Crime in Haiti's capital has decreased and less than a quarter of residents view it as a major problem, say researchers
BOGOTA (AlertNet) - Violent crime in the Haitian capital has decreased in recent years and less than a quarter of residents view crime as a major problem, according to researchers.
The findings contradict public perceptions and media reports that Port-au-Prince is plagued with crime and gang violence.
However, levels of violence remain disproportionately high in the camps for people displaced by the massive earthquake which hit the city in January 2010. People in the camps are 10 times more likely to report sexual assault as elsewhere.
The research also showed that people in the city felt international aid was not getting to them, and that aid agencies were reaching fewer people than is widely assumed.
The study, based on four surveys carried out in nearly 3,000 homes from 2005 to last month, asked residents what they thought about issues including crime, the police, sexual violence, access to food, water and sanitation.
“The incidence of lethal and non-lethal violence in key neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince declined between 2007-2009 and appears to be well below the regional average and only slightly higher than the global average,” said co-author Robert Muggah, professor of international relations at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
“Contrary to media claims of widespread looting and organised theft, the vast majority of Port-au-Prince residents reported that neither they nor any members of their household have had property stolen from them or intentionally destroyed by others since the earthquake,” he told AlertNet.
Nearly half of those interviewed said they viewed crime as a ‘very minor’ issue.
These findings are in line with other recent studies about crime. The latest report on global crime by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development does not include Haiti in its list of the world’s top 58 most violent countries.
HIGH CRIME IN CAMPS
The study, funded by Canada's International Development Research Center and the United Nations Development Programme, also includes a random sample of 1,800 households who were first interviewed in 2009 and then again after the January 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti, allowing researchers to make comparisons before and after the disaster.
Two of the surveys included people who moved into makeshift camps after the quake.
The experience of the some 550,000 Haitians still living in 802 camps sprawled across the city is very different to that of people elsewhere in the capital, the surveys found.
Those living in camps are far more likely to be victims of sexual violence, theft, violent crime and face hunger than other residents.
“The overall incidence of crime and victimisation is lower than widely assumed but appears to be nevertheless highly concentrated amongst specific vulnerable groups, namely internally displaced people (IDPs),” Muggah said.
Most incidents of sexual violence were carried out in tents, on the street or in a public place, the survey found.
“What is more, roughly 2 per cent of the general population claims to have been a victim of sexual assault as compared to 22 per cent of IDPs. This suggests that these densely packed settlements are affected by disproportionately high rates of violence,” Muggah said.
TRUST IN LOCAL POLICE
Despite the widespread belief that Haiti's national police is unpopular because it is has long been associated with human rights abuses and corruption allegations, the survey found that most Haitians view the national police force favourably and that the police should be the country’s "primary security provider”.
“Although I was not necessarily surprised that rates of insecurity were lower than widely claimed in the media, I was surprised by the level of confidence in the Haitian national police,” Muggah said.
The survey also found most Haitians see no need to bring back the disbanded army, a move being considered by Haiti’s president, Michel Martelly.
INTERNATIONAL AID EFFORT
Many Haitians rely on their own networks and resources to survive, and less on aid provided by the international community, the survey found.
“Ultimately, the survey reveals that Haitians by and large rely on their existing networks and skills to meet their basic needs during times of acute stress,” the survey said.
Most Haitians depend on remittances, money sent back from relatives living abroad, to make ends meet and to feed their families.
With some $1.3 billion of remittances flowing into Haiti, more needs to be done to ease transfers and make it cheaper for Haitians living abroad to send money home, the survey recommends.
Many camp residents surveyed said they used clean water, public toilets, lighting and women support groups provided by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
But others services like meals, U.N.-led cash-for-work programmes, assistance to reconstruct homes, vocational training, sports programmes and medical services were used by less than two percent of those interviewed.
“What this suggests is that the penetration of the thousands of NGOs in Haiti may be less than widely assumed and calls for a level of humility within the aid sector,” said Muggah.
The survey urges the international aid community to carry out more in-depth surveys to better understand the needs and wishes of different groups of Haitians – old, young, female, educated and non-educated.
“Ultimately, evidence collection and analysis in relief zones are critical factors shaping effective policy and priority setting – but they are still routinely undervalued,” said Muggah.
He says Haitians also want to play a bigger role in the reconstruction effort.
“To be sure, there is a considerable level of overall dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the slow pace of the post-quake reconstruction, with Haitians often excluded from decisions and decision-makers made from above,” Muggah said.
Key survey findings:
* Haitian neighbourhoods and households experience disasters differently. These differences need to be taken into account more by aid agencies and policy makers involved in Haiti’s reconstruction effort.
* Trust in the national police force has increased. More than half of the nearly 3,000 people interviewed in 2010 said they would first go to a police officer if they were robbed, compared to nearly 41 percent of those interviewed in 2009.
* Corruption in the public sector is a major concern among Haitians. Three in four Haitians interviewed said they would be prepared to pay an ‘informal fee’ or bribe to receive a better service. “This suggests strongly that the appearance of corruption in the Haitian government remains strong,” the survey states.
* Haitians living in camps are more likely to be victims of property crime. In 2011, one tenth of the general population reported being a victim of property crime as compared to one half of those living in camps.
* More than 80 per cent of people living in camps in the capital Port-au-Prince have not completed secondary education.
* Just 11 per cent of camp residents reported full-time employment.
* Remittances, money sent back by relatives living abroad, keep hunger at bay and greatly determine whether a family has enough money to spend on food. “Results suggest that having any amount of income and receiving gifts and money from others, especially family abroad, are protective factors in regards to food security,” the survey states.
* Haitians feel international aid is not reaching them. “Those surveyed were aware that international aid was being pledged to Haiti by international citizens, but also felt a keen lack of this aid,” the survey states.
* Haitians feel the government is not listening to them. Only about one in eight agreed the government cared about their opinions.
* Before and after the earthquake, around 75 percent of respondents reported that their main source of water for cooking and drinking was bought at a water kiosk.
* Charcoal was the most commonly reported source of energy for cooking both before and after the earthquake.
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