| This secondary analysis examined data on human rights violations collected in Port-au-Prince, Haiti 22 months after the 2004 military coup that overthrew the elected president. Bivariate statistical methods were used to assess the applicability of social disorganization and conflict theory frameworks to the pattern of documented abuses that occurred during the period the interim government was in power.;Findings revealed that physical and sexual assault victims were disproportionately members of lower-income households, lived in comparatively substandard housing, had greater difficulty accessing food, and had higher rates of exposure to community violence than non-victims. The Haitian National Police, foreign soldiers, and other government forces disproportionately assaulted members of Lavalas and Lespwa affiliated households, as well as members of lower-income households. The demobilized army, armed anti-Lavalas groups, and their partisans did not appear to be as politically driven in their assaults as government forces, but still tended to assault members of lower-income households. Additionally, murders in which political actors were identified as the perpetrator were disproportionately committed against members of Lavalas or Lespwa affiliated households.;The study found that most---but not all---social disorganization factors tested were applicable to the pattern of human rights abuses documented in the initial survey, and that conflict theory was an appropriate framework for analyzing human rights violations in which forces under the command of the interim government were identified as perpetrators. |
