Sa Fini! A Feminist Approach to Sexual Violence Against Women in Haiti
Date
2016-07-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study offersis an attempt to gain insight into how Haitian women perceive sexual violence and howto understand the various interlocking structures intersecting with the perpetration of sexual violence against women in Léogâne, Haiti. I conducted 9 semi-structured interviews with women using the Life Story approach, I surveyed 231 women, and used I used data from a 51 applicants for a scholarship for women who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual violence. Adopting a feminist theoretical framework, I will connect first person narratives to various structures that complicate and contribute to sexual violence in Haiti. I argue that women’s perception of sexual violence is partly rooted in public health and fertility discourses. In addition, I theorize the voices of the women in my study as a way to fight epistemic violence. Throughout this process, my work consists of a critical reflection of my methodologies and my complicity in a masculinist and colonial framework. This thesis highlights not onlyjust the complexity of sexual violence and gender politics in Haiti, but also the complexity of doing research under difficult circumstances.
Description
Keywords
Sexual Violence, Women, Haiti, Léogâne