15029: Dwa Fanm: JUSTICE FOR HAITIAN RAPE VICTIMS-Please Circulate (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dwa Fanm <DwaFanm@netzero.net>


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- Contact Dwa Fanm (718) 230-4027; Contact Enfofanm
(509) 245-0346; Contact Kay Fanm (509) 245-5174

JUSTICE FOR HAITIAN RAPE VICTIMS: DWA FANM STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH HAITIAN
AND INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S RIGHTS GROUPS TO DEMAND JUSTICE FOR RAPE VICTIMS
IN HAITI'S PENITENTIARIES.

Brooklyn, NY and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 28, 2003 - Two women's
advocacy organizations, Dwa Fanm based in Brooklyn, New York, and ENFOFANM,
located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, demand justice for Natacha Jean-Jacques
and countless of other women who are victimized daily by the Haitian penal
system.

Natacha Jean-Jacques, an 18 year-old girl and still a minor under Haitian
law, was raped in February 2002 by a health care practitioner at Fort
National in Port-au-Prince, where Natacha was wrongfully imprisoned for
almost 3 years.  Natacha became pregnant as a result of the rape, and she
gave birth in prison to a baby boy who is now three months old.

Natacha's nightmare began when she was 15 years old.  On March 6, 2000, a
notorious gang of young men in Natacha's neighborhood of Ti Bwa (Martissant)
broke into her home, battered Natacha and her mother Yolaine, and tried to
rape Natacha.  To defend herself, Natacha took control of a knife belonging
to one of her rapists and stabbed him in the head.  Despite her mother's
pleas, previous complaints to the police, and the boys' history of sexual
assault, harassment and abuse of women and girls in the community, Natacha
was immediately arrested and incarcerated, violating her rights to due
process.

Natacha was never brought before a judge to be charged, nor were the men who
attacked her ever prosecuted.  She languished in a juvenile prison, Fort
National, while her attackers roamed free.  In February 2002, Natacha was
again raped.  This time her violator was a health practitioner at the
prison.  When prison officials learned that Natacha was pregnant, no formal
complaint was filed against the rapist for crimes against Natacha, or the
many other young girls within the prison system who had also been violated.
Instead, he was strategically moved to other prisons throughout the island,
along with all those who could bear witness to the rape.

In addition to being denied the right to demand prosecution of the
perpetrator, Natacha was ordered to keep silent about the incident.  Aided
by a fellow inmate, she gave birth to her child without pre- or post-natal
medical care.  Natacha has still not been arraigned for the case of
self-defense against her rapists, nor has she received formal documents
ordering her lawful release from Fort National Prison.  Natacha's child now
runs the risk of being placed in an orphanage against her will, thus
violating her child's right to protection.

Natacha's mother, Mrs. Yolaine Benjamin, demands justice for her daughter
and retribution for those who raped Natacha and violated her human rights
while in the penal system.  This mother's cry is one of many all over Haiti
for justice for women and girls who are surviving rape.  Although through
their activism, Enfofanm and Kay Fanm secured the release of Natacha from
prison this past February 14, 2003, Natacha's mother demands formal release
documents for her daughter for fear that her daughter will be considered a
fugitive and re-arrested.  Since her release Natacha has been living in
Ofatma Hospital, and last week she found shelter in the home of a member of
the Women's Ministry in Haiti.

As Haitians the world over prepare to celebrate the 200th anniversary of
Haiti's independence and freedom from slavery, Haitian women and girls still
struggle to have their most basic human rights recognized and respected.
Equality and justice are still not a reality for Haitian women.

However, Natacha's neighborhood of Ti Bwa is not the only place where women
are gang raped and targeted by men. A persistent culture of rape and
violence against women pervades all of our neighborhoods.  In the U.S. alone
a woman is raped every two minutes.

As we prepare to commemorate Women's History Month, Dwa Fanm, and two
partner organizations in Haiti, Enfofanm and Kay Fanm, urge members of the
Haitian community to act now!  It is time for the Haitian community to
acknowledge the importance of women's issues and make them a priority.
These violations affect all of us and poison our families.  Support our
efforts in demanding that the Haitian authorities responsible for violence
against Natacha and countless of other women be brought to justice.

Join the struggle to change the living conditions of women in Haiti, the
United States and elsewhere.  Call Dwa Fanm at 718-230-4027 for more
detailed information on Natacha's case and the steps that have been taken to
rectify and address violence against women and girls. Contact Calixte
Delatour at The Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) by telephone:
509-235-1646, fax: 509-245-0474 (fax), or write to him at 19, Avenue Charles
Summer, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.   Contact Ginette Riviere Lubin at the Women'
s Ministry (MCFDF) 509-249-7106 (telephone), 509-249-5912 (fax) or write to
her at 1 Rue Biassou, Demas 31, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Fax the
Administration of the National Penitentiary System (APENA), Neckel Dessables
at 509- 222-4163 and write to him at Delmas 33 (entrée Haitian Tractor), Rue
Feleming, Citté Militaire, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Start your own petition in your own neighborhood, school or family.  To
obtain a form letter in English or French concerning Natacha's case, go to
www.dwafanm.org , "About Us", then click on "Press Releases.  You may also
call Dwa Fanm and it a letter will be faxed to you immediately.