First Person: Bodies of Children in Haiti Have Turned into ‘Battlegrounds’

© UNOCHA/Giles Clarke | Gangs control the majority of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

Almost equally staggering is how little coverage this gruesome statistic has received. And so, if numbers have lost meaning, perhaps the children living this horror will count.

Roseline* is 16. Late last year, she left her friend’s house to go to the shop and was abducted by armed men.

She was placed in a van with other young girls and taken to a warehouse. There she was extensively beaten. She was then drugged and over the course of what she believes to be a month, she was relentlessly raped.

When the armed group realised Roseline had no one to pay her kidnapping ransom, she was released. She is currently in a UNICEF-supported safe house with more than a dozen other girls, all receiving care.

Astounding insecurity

Armed groups now control 85 per cent of Port-au-Prince. Let me repeat that. 85 per cent of the capital of Haiti is under the control of armed groups, an astounding case of insecurity in a capital city.

Last year alone, child recruitment into armed groups surged by 70 per cent. Right now, up to half of all armed group members are children, some as young as eight years old.

Many are taken by force. Others are manipulated or driven by extreme poverty. It’s a lethal cycle. Children are recruited into the groups that fuel their own suffering.

And in Haiti, the suffering is immense – 1.2 million children live under the constant threat of armed violence.

Collapse of essential services

Essential services have collapsed. Hospitals are overwhelmed. More than half of Haiti’s health facilities lack the equipment and medication to treat children in emergencies.

© UNICEF/Maxime Le Lijour | A woman collects relief items distributed by UNICEF.

Playgrounds, schools and homes have turned into battlegrounds, forcing many families to flee. More than 500,000 children have been displaced. An estimated three million will require urgent humanitarian assistance this year.

And education? More than 300,000 children have seen their education disrupted due to recurrent population displacement and school closures.

And as noted, sexual violence is rampant. The abhorrence of an attack on a child is obvious. A 10-fold increase is ruinous. The pain of course does not stop with the survivor – it ripples through families, shatters communities and scars society as a whole.

Engaging communities through young reporters

And yet, Haitians refuse to give up in the face of crisis.

Take one example: UNICEF’s 135,000 “U-reporters” in the country. These young people embody the commitment of everyday Haitians, bringing their energy and dedication to help those who need it most.

© UNICEF/Rachel Opota | A U-reporter gives a presentation on proper hygiene practices and cholera prevention.

U-Report is a digital platform created by UNICEF to engage communities, especially youth, in social issues.

And in Haiti, in one month in 2024 alone, U-reporter efforts led to the identification and referral of cases of malnutrition, under-vaccination and essential support for pregnant women in displaced sites and host communities.

Underfunded programmes

Haiti’s progress starts with its children. With incredible partners, UNICEF has created 32 mobile safe spaces to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, deployed more than 380 health professionals across 105 institutions, distributed cash to almost 30,000 families and treated more than 80,000 children for moderate and severe wasting.

Programmes that meet children’s needs can disrupt cycles of violence and reduce the risk of them becoming perpetrators or victims.

Despite this, UNICEF Haiti’s 2024 emergency funding appeal of $221.4 million was 72 per cent underfunded.

This starkly contrasts with the urgent need for education, protection and development opportunities to prevent children from being drawn into violence. Without these efforts, violence will continue to consume future generations.”