viernes, 13 de enero de 2012

Haitian Women and Girls Trading Sex to Survive (Vïdeo)


 
Groups Release Report Analyzing Sexual Exploitation
January 12, 2012—New York, NY—Two years after an earthquake devastated
Haiti, a report detailing the impact of sexual exploitation on
displaced Haitian women and girls has been released. The report is
authored by MADRE, the Commission of Women Victims for Victims
(KOFAVIV), the International Women’s Human Rights (IWHR) Clinic at the
City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, the Global Justice
Clinic at NYU School of Law (GJC) and the Center for Gender & Refugee
Studies at UC Hastings College of the Law (CGRS).
The drastic increase in sexual violence in displacement camps has been
well documented since the disaster. But another face of the epidemic
has emerged as a pressing issue: the sexual exploitation of displaced
women and girls.
Displaced women and girls have lost family and community members,
along with the protection and safety nets those relationships offered.
Because of poverty and a lack of economic opportunity, many women and
girls are forced to trade sex for shelter, money or even a single
meal. In many cases, those demanding sex are the very people who hold
themselves out as representatives of the people—members of camp
committees.
The report was compiled based on interviews with Haitian women and
girls who have either engaged in transactional sex or who know people
who have. Information was also collected through interviews with
Haitian government officials, service providers and women’s rights
advocates. The report highlights current barriers to addressing sexual
exploitation and offers recommendations to protect the human rights of
women and girls engaging in transactional sex. In addition, the report
offers a unique legal analysis of the protections available for women
and girls who have experienced a wide range of human rights violations
associated with sexual exchanges.
Marie Eramithe Delva, co-founder of KOFAVIV said today, “Displaced
women and girls are being forced by circumstance into survival sex. It
is an epidemic, but one that has gotten little attention from the
Haitian government or international community.”
Lisa Davis, MADRE Human Rights Advocacy Director and Clinical
Professor of Law for the IWHR Clinic at CUNY Law School said today,
“International law recognizes that an individual’s decision to engage
in sex should be the result of free choice. The majority of women and
girls interviewed do not have a choice. They are displaced and with
few other options. In turn, they are at increased risk of sexual
violence and health threats. We must shed light on this crisis.”
Blaine Bookey, Staff Attorney for the CGRS said today, “Although
almost all individuals interviewed for this report recognized that
sexual exploitation is widespread, representatives of government
agencies responsible for addressing sexual exploitation hold
stereotypes related to gender and poverty that present an obstacle to
implementing practical solutions. Beyond this, the Haitian
government’s inability to develop a meaningful response to sexual
exploitation is also due to a stark lack of resources. I am hopeful
the report will help breakdown these harmful stereotypes and bring
much needed resources to bear.”
Margaret Satterthwaite, Professor of Clinical Law for the GJC and
Faculty Director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at
NYU School of Law said today, “Survival sex will not end until Haitian
women and girls can access what they need to live.  Haitian women want
economic opportunities and the capacity to access basic resources.
The international community should work closely with the Haitian
government to create jobs, extend microcredit to women, and provide
free education to all.”
Virtual Briefing: Join the authors of this report on Tuesday January
17 at 1 pm EST, for a conference call. RSVP at media@madre.org for
call-in information.
To read the report in full, click here.
Available for interview:
Marie Eramithe Delva (KOFAVIV) is a longtime advocate for human rights
in Haiti.  She is the co-founder of KOFAVIV, a grassroots women’s
organization. She has founded numerous other associations and
grassroots organizations prior to co-founding KOFAVIV in 2004.
(Contact: Stephanie Küng 212-627-0444)
Lisa Davis, Esq. (MADRE and the IWHR Clinic at CUNY School of Law) was
a co-author of the report and currently serves as the Coordinator for
the Lawyers' Earthquake Response Network (LERN) Gender Working Group.
She is a member of the New York City Bar Association’s International
Human Rights Committee and the National Lawyers’ Guild Haiti
Subcommittee. Lisa is a Clinical Professor of Law for the
International Women's Human Rights Clinic at CUNY Law School.
(Contact: Stephanie Küng 212-627-0444)
Blaine Bookey, Esq. (UC Hastings) was a co-author of this report. She
has worked as a legal fellow with the Bureau des Avocats
Internationaux where she helped launch the organization’s Rape
Accountability and Prevention Project. Prior to joining the Center for
Gender & Refugee Studies as a Staff Attorney she clerked on the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
(Contact: 415-515-8956)
Margaret Satterthwaite (NYU School of Law) was a co-author of the
report and has recently concluded a study on sexual violence in
Haiti’s IDP camps.  She has worked for a variety of human rights
organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights First,
and the Haitian Commission Nationale de Verité et de Justice, and has
consulted with various U.N. agencies.  She is a Professor of Clinical
Law, director of the Global Justice Clinic, and faculty director of
the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law.
(Contact: 212-998-6657)

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