Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2026

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Program

Women's and Gender Studies

Advisor

Rupal Oza

Subject Categories

Women's Studies

Keywords

Climate crisis, reproductive health, sexuality, Haiti, earthquake

Abstract

In 2010, a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the capital city of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, causing great destruction of infrastructure and the devastating loss of about 316,000 lives and over a million homes. The earthquake destroyed agricultural production and clean water sources, causing severe resource scarcity along with the overcrowding in the relief camps. Following the earthquake, international aid organizations flooded into Haiti in an effort to help provide immediate relief. The relief efforts were unprepared and lacked coordination among each other to efficiently implement the needed aid services. Without strategic planning to ensure all people’s needs are met, women and girls experienced greater disparities and inequalities after the earthquake, especially in relation to sexual and reproductive healthcare. Due to people being displaced into relief camps where they lived in tents crowded one next to another, the minimal privacy became an issue in accessing food resources as well as secure, quality healthcare. The combination of lack of privacy and resources influenced how people interacted with each other and their sexuality, using interpersonal connections as ways to obtain resources- increasing the potential for violence to arise when sex is used in exchange for food or other necessities and changing access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.

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