ARTICLE - TECH A KEY IN FIGHT AGAINST RAPE

TECH COULD BE KEY IN FIGHT AGAINST RAPE IN HAITI
(Switched) - By Terrence O'Brien

Documenting and counting all of the rapes and sexual assaults occurring in Haiti is difficult, if not impossible. The U.N. has estimated that as many as 50-percent of the women living in the country's shantytowns have been subject to assault -- although some critics (including the Telegraph's Brendan O'Neill) have claimed that figure is a vast overstatement. The trouble is though, the crimes are woefully under-reported and many of the records of rape crisis and victim advocacy group KOFAVIV(www.kofaviv.org) were destroyed by the massive earthquake in 2010. The group is now working with Digital Democracy (www.digital-democracy.org) to modernize its record-keeping and reporting methods.

Beyond simply creating a digital database for KOFAVIV, the two groups are hoping to create an open source platform that can easily be adopted by other rape crisis centers and international groups. The groups will also be releasing a monthly report on sexual violence in the country and working with women in the country to get them online, blogging and posting photographs. The goal, ultimately, is to change the culture in Haiti that currently allows men to roam many of the refugee camps in search of victims and without fear of punishment.