Project profile — Reducing Violence Against Women in Politics in Haiti

This initiative aims to reduce violence against women during the elections in Haiti. The goal is to overcome the lack of representation of women in Parliament and promote their political empowerment so that they can take part in the decisions that affect the country’s development and stability. Gender-based electoral violence is considered a primary obstacle to women holding leadership positions and their full participation in the electoral process in Haiti. To bring about structural and behavioural changes, the United Nations Women initiative proposes an approach focused on three areas: (1) a legal framework on violence against women during the elections; (2) governance for the principal institutions involved in the election process (the Provisional Electoral Council, the Haitian National Police; Justice; the political parties); (3) the macho attitudes and sexist and aggressive language against women during elections.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) the legal framework is strengthened and adjustments are made which include specific measures to combat violence against women during elections; (2) women are more empowered when confronted with violence during elections; (3) women are increasingly perceived by institutions and the population as being as effective and legitimate political leaders as men, which creates a more inclusive system of governance.

Results achieved at the end of the project (December 2021) include: (1) created the women’s political leadership academy (Académie de leadership politique féminin), which trained over 100 women in the areas of political leadership and election campaigning; (2) organized the first national forum on peace and the political participation of women in Haiti, with the participation of 100 people; (3) supported and trained 200 women election candidates and implemented a 3-month mentorship program for 77 of the women; (4) supported and strengthened the capacities of 60 members of the Provisional Electoral Council; (5) collaborated and supported with respect the implementation of the The Alliance of Civil society organizations for peace and women’s empowerment. This alliance includes 740 member organizations with more than 250,000 women in total across the country’s 10 departments; (6) a study on the challenges relating to women’s political and electoral participation and strategies for the full participation of women in politics; (7) trained 181 representatives of peace courts, Haiti’s national police force, national media and community organizations that address violence against women during electoral processes in Haiti; (8) provided collaboration and financial and technical support by the platform for the full political participation of Haitian women; and (9) launched a national awareness campaign in the media and on social networks on derogatory language used against women and on positive masculinity.