When seeking redress for crimes committed against them, rape victims in Haiti confront not only the obstacle of a corrupt and ineffective judicial system, but also procedural hurdles which impede them from pursuing their charges of rape. One such impediment is the difficulty women have in obtaining a certificate verifying sexual intercourse. Haitian women alleging rape must provide a medical certificate from a doctor certifying that sexual intercourse took place. However, the dearth of medical facilities and professionals in Haiti has made it extremely unlikely that alleged rape victims can collect the critical forensic evidence95 and document injuries sustained during rape. Without these evidentiary requirements, which are critical to the prosecution of rape cases, the survivors are denied due process.
In theory, women can go to local, public hospitals or clinics to obtain certification of intercourse. In practice, in the rural areas outside of Port-au-Prince and Haiti's other larger cities, public hospitals or clinic facilities are scarce to non-existent. Even where public hospital or clinic facilities are available, they are frequently undersupplied with materials and overwhelmed by the demand for services.
Given the lack of medical services available in public facilities, the only option for obtaining medical diagnosis and treatment for many women is with private doctors. But many rape victims are unable to afford private medical attention. Consequently, these women go untreated and their rape allegations go uninvestigated for lack of evidence. According to one Haitian family law attorney, "It has always been a problem to prove a rape in Haiti. Material conditions prevent them [the women] from going to a doctor. A woman who has been raped will probably not be seen at the Port-au-Prince General Hospital, since they tend to treat only grave injuries, and she would be forced to go to a clinic or private hospital."96
The Port-au-Prince General Hospital currently is more capable of providing treatment for victims of rape because it is no longer overwhelmed by the injured victims of violence associated with the now replaced coup regime. Nevertheless, since physical evidence is essential to the prosecution of cases in Haiti and public clinics and hospitals are scarce, and many women lack the financial means to pay for such an exam, the Aristide government should make a commitment to ensure that victims of rape have immediate access to free medical attention to document the physical assault.
95 During these exams, the doctor collects semen, public hair and other such evidence from the woman's vaginal area.
96 Telephone interview, March 13, 1994.
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