Empowering Communities: Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention in Southern Haiti

Since 2019, Haiti’s economy has deteriorated for five consecutive years, attributed to a confluence of factors such as ongoing political instability deepened by the assassination of its former President and coordinated gang violence, socioeconomic crises, and high vulnerability to frequent natural disasters including hurricanes and earthquakes. As gangs reportedly control close to 90 percent of the Haitian capital and nearby areas, unprecedented levels of insecurity and violence have led to restricted movement across the country, high rates of kidnapping, depletion of livelihoods and prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). The South (Sud) Department of Haiti has been reeling from spillovers from the Metropolitan Area of Port-au-Prince as roads linking the countryside with the capital have been blocked. Women have been disproportionately affected.

From June to December 2023, CORE piloted an integrated Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLA) and GBV prevention approach in five communes in Sud Department: Les Cayes, Port-Sault, Camp-Perrin, Saint-Louis and Cavaillon. CORE established women’s VSLA-Protection groups, delivered VSLA and business training, strengthened women’s social networks, increased women’s access to savings and capital for their economic activities, and built community awareness on gender equality, GBV and available services for GBV survivors. This learning brief captures lessons drawn from the pilot and includes recommendations for future interventions, including integrated VSLA-GBV prevention at scale.