An official from an organization providing services to survivors of gender-based violence, or GBV, in Haiti said that the programming pause between February and May 2025 due to U.S. stop-work orders left many women and girls fearful, uncertain, and without access to essential services. In some cases this exposed them to further harm, particularly survivors already displaced by gang violence, who faced isolation and limited protection.
Date: 5/25
Region: Latin America & Caribbean
Country: Haiti
Topic: Gender Equality & Inclusion, Health
Policy Lens: Global Health Security
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: Marijàn is a feminist organization working in advocacy and education on GBV in Haiti, as well as running over 100 informal refuge sites for those displaced by violence. Although the organziation had most of its U.S. funding reinstated in May 2025, the three-month pause caused significant disruptions in awareness programming, trauma counseling, hygiene kit distribution, and safe space operations, collectively cutting off nearly 100,000 women and girls from services and leaving cases of GBV unreported. Human Rights Watch elaborates further on the context, explaining that criminal groups control large parts of Haiti and have continued to commit widespread killings, kidnappings, forced displacement, and sexual violence against hundreds of thousands. Despite a national action plan on GBV and a coordination mechanism bringing together at least 40 organizations, survivors already faced serious gaps in accessing protection, medical care, and essential services before the funding pause.
Not all services were, however, reinstated in May as funds for condom distributions by Marijàn were specifically restricted, threatening to increase sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies.
Source: Human Rights Watch