‘Amazing’ increase in sexual violence against children in Haiti

The Government of the gangs in Haiti has led to an ascent ascent in sexual violence against children, warned the United Nations Children’s Organization.

The Caribbean island has been in the control of violent gangs for several years that have been treating the population with implacable brutality, said UNICEF.

Sexual violence against children has increased by 1,000% since 2023, turning their bodies “into battlefields,” said spokesman James Elder.

UNICEF estimates that 85% of Prince Port-Au Capital is under gang control. More than one million children live with the constant threat of violence.

Mr. Elder gave an example of a 16 -year -old girl who had left home to go shopping, and was then seized by armed men. It was beaten, drugged and raped repeatedly.

She was arrested for about a month, she said, until the gang let her go when they realized that her family had no money to pay a ransom. Extortion kidnappings are common in Haiti.

He is now in a UN shelter with dozens of other girls who receive attention.

Gang control in Port-Au Prince has led to an almost complete breakdown of the law and order, the collapse of health services and the appearance of a food security crisis.

More than 5,600 people died in gang violence in Haiti only last year.

The Presidential Council of Transition of Haiti, the body created to organize elections and restore democratic order, seems to be agitation.

The Board replaced the interim prime minister in November, but has made little progress to organize long -standing elections.

Children are also being recruited by gangs, sometimes by force, said UNICEF.

The organization has encountered children’s gang members who are as young as eight.

The basic concepts that Haitian children need for normal childhood, even if they are still at home with their families, are practically non -existent than UNICEF. Schools and hospitals barely work and tens of thousands of children are not in school.

UNICEF has created safe mobile spaces in Haiti to try to support children and prevent sexual violence.

But last year, when he appealed for $ 221.4 million (£ 177.8m) to finance his work in Haiti, he received only a quarter of that.

Now it is feared that with the United States freezes in foreign help that affect humanitarian projects worldwide, Haiti’s needs will be careless again.