TrustLaw, the global centre for free legal assistance run by Thomson Reuters Foundation, has brought together four top international law firms to assist women's rights organisation MADRE in tackling an epidemic of rape in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
As part of Thomson Reuters Foundation's TrustLaw Connect initiative, Morrison & Foerster, DLA Piper, Latham & Watkins and Reed Smith, working probono, produced a legal report on rape legislation. This report, Achieving Justice for Victims of Rape and Advancing Women's Rights, examines international laws on sexual violence and best practices on prosecuting sexual abuse and rape cases from six countries, which could guide and be applied to help Haiti address sexual violence against women.
"Once we informed our lawyers of the project, we had more than 30 attorneys volunteer to work on it within a few hours…it offers the opportunity to have a big impact on victims of sexual violence in Haiti, especially women and children. We hope the report will...not only aid reform in Haiti but also inform a larger audience around the world" says Robert Loeffler, Senior Counsel at Morrison & Foerster.
Haiti is putting the finishing touches on new legislation to tackle a scourge of post-quake sexual violence in a country where rape has only been outlawed since 2005 and rights groups say enforcement is sporadic at best.
Former justice minister Rene Magloire said the final draft of the new legislation is expected to be presented to parliament 'within weeks'.
Haiti's judicial system is largely based on French law dating back to the 19th century. Until 2005, rape was not even considered a crime against the victim. Rather it was a crime against morals -- or against the honour of the family
The new laws, if passed, aim to provide a legal framework for victims of sexual violence to receive better emergency and medical care, place tougher sanctions against all forms of physical violence against women and ensure better training for officials involved in sexual assault cases.
These proposals could see survivors of sexual violence get better access to justice and lead to more rape convictions. The bill also aims to give more power to the police and prosecutors involved in investigating cases of sexual assault and place more onus on the police to gather evidence that can be used in court.
Achieving Justice for Victims of Rape and Advancing Women's Rights was taken to Haiti by one of the Foundation's reporters, Anastasia Moloney, who assisted Madre in delivering the report to Haitian officials and politicians, including Hemanex Gonzague Desir, Director General of the Ministry of Women's Affairs; Senator Steven Benoit, President of the Senate Commission for Justice and Security, and representatives of President Michel Martelly and First Lady Sophia Martelly.
See the full story here and Anastasia's report on justice for Haiti's rape survivors here.
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