Abstract
During the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), reports of sexual abuse and exploitation and children fathered by peacekeepers were brought forward to the UN. In 2017, a cross-sectional mixed-methods survey was administered by Haitian research assistants using SenseMaker® (Cognitive Edge, Singapore), a rapid data collection tool that allows participants to share a narrative on a topic of interest. In total, 2541 self-interpreted narratives in relation to the experiences of Haitian women and girls vis-à-vis peacekeepers were collected from a convenience sample of Haitian males and females across Haiti. This exploratory secondary data analysis analyzes whether narratives about sexual misconduct perpetrated by MINUSTAH peacekeepers were associated with rural, semi-urban, or urban locations and investigates the relationship between sharing narratives about sexual misconduct and the desire to engage with the UN/MINUSTAH. After adjustment, narratives addressing sexual misconduct were more likely to be shared in rural locations, compared to urban locations (RRrural: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.38). Personal experiences of sexual misconduct were more likely (RRsex: 4.52; 95% CI: 3.34, 6.12) to be associated with rejection of the UN/MINUSTAH, compared to personal narratives of positive/neutral experiences. This research is an empirical steppingstone to understanding the distribution and consequences of peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual abuse and exploitation in Haiti.
Highlights
Urban, and semi-urban geographical locations are associated with differential participation in the gendered peacekeeping economies of transactional sex, domestic work, and sex work, thereby resulting in a greater sharing of narratives about SEA
We propose that the relationship between exposure to peacekeeper misconduct is mediated by perceptions of peacekeepers, which in turn affects the desire to engage with the UN and MINUSTAH in the future
After adjusting for income, gender, emotional tone, and relationship status, we found positive associations between experiences of peacekeeper misconduct and the desire to reject the UN/MINUSTAH
Summary
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in 2004. Ending officially in 2017, MINUSTAH was the longest peacekeeping operation (PO) in Haiti (Diehl 2008). The mission was authorized to include 6700 military personnel, 1622 police, 550 international civilian personnel, and 1000 local civilian staff (Heine and Thompson 2011). In light of earthquake-related losses in 2010 and the absence of legitimate governance structures, the mission’s scope and number of personnel expanded to include humanitarian relief, support of democratic elections, and the protection of human rights (Rivera 2018; Heine and Thompson 2011). Following the January 2010 earthquake that resulted in approximately 300,000 deaths and the internal displacement of over one million Haitians (Government of the Republic of Haiti 2010), the UNSC increased deployment to a peak of 13,000 military and police peacekeepers
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