With a climate of growing insecurity and increasing violence in Haiti today, women are facing insurmountable challenges. In Haiti, women are looked upon as a form of social protection or glue for their family. In fact, they support a large majority of Haiti's economic activities in the non-formal sector which makes up 75% of Haiti's economy

René Garcia Préval has become the 51st President of the Haitian Republic. When he was declared the Presidential winner in the early morning hours of February 17, 2006 thousands of his supporters poured into the streets of Port au Prince dancing, chanting and rejoicing the victory of their candidate.Preval won the hotly contested election with 51.21 %, barely the amount he needed to win.

On February 29, 2004, the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide was ousted. Most sectors of the Haitian society, in particular, the sectors who participated in the movement that overthrew Aristide, hoped that a new era for a real democratization process was opening its doors in Haiti.

Over the past few years, the return of deportees from abroad to Haiti, mainly from the US, has created considerable concerns for Haitians; including many civil society organizations and human rights organizations such as Réseau National de Défense de Droits Humain (RNDDH[1]) (National Network of the Defense of Human Rights).

[1] Previously known as the National Committee for Human Rights (NCHR)