KOFAVIV (Komisyon Fanm Viktim pou Viktim; The Commission of Women Victims for Victims) is a Haitian women's group formed in late 2004 by a group of women from poor neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince who were raped during the 1991-94 military dictatorship. Social, economic, and political insecurity during the military dictatorship created a climate in which grave human rights violations (including gender-specific violations, most notably rape) were committed with impunity. The women of KOFAVIV organized to prepare a landmark legal case against the perpetrators, including the dictatorship's top military and paramilitary officials, for the systematic use of rape as a political weapon. The process was interrupted by the violence that began on February 29, 2004 with the forced removal of elected President Aristide.
The political and social instability that followed President Aristide's removal sparked a new wave of political violence, lawlessness, and related gender-based crimes. Few services exist for survivors of rape in Port-au-Prince, and organizations providing these services often lack relationships with or the confidence of women from poor neighborhoods. As an organization established by survivors, for survivors, KOFAVIV combines support for individual survivors of rape with grassroots women's organizing and advocacy, to transform the social and political conditions that allow sexual violence against poor women.
Haiti Reborn has been supporting KOFAVIV's work since March of 2005. We originally got involved with small grants to cover the costs of the clinic contract at the time, to insure that women had access to emergency medical services and testing. Since that time, KOFAVIV has grown tremendously. They now have their own office, clinic facilities, and space for training and workshops.