“It’s because We are ‘Loose Girls’ That’s why We had Children with MINUSTAH Soldiers”: A Qualitative Analysis of Stigma Experienced by Peacekeeper-Fathered Children and Their Mothers in Haiti

Abstract

Sexual abuse and exploitation (SEA) perpetrated by UN peacekeepers while on mission is a violation of human rights and undermines the goal of upholding human rights in countries that host peacekeeping missions. In addition to survivors, children fathered by peacekeepers are also victims of SEA that need protection. Stigma poses negative life course consequences for SEA survivors and their peacekeeper-fathered children. However, there is a considerable lack of empirical research concerning the stigma experiences of SEA survivors and their children in post-colonial contexts. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by drawing on The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti as a case study to examine the lived experiences of stigma among SEA survivors and their resultant children. Using 18 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted in 2017 with Haitian women raising peacekeeper-fathered children, we organized qualitative codes according to Link and Phelan’s conceptual model of stigma. The stigmatization process was explored through the themes of labeling, stereotyping, separation, and status loss and discrimination, as described by Link and Phelan. In addition, we nuanced the lived experiences of stigma by discussing the buffering roles of familial acceptance, skin phenotype, and the Haitian context. The findings have implications for the UN. We advocate that stigma be recognized and acted upon as a fundamental protection concern for SEA survivors and their children. Accordingly, the UN has an obligation to provide stigma-related supports for victims and complainants as well as to facilitate long-term child support for the children left behind by peacekeepers.

Born between war and peace: Situating peacekeeper-fathered children in research on children born of war

“…the MINUSTAH [soldier] didn't find me with children-he came in, gave me a child, left me all alone with that child (Mother, 25-30, Port Salut/Haiti). The interviews demonstrated that UN support programmes for victims of SEA did not reach burdened families (Vahedi et al, 2022;Wagner et al, 2022a). In Haiti and the DRC, most participants received no assistance from the UN or peacekeeper fathers.…”

“…While the issue of sexual misconduct by peacekeepers has attracted significant academic attention, the children born as a result have not. Preliminary evidence suggests that local populations in areas of UNPK deployment have coined terms referring to children fathered by peacekeepers that draw on the social, cultural, and political context of their conception (e.g., "ECOMOG babies, " "little MINUSTAHS, " "blue helmet babies") (Olonisakin and Aning, 1999;Myers et al, 2004;Vahedi et al, 2022). Journalists and researchers have sometimes adopted the expression "peace-babies" to describe children fathered by peacekeepers (e.g., Higate and Henry, 2004;Rudén and Utas, 2009;Simić, 2013).…”

“…In line with the literature, our analysis uncovered the oftenchallenging relationships of PKFC with their communities, showing that their differential treatment within families continued outside the home. PKFC in Haiti and the DRC experienced frequent stereotyping and ostracising by peers, neighbours, and other community members (Wagner et al, 2020;Vahedi et al, 2022). Reasons set out for the perceived stigma and discrimination were multifactorial and most individuals carried a combination of "labels" that made salient the foreign origins of PKFC or their connection to UN peacekeeping (Link and Phelan, 2001).…”

“…Reasons set out for the perceived stigma and discrimination were multifactorial and most individuals carried a combination of "labels" that made salient the foreign origins of PKFC or their connection to UN peacekeeping (Link and Phelan, 2001). For example, Haitian-born PKFC were labelled as "child of the MINUSTAH, " "little MINUSTAH, " or more simply "MINUSTAH" (Vahedi et al, 2022). PKFC interviewed in the DRC named fatherlessness, poverty, racial prejudice, as well as their "illegitimate conception" as contributing factors for their stigmatisation.…”

“…Severe social stigma exerted influence over PKFC's ability to form meaningful relationships and forced some into isolation and loneliness. In Haiti, some mothers noted that social exclusion may have impacted their child's development and learning abilities (Vahedi et al, 2022): "He will never grow up normal at all because wherever he goes he will have the label "here is the child of the MINUSTHA who did not take care of him." .…”