Northern Haiti: towards justice access for sexual gender violence survivors
Source: UN Women
Never before had litigants, coming from the remote communal sections of Quartier Morin, Limbé, and Fort-Bourgeois, had access to justice so close and free of charge. Often, the distance means that people spend hours traveling to a Justice of the Peace court; the high cost of justice; the fear of reprisals; and the extreme slowness of the decisions –all these factors summarize the reality that prevails in these areas, thus limiting access to justice and the exercise of rights.
An entire judicial apparatus – comprisinf of thejustices of the peace and clerks of the courts of the southern and northern districts of Cap-Haitien, Court of first instance and court of appeals representatives, lawyers from the Legal Assistance Bureau (BAL) and the Citizen Protection Office (OPC), Gender-Based Violence (GBV) unit of the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights (MCFDF), GBV unit of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), GBV unit of the Bureau for the Protection of Minors (BPM), women's rights organizations including AFASDA and AFM, psychologists, social workers, local elected officials, community leaders, –mobilizes with a competent team , to operate as a real court at each mobile court session and travel to the most remote neighborhoods of litigants, thereby making justice accessible to all.
Nearly 224 participants, including 113 women, were reached by the three mobile courts and attended awareness sessions. More than ten (10) cases of violence were recorded and addressed during individual hearings held behind closed doors, outside of the mobile courts. These cases, currently being handled by the BAL lawyers, will soon be referred to a higher level for appropriate legal follow-up and action. The most frequently reported cases of violence include assault, parental irresponsibility, and physical and verbal abuse.
Never before had litigants, coming from the remote communal sections of Quartier Morin, Limbé, and Fort-Bourgeois, had access to justice so close and free of charge. Often, the distance means that people spend hours traveling to a Justice of the Peace court; the high cost of justice; the fear of reprisals; and the extreme slowness of the decisions –all these factors summarize the reality that prevails in these areas, thus limiting access to justice and the exercise of rights.
An entire judicial apparatus – comprisinf of thejustices of the peace and clerks of the courts of the southern and northern districts of Cap-Haitien, Court of first instance and court of appeals representatives, lawyers from the Legal Assistance Bureau (BAL) and the Citizen Protection Office (OPC), Gender-Based Violence (GBV) unit of the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights (MCFDF), GBV unit of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), GBV unit of the Bureau for the Protection of Minors (BPM), women's rights organizations including AFASDA and AFM, psychologists, social workers, local elected officials, community leaders, –mobilizes with a competent team , to operate as a real court at each mobile court session and travel to the most remote neighborhoods of litigants, thereby making justice accessible to all.
Nearly 224 participants, including 113 women, were reached by the three mobile courts and attended awareness sessions. More than ten (10) cases of violence were recorded and addressed during individual hearings held behind closed doors, outside of the mobile courts. These cases, currently being handled by the BAL lawyers, will soon be referred to a higher level for appropriate legal follow-up and action. The most frequently reported cases of violence include assault, parental irresponsibility, and physical and verbal abuse.