Sexual violence against children soars in Haiti: UN

GENEVA, Feb 07 (AFP): Sexual violence against children in violence-ravaged Haiti soared tenfold last year, the UN children's agency said Friday, as gangs who control most of the capital upped their recruitment of children.
Haiti has been mired for decades by political instability, made worse in recent years by criminal gangs that have grown more powerful.
Gangs now control 85 per cent of the capital Port-au-Prince and children-some as young as eight years old-now make up to half of all armed groups, UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
"A staggering 1,000-per cent increase in sexual violence against children in Haiti has turned their bodies into battlegrounds."