HAVANA (AP) — The number of sexual abuse cases being treated at a clinic in Haiti’s capital has tripled in the past four years as gang violence has increased across the troubled Caribbean country, a health charity warned Wednesday.
Doctors Without Borders said it was “alarmed and angry” at the enormous level of sexual and gender-based violence.
“The extent to which the numbers have increased has shocked us,” said Diana Manilla Arroyo, the group’s head of mission in Haiti, in a telephone interview. “It’s not just the numbers, but the severity.”
More than half of the patients being treated at the Pran Men’m clinic, which opened a decade ago in Port-au-Prince, have been attacked by various members of armed groups, the charity, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said in a new report.
“More than 100 individuals were attacked by 10 or more perpetrators at a time,” he said, noting an average of three perpetrators per case.
The clinic has treated almost 17,000 patients in the past ten years, including 2,300 in the first nine months of last year alone. More than 350 of those patients are boys and men, MSF said.
The demographics of those being attacked have also changed. Before 2022, half of all clinic cases involved patients younger than 18, compared to 24% today. The number of cases in the 50-80 age range has increased sevenfold, according to MSF.
Control and power
Gangs control about 90% of Port-au-Prince, with many resorting to sexual abuse to instill fear, experts say.
According to MSF, abuse occurs during kidnappings, territorial acquisitions and to control humanitarian aid.
“Armed groups are using sexual violence to terrorize, control and subjugate communities,” Manilla said.
The report mentions one unidentified woman, aged 53, who said she was raped by three men young enough to be her children.
“They beat me and broke my teeth,” she was quoted as saying. “After they raped me, they also raped my daughter.”
At particular risk are those living in makeshift shelters, with gang violence displacing a record 1.4 million people across Haiti in recent years, according to the United Nations.
A 34-year-old woman quoted in the report noted that young women and boys are mixed together in the shelters.
“Mothers are forced to stay close because when a child starts to grow, they can become a target for rape at any moment,” she said.
Almost 70% of people who sought help between January and September 2025 after being sexually abused were displaced, according to the UN
Meanwhile, MSF said that its clinic is struggling to find shelters willing to accept patients, and noted that women with children or those who are pregnant or in need of medical care are often refused.
“The lack of available services leaves survivors exposed to the same risks that led to their initial trauma,” MSF said. “Without safe shelter or relocation options, MSF sends its patients right back to the nightmare they came from, only to see them return another day after breaking again.”
‘It can be difficult’
Fear about reporting cases of sexual abuse persists because of the ongoing stigma and lack of faith in Haiti’s police and justice system.
Another reason to avoid medical treatment is to preserve one’s life; civilians have been beaten or killed by vigilante groups if they live in a neighborhood controlled by a gang as they are automatically associated with the armed group.
As of 2022, the proportion of survivors who sought help at the Pran Men’m clinic within three days of their attack has halved, from almost two-thirds to one-third, according to MSF. As a result, nearly 70% of them arrived too late to receive post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, the group said.
In addition, the proportion of patients who sought treatment within five days of their attack fell by almost half, from 72% to 41%. This meant that almost 60% of them missed the opportunity to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, MSF said.
To combat stigma, one local non-profit organization reaches out to women using art, theater and music, with survivors writing and speaking in focus groups about their experiences in a safe place.
“They find a way to understand their own reality, their own experiences,” said Pascale Solages, the coordinator of an independent Haitian feminist group, Nègès Mawon. “It can be difficult,” she said.
MSF called on the Haitian government to allocate more funds for free health care and services for survivors of sexual abuse.
“One immediate and practical measure you can implement is a 24/7 government-operated hotline to provide confidential guidance and connect survivors to critical resources,” MSF said. “Many do not have access to medical care, are displaced from their homes, and face enormous obstacles to finding support and rebuilding their lives.”
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