Angelie, age 14, poses for a portrait on July 14, 2010 in Port-au-Prince. She was raped by four men and two women, all of whom she knew, this past Saturday. It happened when they invited her into their home and offered her food. While she has reported the crime to the police, no arrests have been made.
“This Guardian story from March ‘09, outlining the problem of rape in the Cité Soleil slum, detailed how half of the victims are children and teenagers. Many of the rapes are perpetrated by police and military, only twelve rapes went to court that past year, and there were only twelve child protective officers for the whole country. Since the earthquake, MS-NBC discusses how women are forced to trade sex-for-food, and despite the influx of foreign aid organizations and a stepped-up UN presence, security in the tent camps is abysmal. Statistics are hard to come by, but a Haitian support group counted at least 230 known cases in 15 camps in the two months following the quake. It’s not that violence is escaping notice: VOA sketches out the fuller dimensions of the security challenge, while the New York Times spotlights one woman’s recent abuse.”
It is said that eyes are the window to our souls and in this set of photographs, Photogrpaher Brendan Hoffman’s turns his lens on the “windows” of four young Haitian women that have been violated by the animalistic act of rape.
“Brendan’s images have not just intensity but also intimacy — an intimacy that defies the searing depersonalization and objectification of the act of rape. These young women, at this scale and through the power of that gaze (whether addressing the camera directly or askance) simply demand to be recognized by you and I.”
Lovely, age 12, poses for a portrait on July 14, 2010 in Port-au-Prince. She was raped by a man just last week, after recently moving with her family to the camp on Champs de Mars. She didn’t want to tell the police about the rape but they found out and arrested the perpetrator.
Magrecita, age 14, poses for a portrait on July 14, 2010 in Port-au-Prince. She was raped by a man she knew to have come out of prison just this month. She reported the rape to the police, who arrested and then released the man.
Nathaly, age 19, poses for a portrait on July 14, 2010 in Port-au-Prince. She was raped by eight men – one of whom she knew – the day after the earthquake in January. She reported it to the police but so far they have done nothing.
To read more about this horrific act plaguing the women of Haiti, visit bagnewsnotes
