Haitian Women and Girls

Creating Safe Spaces, Confronting National Recovery & Building a New Future of Equality)

CHALLENGE

Help a high capacity women donors network learn about the realities lived by women in Haiti, learn about their rights, and develop interest and financial support for women leaders in Haiti.

SOLUTION

Develop an event including experts, women leaders from Haiti, and influencers supporting women in Haiti for the Women Donors Network. Produce a report for the Women Donors Network consolidating the information presented during the day-long event, and providing recommendations resulting from the gathering for participants of the event and other donors interested in supporting women’s equality and women in Haiti.

OVERVIEW

Women were absent from important decision-making in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake which killed over 300,000 people. Their absence was both contrary to Haiti’s obligations to gender equality as established by law and membership in the United Nations, and, it made the response less effective, leaving Haiti in terrible condition for years to come. Finally, as has been established by the UN and academia alike, women are more affected by war and disaster than men, and they are the least included in decision-making including the design of displaced persons camps and how money was spent to aid the country.

Variant Strategies designed an event for 70 women donors in partnership with the Women Donors Network and UN Foundation. We created marketing materials for the event, developed a speaker list and invited speakers, including grassroots women leaders from Haiti, and worked with speakers on talking points and messaging. We facilitated pre-event calls with various panels and oversaw all event details. Finally, we produced a report consolidating the information presented during the day-long event and recommendations resulting from the gathering for participants of the event and other donors interested in supporting women’s equality and women in Haiti.

impact

This 70 person event for a high-worth donor network capable of and interested in supporting women activists was successful in building, interest, financial support and important relationships for women in Haiti to more effectively respond to the issues that plagued them in the aftermath of the earthquake, including one of the highest rates of rape in the world. Resulting from the event a working group was established at the Women Donors Network focused on Haitian women where over $70,000 resulted from the first meeting of donors.

This project was produced by Variant Strategies with Women Donors Network and the UN Foundation.