PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — A United Nations (UN) agency says displaced women and girls face “unprecedented” levels of insecurity and sexual violence in Haiti due to instability in the country that is fuelling a spike as armed gangs continue their assault on the population.

A new report by UN Women, the agency that champions gender equality, on Wednesday revealed the dire living conditions and lack of security faced by some 300,000 displaced women and girls amid ongoing political instability, escalating gang violence and the threat of the current hurricane season.

Women and girls account for more than half of the 580,000 displaced people in Haiti, and the UN Women Rapid Gender Assessment highlights how makeshift camps, which lack basic necessities, are putting them at particular risk of sexual and gender-based violence.

UN Women said the survey was conducted in April in the six most populated and diverse displacement sites in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

It found that most camps have no lighting or locks in key areas such as bedrooms and toilets while residents are exposed to daily threats from the gangs.

“The constant danger of stray bullets and other security risks further underscore the urgent need for improved protection in these sites,” the survey said. “Aggression against women and girls, specifically rape, is also being used in most camps as a deliberate tactic to control their access to humanitarian assistance.”

According to UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, the report “tells us that the level of insecurity and brutality, including sexual violence, that women are facing at the hands of gangs in Haiti is unprecedented. It must stop now”.

“We urge the newly appointed government to take measures to prevent and respond to the violence women and girls are subjected to, and to increase women’s participation in the camps’ management, so that their security concerns are listened to and acted upon,” she said.

“Humanitarian aid must be safely distributed in line with the differentiated needs of women and girls,” Bahous urged.

The report also revealed that nearly 90 per cent of women interviewed have no source of income in the camps.

According to the report, more than 10 per cent said they had resorted to or considered the possibility of sex work or prostitution to meet their needs at least once, and 20 per cent knew at least one person who had done so.

Other findings include that some 16 per cent of respondents felt intimidated, harassed, or traumatised by armed gangs, and almost 70 per cent said they were mentally affected by the upsurge in violence. Only 10 per cent reported having access to health services in the camps, the report said.

In response to the crisis in Haiti, UN Women said it is assisting women’s organisations to reach displaced people within host communities and camps including through projects supported by the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, the UN Peacebuilding Fund, and the German Government.

The UN agency said it has also trained police officers to improve prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, and provide services to survivors.

Additionally, UN Women said it continues to support women entrepreneurs who are affected by road blockages and ongoing violence through a project funded by Norway.

Last October, the UN Security Council authorised the deployment of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to assist the Haitian National Police in combatting the gangs.

UN Women urged all stakeholders involved in the non-UN mission to guarantee the immediate protection of women and girls and to give Haitian women’s organisations a leading role in the management of the displacement camps.

Only two per cent of women surveyed reported having a leadership role in camp management, the agency said, stressing the urgency to both ensure their active participation in decision-making and implement immediate protection measures.