Sexual and gender-based violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (January 2026)

Haiti: MSF report documents alarming rise of sexual violence in Port-au-Prince

An explosion of systematic sexual violence in Haiti in recent years has had a direct impact on the bodies of women and girls in Port-au-Prince.

Sexual and gender-based violence has surged in Haiti's capital since 2021 and is being used systematically to terrorize communities, disproportionately affecting women and girls, according to a report released today by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

This crisis is occurring as infrastructure, public services, and living conditions have deteriorated dramatically amid widespread violence and insecurity.

MSF's report, “Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,” is based on 10 years of medical data and testimonies collected at MSF's Pran Men'm Clinic. Since MSF opened the clinic in 2015, it has provided comprehensive medical and psychosocial care to nearly 17,000 people, 98 percent of whom are women and girls.

Sexual violence in Haiti: Facts & figures

• Acts of sexual and gender-based violence have surged since 2022 and have become a tactic for spreading terror in the population.
• Women and girls of all ages are being targeted: The proportion of survivors under 18 has decreased since 2022, while the number of survivors aged 50-80 has increased sevenfold.
• A growing number of incidents involve members of armed groups rather than individuals known to survivors.
• Incidents increasingly involve firearms and occur during broader attacks against entire families and communities.
• Displacement has emerged as a critical vulnerability due to the lack of security and lighting, and the proximity of armed groups.
• Men, boys, and gender-diverse people are also subjected to sexual violence, but much less likely to access care or tell anybody.
• Many survivors face barriers to accessing the limited health and support services available, leading some to delay or avoid seeking care until it's too late to prevent HIV transmission or unwanted pregnancy.

“The number of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence who receive care at the clinic has almost tripled from an average of 95 admissions per month in 2021 to more than 250 in 2025,” said Diana Manilla Arroyo, MSF head of mission in Haiti. “This shows how the explosion of violence in Haiti in recent years has had a direct impact on the bodies of women and girls in Port-au-Prince.”

An MSF patient told staff that she had been subjected to sexual violence multiple times. In one instance, she was assaulted while she and her family were kidnapped by a group of armed men. | Haiti 2025 © MSF

Shocking increases in brutal violence

The report shows that women and girls of all ages are being targeted, and that a growing number of survivors are displaced from their homes, which exposes them to further violence. Nearly one-fifth of the survivors treated at Pran Men'm have suffered multiple incidents of sexual violence.

There also has been a shocking increase in the brutality of the violence. Among survivors who have received care at Pran Men'm since 2022, 57 percent reported being assaulted by members of armed groups, often in the context of group assaults committed by multiple perpetrators. More than 100 patients reported being assaulted by 10 or more perpetrators at a time.

"My experience was not a good one because I was a victim of rape by three members of an armed group. I was scared, I was traumatized, I thought I was going to be stigmatized, and I was afraid to go out into the street. I isolated myself in a corner, humiliated myself, and I no longer felt like I existed in life."

— Survivor F, age 48

“They beat me and broke my teeth,” said one 53-year-old survivor quoted in the report. “Three young men who could have been my children ... When I refused to sleep with them, they hit me and I fell. While I was struggling, they kicked me in the back, which still hurts months later. After raping me, they raped my daughter ... and beat my husband.”

The report highlights the persistent shortcomings in the availability of services for survivors. MSF is often unable to refer its patients to essential non-medical assistance — such as safe shelters, relocation options, or livelihood support — which are indispensable for many survivors. This situation underscores the urgent need to strengthen and sustain funding for protection services.

Delays in care mean higher risk of medical consequences

Survivors also face numerous barriers — such as fear of stigma, financial difficulties, insecurity, and lack of information — that prevent them from accessing care in a timely manner, which can have harmful medical consequences. Since 2022, only one-third of survivors who consulted the Pran Men’m Clinic arrived at the clinic within three days of their assault — too late to prevent HIV transmission. Similarly, 59 percent of our patients during this period were unable to access care within five days in order to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy.

“Society will see you with an evil eye, the future too, they will devalue you, criticize you, they will tell you that you are ugly … You are a worthless nothing."

— Testimony from focus group discussions collected as part of MSF’s 2018 study

This report calls for urgent and coordinated action by Haitian authorities, service providers, donors, United Nations agencies, and security actors in favor of a survivor-centered response focused on long-term recovery.

“We call for expanded access to comprehensive medical and psychosocial care free of charge, which can only be achieved through a sustainable increase in funding for support services,” Manilla Arroyo said. “Equally important, we call for unequivocal recognition of the widespread nature of sexual violence and its deliberate use by armed groups as a tool to control and subjugate women and girls. These are the challenges that must be addressed to empower survivors to regain control of their bodies and their lives.”

By the numbers: Treating sexual violence at Pran Men’m Clinic

• The number of sexual violence patients has tripled since 2022; 98 percent are women or girls.
• Nearly one-fifth of patients have experienced sexual violence multiple times.
• 57 percent of patients report that the perpetrators were members of armed groups.
• The proportion of patients who are displaced has increased 20-fold since 2022.
• 58 percent of survivors were attacked by multiple perpetrators, with an average of three per case.
• Most patients reach the clinic too late to prevent HIV transmission or unwanted pregnancy.