Doctors Without Borders (MSF) stated that sexual and gender-based violence is being systematically employed to terrorize residents in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, according to a report released Thursday based on a decade of clinic data. The organization, known by its French acronym, warned that the violence intensified significantly following 2021, correlating with the further erosion of state security and judicial functions.
MSF’s Pran Men’m clinic treated nearly 17,000 survivors of sexual violence over the past ten years, with 98 percent being women and girls. The number of monthly admissions nearly tripled, climbing from an average of 95 in 2021 to over 250 in 2025, according to Diana Manilla Arroyo, MSF's head of mission in Haiti.
Fifty-seven percent of survivors treated since 2022 reported assaults by members of armed groups, often involving multiple perpetrators. MSF highlighted the increasing severity, noting that over 100 patients reported being assaulted by 10 or more individuals simultaneously.
Geopolitical instability and the control of territory by rival armed gangs create an environment where humanitarian access is severely constrained. The report underscores that Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, suffers from hollowed-out health and security systems, leaving vulnerable populations exposed.
Delayed treatment poses critical public health risks, as only one-third of survivors reached the clinic within three days post-assault, inhibiting the possibility of preventing HIV transmission. Financial barriers and ongoing insecurity further impede swift access to necessary medical intervention.
MSF concluded by calling for increased funding and the unequivocal recognition of widespread sexual violence as a deliberate instrument of control utilized by armed factions. This systemic subjugation targets women and girls across the capital's most volatile areas.
