Claiming Space: Implications of Girls’ Access to Space in a Haitian Residential Care Facility

Abstract

The following study qualitatively explores how teen girls' access to space and assets at a Haitian residential care facility changed 2 years after the implementation of a girls' empowerment program called Fi Ki Fò ("strong girl" in Haitian Creole). Based on focus groups conducted with program participants (n ¼ 17) and program teachers (n ¼ 6), the study found that the Fi Ki Fò program increased access to physical spaces which has had implications for teenage girls' individual and collective asset accumulation. The study also revealed that the addition of a program focused on women and girls, implemented later in the institutional life of the care facility, caused tensions with boys living on the property. The findings suggest that, while girls experienced clear benefits from the program, the lack of a supportive institutional structure and a gender transformative approach inhibited more fully realized empowerment.