,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #fa  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of 
,,representatives  ,february #f1 #bjac  
,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida 7for herself1  
,ms4 ,brown of ,florida1 ,mrs4          
,christensen1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,mr4       
,hastings of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,norton1    
,mr4 ,honda1 ,ms4 ,eddie ,bernice       
,johnson of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,lewis1 ,mrs4  
,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new ,york1    
,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,mr4      
,moran1 ,ms4 ,roybal-,allard1 ,ms4      
,sewell of ,alabama1 and ,mr4 ,thompson 
of ,mississippi7 submitted the following
 resolution2 which was referred to the  
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs         
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives that the 
,united ,states should work with the    
,government of ,haiti to address        
gender-based violence against women and 
children4  ,whereas tens of thousands of
 women and girls have been victims of   
sexual or gender-based violence in      
,haiti1 particularly in times of        

conflict or natural disaster2 ,whereas  
women's rights groups in ,haiti have    
witnessed dramatic increases in rates of
 sexual violence in many of the         
displacement camps established after the
 earthquake2 ,whereas approximately #ej 
percent of the victims are adolescent   
girls under the age of #ah1 with many of
 the cases involving the use of weapons1
 gang rape1 and death threats for       
reporting the crime2 ,whereas medical   
providers have reported as many as #bj  
percent of adolescent victims of sexual 
violence becoming pregnant as a result  
of rape2 ,whereas inadequate financial1 
human1 and technical resources1 as well 
as a lack of forensic and technical     
expertise1 have impeded the arrest and  
prosecution of suspects2 ,whereas       
members of many medical professions are 
insufficiently trained to attend to the 
special needs of victims of gender-based
 violence1 whether they be children or  
adults2 ,whereas according to data from 
public interest law firms involved in   

prosecuting cases of sexual violence1   
significant gender-based barriers to    
justice continue to exist at all levels 
of the ,haitian justice system2 ,whereas
 members of the police1 prosecutors1 and
 judges are insufficiently trained to   
attend to either the special needs of   
victims of gender-based violence1 or the
 special needs of those individuals who 
are victims of other abuses such as     
forced labor1 beatings1 or violence2    
,whereas the special police unit to     
address gender-based violence within the
 ,haitian ,national ,police remains     
significantly under-resourced1 rendering
 it practically ineffective to carry out
 its mandate2 ,whereas few mechanisms   
exist in ,haiti to protect the rights of
 young children not living at home1 such
 as restaveks1 who are engaged in forced
 labor and especially vulnerable to     
sexual violence2 ,whereas the lack of   
physical protection discourages women   
and girls in ,haiti from pursuing       
prosecution of perpetrators of sexual   

violence1 for fear of reprisal or       
stigmatization2 ,whereas rape and other 
forms of gender-based violence in ,haiti
 threaten the physical and psychological
 health of both the victims and their   
families2 ,whereas an effective1        
transparent1 and impartial judicial     
system is key to the administration of  
justice1 and the failure to ensure      
proper investigations and prosecutions  
undermines the ability to hold          
perpetrators accountable for their      
crimes and discourages victims from     
formally seeking justice2 ,whereas the  
,government of ,haiti has undertaken    
efforts to prevent violence against     
women1 as evidenced by its ratification 
of the ,united ,nations ,convention on  
the ,elimination of ,all ,forms of      
,discrimination ,against ,women1 the    
,inter-,american ,convention on the     
,prevention1 ,punishment1 and           
,eradication of ,violence ,against      
,women1 and other international human   
rights treaties1 and the enactment of   

laws and the creation of state          
institutions to promote and protect the 
rights of women2 ,whereas the ,ministry 
for the ,status of ,women and ,women's  
,rights in ,haiti has been working on a 
comprehensive law that calls for the    
prevention1 punishment1 and elimination 
of violence against women2 ,whereas the 
,government of ,haiti has been a        
signatory of the ,united ,nations       
,convention on the ,rights of the ,child
 since ,december #bi1 #aiid2 ,whereas   
the ,haitian ,national ,police and the  
,united ,nations ,mission for           
,stabilization of ,haiti have created   
special police units to address sexual  
and other forms of gender-based violence
 in ,haiti2 ,whereas the ,united        
,nations and donor countries1 including 
the ,united ,states1 continue to play a 
significant role in post-earthquake     
stabilization and reconstruction of     
,haiti2 ,whereas the ,united ,states    
,agency for ,international ,development 
7,,usaid7 has prioritized the prevention

 of1 and response to1 gender-based      
violence as a priority in its work      
across all sectors and as an explicit   
goal of the new ,,usaid ,gender         
,equality and ,female ,empowerment      
,policy2 ,whereas ,,usaid and the       
,united ,states ,department of ,state   
have been directed by ,executive order  
of the ,president to implement a new    
interagency ,united ,states ,strategy   
,to ,prevent and ,respond to            
,gender-,based ,violence ,globally2     
,whereas in ,march #bjji1 the           
,inter-,american ,commission on ,human  
,rights issued a report recognizing     
,haiti's history of gender              
discrimination that fuels gender-based  
violence and gives rise to a climate of 
impunity2 and ,whereas in ,december     
#bjaj1 the ,inter-,american ,commission 
detailed steps the ,government of ,haiti
 must take to protect women and girls   
from increased risk of gender-based     
violence in post-earthquake ,haiti3     
,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the ,house

