7 affordable, adequate, and appropriate medical 

8 and psychological care in locations accessible to 

9 victims of sexual violence in camps for those in10 ternally displaced, including, in particular en11 suring— 

12 (i) privacy during examinations; 

13 (ii) availability of female medical staff 

14 members, with a cultural sensitivity and 

15 experience with victims of sexual violence; 

16 (iii) timely issuance of free medical 

17 certificates; 

18 (iv) availability of HIV prophylaxis, 

19 and 

20 (v) sexual reproductive health and 

21 emergency contraception; 

22 (C) implementing effective security meas23 ures in displacement camps, such as providing 

24 street lighting, adequate patrolling in and 

25 around the camps, and a greater number of feVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:30 Jan 24, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR352.IS SR352

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1 male security forces in police patrols in the 

2 camps and in police stations in proximity to the 

3 camps; 

4 (D) ensuring that public officials, such as 

5 police officers, prosecutors, and judges, respon6 sible for responding to incidents of sexual vio7 lence receive specialized training from experi8 enced Haitian and international women’s orga9 nizations with a proven track record in gender10 sensitive protection enabling them to respond 

11 adequately to complaints of sexual violence with 

12 appropriate sensitivity and in a nondiscrim13 inatory manner; and 

14 (E) maintaining effective special units 

15 within the police and the prosecutor’s office in16 vestigating cases of rape and other forms of vio17 lence against women and girls; 

18 (6) asserts its commitment to support the Hai19 tian Ministry of Women’s Affairs in its efforts to— 

20 (A) build ministry capacity and facilitate 

21 gender-based violence sub-cluster meetings and 

22 initiatives as it transitions over to the Govern23 ment of Haiti; 


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1 (B) perform decentralized meetings, con2 sultations, and outreach to women’s movements 

3 and community groups; 

4 (C) address issues of gender-based violence 

5 country-wide, including violence in internally 

6 displaced person camps, rural peasant commu7 nities, and among children; and 

8 (D) strengthen gender assessments, gender 

9 budgets, and gender planning in collaboration 

10 with other Haitian ministries, the Haitian Par11 liament, the ruling administration in Haiti, the 

12 United Nations, the Inter-American Commis13 sion on Human Rights, donors, and inter14 national nongovernmental organizations within 

15 the reconstruction process; and 

16 (7) asserts its support for the Government of 

17 Haiti, especially the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, in 

18 its efforts to assess, amend, and renew its 5-year 

19 gender protection plan, which expired in October 

20 2011, which includes support for the Government of 

21 Haiti in its efforts— 

22 (A) to thoroughly assess the impact of the 

23 previous 5-year protection plan, including both 

24 pre and post-earthquake analyses and perform 

25 diversified assessments in consultation with 


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1 local, regional, and national women’s groups 

2 throughout the country, that will help gather 

3 decentralized data in both urban and rural 

4 zones; 

5 (B) to perform specialized surveys and 

6 interviews in a significant sampling of internally 

7 displaced person camps and impoverished 

8 neighborhoods with high rates of gender-based 

9 violence with victims of rape and violence, the 

10 community groups that support them, and local 

11 officials in order to fully understand the needs 

12 and recommendations of these different popu13 lations and integrate these findings into a re14 vised protection plan; 

15 (C) to revise the existing Haitian protec16 tion plan based on the results of diversified and 

17 decentralized assessments and in direct con18 sultation with national, regional, and local gov19 ernment officials and grassroots organizations, 

20 including women’s groups and international in21 stitutions that focus on solutions to gender22 based violence; and 

23 (D) to amend, reintroduce, and pass into 

24 law a revised Haiti gender protection plan that 

25 reflects current post-earthquake realities, the 


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1 needs and recommendations of victims of gen2 der-based violence and the community groups 

3 that support them, integrates provisions for ju4 dicial and medical services for gender-based vio5 lence victims, and reflects key findings of decen6 tralized assessments in both urban and rural 

7 zones. 

Æ 


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