UN: Child Violence in Haiti Surges 1,000% Amid Gang Control
The Facts
According to the UN, sexual violence against children in Haiti increased by 1,000% in 2024 compared to 2023, with armed gangs now controlling 85% of the capital Port-au-Prince, creating an unprecedented security crisis in the nation's capital.
It added that more than 1.2M children now live under constant threat of armed violence, with approximately 300K children experiencing disrupted education due to displacement and school closures, while essential services and health care facilities have largely collapsed.
Besides sex crimes, which reportedly included the month-long abuse of a 16-year-old girl, the last quarter of 2024 witnessed three large-scale massacres resulting in over 300 deaths, including one in the Wharf Jérémie neighborhood where 207 died from Dec. 6-11.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Haitian children urgently need more foreign assistance to prevent escalating violence, sexual abuse, and death. Armed groups have already recruited children, displacing over half a million, with risks of violence growing worse by the day. As schools, health care, and basic services are disrupted, leaving children more vulnerable, groups like UNICEF and its partner organizations need support to provide essential aid and protection.
Establishment-critical narrative
Given the history of US intervention in Haiti, international organizations like the UN, largely influenced by the US, should not control aid. Not only has Washington destabilized Haiti, leading to the violence occurring today, but it has also been implicated in trafficking Haitian children, as seen in the 2010 Laura Silsby case. This history suggests that foreign aid under US influence likely prioritizes geopolitical interests over Haitian needs.