‘I don’t know where else to go.’ Haitian women in displacement camps demand protection on International Women’s Rights Day

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Sitting at the entrance of a cramped makeshift shelter, 21-year-old Evaïna Pierre tries to soothe her crying child while her other child sleeps. Once a resident of Solino, then a refugee in Delmas 30’s Acra Factory Outlet camp, she has now taken shelter inside the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communications (MTPTC) building. Her only wish on March 8, International Women’s Rights Day? To return home.

“I just want security,” she said during an interview with The Haitian Times. “If I could go back to my neighborhood, I would be so happy. Here, we don’t live well. Water leaks into our tent when it rains, and we can’t sleep.”

Pierre is one of thousands of internally displaced women in Haiti, where 55% of the country’s 1,041,229 displaced persons are women and girls, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Many have lost their homes, businesses and even family members to gang violence. Now living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, they say the government’s failure to restore security has left them in limbo, vulnerable to hunger, disease and gender-based violence.

A refugee camp with no relief for displaced women

In displacement camps across Port-au-Prince, including at the MTPTC in Delmas 33, women endure dangerous, unsanitary conditions.

• No privacy: Women and children shower in the open, often in the same space as men.
• Lack of sanitation: Residents must pay 10 gourdes or about 76 cents just to use the toilet.
• Health risks: Piles of garbage spread disease, while stagnant water creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
• Threat of violence: Women are at risk of harassment and sexual assault in the camps, where security is minimal.

“Every March 8, they remember that we women exist, but what we really need is security,” said Mirlande Lebrun, a mother of four who fled Delmas 30 during the latest escalating gang violence. “We live in this camp with no assurance that we won’t have to run again if gangs attack.”

For many women like Pierre, this is not the first time they have had to flee.

“Between running away at two times, I lost everything. Even my birth certificate is gone,” Pierre said, cradling her baby boy, who seemed to be disturbing her as he kept crying. “Before, I sold cosmetics, but now I have nothing.”

“We ask for nothing but security,” Haitian women insist

Forty-eight-year-old Bethie Joseph shares a tiny, makeshift space with her son in the parking lot of the MTPTC building. Once financially independent, she now depends on charity to survive.

“We don’t live well here. Even sleeping is difficult, but we have no choice,” Joseph said. “If the government had taken responsibility for our security, we would not be running from place to place like this.”

Like many displaced women, she no longer trusts government promises and feels abandoned.

“We are not asking for anything but security—so we can go back to our homes.”

International Women’s Rights Day overshadowed by crisis

Haiti observed International Women’s Rights Day 2025 under the UN theme “Rights, Empowerment, and Opportunities for Every Displaced Woman and Girl, Everywhere in the World.”

However, for displaced women and girls in Port-au-Prince, March 8 was just another day of survival.

“Women’s Rights Day is a time for reflection, but more importantly, action,” the IOM said in a statement. “Displaced and migrant women need urgent support and protection to rebuild their lives.”

The United Nations and humanitarian groups emphasize that displaced women must be included in discussions on Haiti’s future. Solutions must address:

• Economic empowerment programs to help women regain financial independence.   
• Access to education for displaced children.
• Social protection systems to ensure the dignity and security of women.

But for women like Saloude Ciméus, 44, those solutions feel out of reach.

“I have fled Canaan, Delmas 3, and the Acra camp, and now I’m here,” Ciméus said, standing in front of her small shelter at the MTPTC site. “I don’t know where else to go.”

She tries to survive by selling bottled water, but sales are slow.

“If it weren’t for God, I don’t know how we would survive.”

Haitian women demand action

As women’s organizations gathered for panel discussions and events, displaced women felt forgotten, waiting for action instead of speeches.

Their message to the Haitian government?

Restore security, open the roads, and let us go home.

“Let the government give us security,” Ciméus said. “We don’t need aid. We just want to go home.”

The post ‘I don’t know where else to go.’ Haitian women in displacement camps demand protection on International Women’s Rights Day appeared first on The Haitian Times.