This descriptive exploratory study uses a cultural-ecological framework to examine mothering and the role of family support within the lakou (group living) system in the rural province of Leogane, Haiti. Historically, the lakou refers to clusters of homes in which Haitian families reside, as well as to the extended and multiple-generation family form that is prominent in Haitian culture. Initially, the members of a lakou worked cooperatively and provided for each other with financial and other forms of support.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of violence against women (VAW) held by Haitian men to gain a better understanding of why VAW occurs. Women in Haiti have experienced significant violence, both before and following the 2010 earthquake. Fifteen men aged 26 to 47 participated in a focus group. The data revealed three themes: men's beliefs about VAW and its context, factors influencing VAW, and recommended interventions. When approaching VAW, men must be part of the collective effort.

This paper explores the possible existence of organic reproductive justice actions among enslaved mothers and pregnant women in colonial Haiti (Saint Domingue) with specific focus on how marronnage – escape from slavery – provided them opportunities to exert power over their lives, bodies and biological reproduction. Reproductive justice is defined as the complete well‐being of women and girls, based on their human right to decide when and how to have – or not have – children, and to parent existing children in safe and sustainable communities.

This article argues that commercial practices, social relations, and moral obligations in downtown Port-au-Prince shape and are shaped by the vernacular buildings in which they take place. Women living in, and working from, shotgun houses—a structure with a small street facade that allows for both private and commercial life—use these houses to build moral economies woven around familial solidarity and egalitarian relations.

This article examines some of the reasons why measures to ensure protection from gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual exploitation and abuse, do not always take precedence for humanitarian actors during an emergency response, and what can be done to support organisations to integrate this aspect of protection into their humanitarian work.

Déployant une approche féministe intersectionnelle et institutionnaliste, cet article documente et analyse la constitution récente de mobilisations intersectionnelles de femmes handicapées en Haïti, c’est-à-dire de mobilisations qui viennent politiser des expériences vécues façonnées à la fois par le genre et le capacitisme comme systèmes imbriqués de la domination sociale.

In this chapter the author constructs an alternate way of teaching about Haitian womanhood which creates a more nuanced and developed understanding of the many lives Haitian women may lead. The Kreyol saying “fanm se poto mitan” is well known in Haiti to mean that women are the central pillar that uphold society, they are indispensable, strong and resilient. However, Jean-Charles argues that the poto mitan is a restrictive representation of Haitian women that expresses the burdens that they must take on as the unwavering pillar.

L’analyse de trois récits de vie de femmes haïtiennes émigrant en Martinique et ayant recours aux sexualités transactionnelles (ST) aide à comprendre le rôle de la sexualité dans les stratégies de « normalisation » administrative et sociale des femmes les plus précaires. Chacun des récits illustre un modèle de ST : la prostitution au sens strict, le mariage comme continuité du « plaçage » existant en Haïti et les ST impliquant un partenaire ressource (voire un multipartenariat sériel).

Research shows that in the Caribbean one-third of people living with HIV continue to engage in unprotected sexual practices. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and HIV-related risk behaviors have been found to play a contributory role in HIV transmission. We aimed to analyze gender differences in the association between CSA and substance use and sexual risk behaviors among Haitians living with HIV. A total of 276 HIV-positive individuals participated in this study with 56% experiencing sexual abuse during childhood.

This chapter delves into the history of women in Haiti and the Caribbean through the African religious legends of the Vodoun goddess and spirit, Erzulie, describing their importance to Haitian culture and identity. The goddess takes many forms and meanings depending on which historical perspective she is representing, whether it be through the colonial lens, the catholic lens, the patriarchal lens or the feminist lens. It highlights the subversion of Western dualisms, gender distinction and colour division in these legends.