 of ,representatives--  7#a7 sympathizes
 with the families of women and children
 victimized by sexual and other forms of
 gender-based violence in ,haiti2  7#b7 
urges the treatment of the issue of     
violence against women and children as a
 priority for the ,united ,states       
,government's humanitarian and          
reconstruction efforts in ,haiti2  7#c7 
recognizes that the problem of          
gender-based violence is a surmountable 
one2  7#d7 affirms that prioritizing    
economic opportunities for ,haitian     
women that enable them to lift          
themselves and their families out of    
poverty is a cost-effective way to help 
reduce gender-based violence2  7#e7     
recognizes the urgent opportunity to    
implement the new ,united ,states       
,agency for ,international ,development 
7,,usaid7 ,gender ,equality and ,female 
,empowerment ,policy and ,united ,states
 ,strategy ,to ,prevent and ,respond to 
,gender-,based ,violence ,globally and  
on the ground in ,haiti2  7#f7 asserts  

its support for the passage of ,haiti's 
first comprehensive law on the          
prevention1 punishment1 and elimination 
of all forms of gender-based violence2  
7#g7 calls on the ,government of ,haiti 
to establish urgent plans that address  
the needs of vulnerable and unprotected 
children who are in situations of sexual
 exploitation1 forced labor1 or face    
sexual and domestic violence1 and to    
take steps to immediately implement     
those plans1 in consultation with       
grassroots organizations working        
specifically on the protection and      
promotion of the rights of children2    
7#h7 calls on the ,government of ,haiti 
to take steps to implement the          
recommendations of the ,inter-,american 
,commission on ,human ,rights issued in 
response to increased levels of sexual  
violence in camps for internally        
displaced persons on ,december #bb1     
#bjaj1 including--  7,a7 ensuring       
participation and leadership of         
grassroots women's groups in planning   

and implementing policies and practices 
to combat and prevent sexual violence   
and other forms of violence in the      
camps2  7,b7 ensuring provision of      
comprehensive1 affordable1 adequate1 and
 appropriate medical and psychological  
care in locations accessible to victims 
of sexual violence in camps for those   
internally displaced2  7,c7 implementing
 effective security measures in         
displacement camps1 such as providing   
street lighting1 adequate patrolling in 
and around the camps1 and a greater     
number of female security forces in     
police patrols in the camps and in      
police stations in proximity to the     
camps2  7,d7 ensuring that public       
officials1 such as police officers1     
prosecutors1 and judges1 responsible for
 responding to incidents of sexual      
violence receive specialized training   
from experienced ,haitian and           
international women's organizations with
 a proven track record in               
gender-sensitive protection enabling    

them to respond adequately to complaints
 of sexual violence with appropriate    
sensitivity and in a nondiscriminatory  
manner2 and  7,e7 maintaining effective 
special units within the police and the 
prosecutor's office investigating cases 
of rape and other forms of violence     
against women and girls2  7#i7 asserts  
its commitment to support the ,haitian  
,ministry of ,women's ,affairs in its   
efforts to--  7,a7 build ministry       
capacity and facilitate gender-based    
violence subcluster meetings and        
initiatives as it transitions over to   
the ,government of ,haiti2  7,b7 perform
 decentralized meetings1 consultations1 
and outreach to women's movements and   
community groups2  7,c7 address issues  
of gender-based violence country-wide1  
including violence in internally        
displaced person camps1 rural           
communities1 and among children2 and    
7,d7 strengthen gender assessments1     
gender budgets1 and gender planning in  
collaboration with other ,haitian       

,ministries1 the ,haitian ,parliament1  
the ,haitian ,administration1 the       
,united ,nations1 the ,inter-,american  
,commission on ,human ,rights1 donors1  
and international nongovernmental       
organizations within the reconstruction 
process2 and  7#aj7 asserts its support 
for the ,government of ,haiti1          
especially the ,ministry of ,women's    
,affairs1 in its efforts to assess1     
amend1 and renew its #e-year gender     
protection plan1 which expired in       
,october #bjaa1 which includes support  
for the ,haitian ,government in its     
efforts to accomplish the following--   
7,a7 thoroughly assess the impact of the
 previous #e-year protection plan1      
including both pre- and post-earthquake 
analyses and perform diversified        
assessments in consultation with local1 
regional1 and national women's groups   
throughout the country1 that will help  
gather decentralized data in both urban 
and rural zones2  7,b7 perform          
specialized surveys and interviews in a 

significant sampling of internally      
displaced person camps and impoverished 
neighborhoods with high rates of        
gender-based violence with victims of   
rape and violence1 the community groups 
that support them1 and local officials  
in order to fully understand the needs  
and recommendations of these different  
populations and integrate these findings
 into a revised protection plan2  7,c7  
revise the existing ,haitian protection 
plan based on the results of diversified
 and decentralized assessments and in   
direct consultation with national1      
regional1 and local government officials
 and grassroots organizations1 including
 women's groups and international       
institutions that focus on solutions to 
gender-based violence2 and  7,d7 work   
with the ,haitian ,parliament and the   
,haitian ,administration to amend1      
reintroduce1 and pass into law a revised
 ,haiti gender protection plan that     
reflects current post-earthquake        
realities1 including the needs and      

recommendations of victims of           
gender-based violence and the community 
groups that support them1 integrates    
provisions for judicial and medical     
services for gender-based violence      
victims1 and reflects key findings of   
decentralized assessments in both urban 
and rural zones4