The Role of Discrimination and Stigma
At least four factors influenced the reporting and adjudication of rape cases which made it particularly difficult to obtain redress under the coup regime. Of these, two affected the general population as well: the fear of reprisal and the ineffectiveness of a military-dominated justice system. The remaining two, longstanding sex discrimination in the criminal justice system and the social stigma associated with rape, affected women victims of sexual assault in particular and may continue to affect women's access to justice for sex crimes.
Rape, under the Haitian penal code, is among those crimes considered to be "assaults on morals." This classification of rape reflects the perception that the harm inflicted by the assault consists of damage to the victim's morals or honor, rather than to her physical integrity and well-being.97 The investigation and prosecution of rape thus routinely stress not the physical harm done to the woman but rather the status of her honor or morals. Consequently, women who allege rape must endure public scrutiny of their "morality"; the rape of a non-virgin may be considered a less serious offense because her honor is perceived to be already compromised. In the case of the thirteen-year-old raped in Bayeux described above, for example, military authorities tried to dismiss a rape accusation based on the assertion that the victim was not a virgin. In their eyes, her putative status as a non-virgin rendered her story not credible and meant that she could not be raped.
Assessing a woman's credibility in light of her sexual history reinforces the discriminatory standards by which men's and women's behavior are judged. Sexual behavior is considered normal for a man but is viewed asundermining a woman's honesty and as rendering her automatically sexually available. These different standards for assessing the behavior and credibility of women and men, when accepted by the courts, allow bias and discrimination to compromise the effective investigation and prosecution of women's allegations of rape.
Rape in Haiti, as in most of the world, is considered an extremely shaming act. Women, particularly unmarried women, do not want anyone to know that they have been raped. A Haitian human rights activist told us that when a girl is about to be married, both sides of the family are interested in her virginal status. If she is not a virgin, it is a "dishonor for the girl and especially for her family."98
Despite Haiti's return to democratic rule, we remain concerned that legal redress for rape may still be hampered by a biased criminal justice system. To date, there has been no substantive change in the criminal code that lists rape under such a misleading heading as "assaults on morals." Neither judges nor police have extensive training in how to handle rape cases. Absent necessary legal reform and training, women may continue to find themselves inhibited in bringing charges of rape, given the possibility that their character and comportment receive more attention than the crime committed against their physical integrity and personal dignity.
97 For a discussion of the biases reflected in rape laws, see generally Dorothy Q. Thomas and Regan E. Ralph, "Rape in War: Challenging the Tradition of Impunity," The [Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies] SAIS Review, vol. XIV, no. 1 (Winter-Spring 1994), pp. 81-99.
98 Telephone interview, March 18, 1994.
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