Much of the current scholarship, as well as international policy studies focusing on civil conflicts and armed violence, has primarily construed women as victims and men as perpetrators of violence. Although this prevalent interpretation certainly reflects conventional wisdom and tells part of a true war story, the remainder, which has been very much less publicized and addressed, also perceives women as participants in violence and men occasionally as victims.

This Article examines women's and girls' struggles in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. In particular, it focuses on the grievous conditions in the displacement camps that foster gender-based violence and abuse, often perpetrated by members of armed groups or prison escapees. Indeed, the lack of lighting, private sanitary facilities, secure shelters, and police patrols in the encampment areas endanger women's and girls' safety.

Le viol est un outil de guerre. Haïti est l’un des nombreux pays qui utilisent la violence, et particulièrement cette forme-là, contre les femmes comme moyen de réprimer le révolutionnaire et le progrès. Cependant, la dynamique de la violence armée en Haïti est très différente de celle d’autre pays. Cet article explore le lien entre le patrimoine historique et l’échec politique, ainsi que les liens entre la rareté matérielle, la terreur guerrière et les violences sexuelles. (Résumé par Mouka)

Women in Haiti are frequent victims of sexual violence and armed assault. Yet an astonishing proportion of these victims also act as perpetrators of violent crime, often as part of armed groups. Award-winning legal scholar Benedetta Faedi Duramy visited Haiti to discover what causes these women to act in such destructive ways and what might be done to stop this tragic cycle of violence.