Predators in uniform?
Published:Monday | December 23, 2019 | 12:25 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
The Editorial Board would be well advised to reconsider some of its incendiary remarks about a report on the ‘rape’ and impregnation of Haitian girls by UN peacekeeping troops, who are accused of ‘abandoning’ their children in Haiti.
There is a substantial academic literature on the sexual relationships that develop in Haiti between foreign visitors and local females.
That literature offers evidence that (a) many Haitian girls become sexually active at a relatively early age, (b) engaging in sex, absent birth control, and becoming pregnant is a commonly used strategy to persuade or coerce a foreigner to sponsor the emigration of Haitian nationals to wealthier countries. Another reason for becoming pregnant is to access desired genes not usually available to Haitian women in Haiti.
Who is exploiting whom? Are UN peacekeepers being “used” rather than the other way around? In countries like Haiti where female-headed households are the norm, does it make sense to suggest that a ‘family’ is not complete without a male parent, and that absent males have ‘abandoned’ their children?
It’s time to dial back the feminist outrage.
Chad Chen