Abstract
Sexual exploitation of civilians by peacekeepers undermines the fragile stability established in post-conflict settings. Despite this, it continues to be an ongoing problem for peacekeeping missions worldwide. Efforts to respond to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) have focused on the establishment of rules prohibiting this behavior, condom distribution, and the training of peacekeepers before and during deployment. In an effort to further our understanding of the dynamics that surround SEA by peacekeepers, 231 Haitian citizens who have engaged in transactional sex with peacekeepers were interviewed about their opinions and experiences. Themes which emerged from these interviews included the triggering events or situations which facilitated engagement in transactional sex, the individual’s understandings of their own experiences in relationship to cultural and social factors, sex as a strategy for filling unmet economic needs, and the differences between the relationships with peacekeepers and normal romantic relationships. Experiences with condom use, pregnancy, abuse, and barriers to reporting assault and harassment were also discussed.
Highlights
The task of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeper is to work with other UN agencies in an effort to reestablish the rule of law, promote good governance, and reduce political violence in an effort to help weak countries overcome the collective trauma of armed conflict
Individuals from nine of the ten geographic departments were represented with 49 participants (21.2 per cent) of the sample located in the Ouest, the geographic department that contains the capital of Port-au-Prince and the highest concentration of peacekeepers
Many women experienced transactional sex to be highly beneficial in that it helped them meet daily life needs and enabled them to access resources and opportunities to improve the economic status of their household
Summary
The task of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeper is to work with other UN agencies in an effort to reestablish the rule of law, promote good governance, and reduce political violence in an effort to help weak countries overcome the collective trauma of armed conflict. Kolbe: ʻIt’s Not a Gift When It Comes with Price’ These benefits are undermined when peacekeepers engage in sexual abuse and exploitation (SEA). Such activity is widespread and impacts every current UN mission. SEA weakens the credibility of a peacekeeping mission It can facilitate the creation or maintenance of criminal networks. It can increase tension between the host country government, which is often grappling with its own internal efforts at establishing effective governance, and respect for human rights. General Assembly resolution 57/306 (dated April 15, 2003), issued in response to sexual exploitation of refugees in West Africa, presents specific binding prohibitions against SEA. Sexual harassment and abuse of Haitian citizens was widely reported during the MIF’s tenure, as was the sexual trafficking of women from the Dominican Republic to Haiti to work in base-area bars, a phenomenon which had not been reported prior to MIF’s arrival in Haiti in 2004 (Edmonds et al 2012; Higate and Henry 2009; Kolbe and Hutson 2006; Lemay-Hébert 2014; Schuller and Morales 2012; Smith 2012)
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