After Haiti’s Quake, Another Form of Horror
Editorial:
To the editor:
“Sexual Assaults Add to Miseries of Haiti’s Ruins” (front page, June 24) was timely.
As Nancy Dorsinville, a policy adviser in the United Nations’ Office of the Special Envoy to Haiti, recently told a gathering of experts in New York, there is an urgent need for training peacekeepers, humanitarian aid staff, local law enforcement and social workers to prevent gender-based violence in refugee camps and other vulnerable areas.
The gender dimension of aid and security policies has only recently come under scrutiny, despite widespread occurrences of sexual assault and rape. There is neither an adequate system for documentation of these claims, nor judicial capacity to handle sex violence reports.
Training is absolutely essential. For example, while there is now a domestic violence hot line through the police department in Port-au-Prince, there’s a need for training agents on how to respond to callers with sensitivity and appropriate action.
Without training all those who can help to prevent sexual assaults and rape, these horrific instances of violence against women will continue.
Linda Basch
President, National Council for Research on Women
New York, June 24, 2010
President, National Council for Research on Women
New York, June 24, 2010
Source:
The New York Times
URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/opinion/l02haiti.html?scp=1&sq=Linda%20Basch&st=cse
Date:
October 4, 2011
Affiliate:
0
What We Do
NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.
Print-friendly
Send to friend