“Li pa gen la vwa o chapit”: Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health Consequences Experienced by Migrants and Asylum-Seekers Amid the Haitian Humanitarian Crisis

Abstract

The sociopolitical crisis in Haiti has resulted in stark increases in gender-based violence (GBV). Our qualitative descriptive study explored GBV experienced by Haitian women along a continuum based on the setting in which GBV occurred: prior to the Haitian humanitarian crisis, during the humanitarian crisis, and upon migration to the USA. Our results highlight gendered sociocultural norms among Haitian women, and how the humanitarian crisis aggravated gendered vulnerability, leading to increased GBV and sexual and reproductive health risks. The culmination of these factors propelled migration of women to settings with institutional protections against GBV.