30423: White (reply) Re: 30438: Sexual Violence Advocacy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

Régine,

There are many different issues and agendas that are awakened when someone 
attempts to take direct action in a situation like this. That is what — I think 
— you are referring to when you invoke the term "delicate." For my part, 
violence against women is not a delicate issue, and the victims should expect 
to obtain justice in a timely and reaffirming fashion.

It's not clear, but it appears that the victim did contact the U.S. Embassy in 
Port au Prince shortly after the incident. While it is true that the police in 
Haiti should be contacted first, I don't believe that it is true that the U.S, 
Embassy has to wait for anyone before acting in some fashion. If a U.S. citizen 
is involved in violence against women, there are some* in the Port au Prince 
office that have a low tolerance for that sort of abuse — especially, when rape 
is involved — and they can be quite "proactive" where it comes to getting 
results.

What many Haitians may not realize. This is also true for any woman regardless 
of citizenship. A Haitian woman can contact the U.S. Embassy directly — when a 
U.S. citizen is a perpetrator — and expect to get results. For my limited 
understanding of "purpose and mission" this is one of the areas that our 
foreign embassies are supposed to deal with. What happens in the real world may 
be different…

By now, the folks on this list who do have an active interest in this area 
should have contacted you directly with contacts and relevant advice (I would 
be surprised if that weren't true). If not, feel free to contact me — off list 
— and I'll "walk" some of them down.

However, if she hasn't already, this victim should contact the U.S. Embassy in 
Port au Prince. If anyone is in a similar situation and aren't getting 
satisfactory results from the U.S. Embassy, you might want to try being a bit 
more persistent and even consider turning up the volume and heat a bit until 
things "get moving."

Whatever happens, this perpetrator should not feel comfortable about hanging 
out in Haiti.

 *[would it be too much to ask that someone, who knows better, post a 
clarification stating that "everyone at the U.S. Embassy" has a low tolerance 
for U.S. citizens victimizing women on other countries?]

Quote from message 30438: << I write to you with seeking help with a very 
delicate and time sensitive topic.  Someone very close to me was raped a few 
months ago during her trip to Haiti.    She lives in the US and had not been to 
Haiti since childhood.  The perpetrator is a US American man who has been 
living in Haiti. Although he is an American citizen, because she was raped 
abroad she has to file a report and deal with police in Port-au-Prince before 
anything can be done in the US.  She has been dealing with the Haitian police, 
but with much difficulty. >>

RAW
raw@HaitiAction.org