Amnesty International has said that women and girls in Haiti are at risk from sexual abuse and attack after the earthquake which has created a situation of lawlessness in the country.

Amnesty International has said that post the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the repercussions on women and children can be tremendous. The human rights organization warned that girls in particular are at higher risk of sexual abuse and attack.

Amnesty called on the United Nations to put in place measures for the protection of human rights and the most vulnerable among the survivors of Tuesday's devastating earthquake. The organization also asked for particular attention to be provided to ensuring respect for human rights and protection of children and women.

“The current situation of lawlessness in Haiti and the increased vulnerability of women and children creates the perfect environment for human rights abuses and crimes such as rape and sexual abuse to take place undetected and go unpunished,” said Gerardo Ducos, Haiti researcher at Amnesty International.

“Protecting vulnerable groups from sexual violence is as important as providing them with relief.”  He added. 

Haiti suffered a death toll running to thousands after 7.1 earthquake struck the country on Tuesday. Thousands of people are still unaccounted for and survivors await relief efforts from international donors to provide them with access to drinkable water, food and medical care.   

Amnesty International has previously documented shocking levels of sexual violence against women and girls across the country.

“Before the devastating earthquake, Haiti was unable to effectively protect human rights and in particular, women and girls from sexual violence. Unless action is taken now while relief efforts are ongoing, the situation is only likely to deteriorate,” said Gerardo Ducos.   

Sexual violence against women and girls is pervasive and widespread in Haiti. Acording to figures, majority of these attacks are directed at girls: more than half of whom who report being raped are 18 or younger in age. Although reliable evidence of the true scale of sexual violence against girls in Haiti remains scarce, data collected by NGOs at different times can provide a sense of the extent of the problem. According to the Haitian Women’s Solidarity (Solidarité Fanm Ayisien, SOFA), there were 238 cases of rapes between January 2007 and June 2008; 140 involved girls aged between 19 months and 18 years.

Many of these girls have been working as domestic servants in households across Haiti. According to the UNICEF, there were more than 100,000 girls aged between six and 17 working as domestic servants in Haiti in 2007and these children are at particular risk of physical abuse and sexual violence.