Hundreds of women victims of rape marched through the capital

September 1, 2006 - (KOFAVIV / AP) Despite the threat of violence amidst continuing arson attacks and gun battles in Port-au-Prince’s poorest neighborhoods, hundreds of women victims of rape marched through the capital today with faces veiled to raise their voices against ongoing violence and discrimination against women.

The march was organized by the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV), the largest community-based rape crisis group in Haiti. Marchers took their cry for justice to the Haitian Government by visiting the Ministry of Justice, Ministry for Women, National Palace and Parliament.

A leader and founder of the group, Eramithe Delva explained, “We are veiling our faces because this is how they come to our homes to rape us, beat us, destroy our homes, burn our things. The veil also is a symbol of how we as women are silenced and marginalized in all spheres of public life.”

Chants of "We will not give up the fight!" rose up as the protesters — including teenagers and elderly women — walked slowly to the National Palace. It was the first public demonstration in years by women calling attention to rape, which is rarely prosecuted in Haiti and carries a stigma against victims.

"When you are raped ... you feel like you are no longer human because those close to you don't want anything to do with you," said Elisena Nicola, a 38-year-old mother of five. She said paramilitaries broke into her Port-au-Prince home in 1991 and raped her before killing her husband.

She said she was raped again in 2004 during lawlessness that erupted following a revolt that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "We want the government to support us and bring our perpetrators to justice," Nicola said.

In the wake of a massive exodus from the neighborhood of Grand Ravine, more than sixty new victims have come forward to tell harrowing stories of the escalating violence and their desperate efforts to survive and save their children.

From: http://www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org/fea_news_index.html