November 25th is the International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women.This year our 3rd annual Midwifery leadership conference was on gender based violence. It was a great success!!

From November 6th-9th, FAHM (Foundation for the Advancement of Haitian Midwives) hosted a 4 day conference for Haitian midwives on GBV in Port- au- Prince Haiti. Twenty two midwives from 7 out of 10 of Haiti’s departments were in attendance.  Many ideas and discussions ensued which required self- reflection and examination of personal ideas/biases related to violence, sex and barriers to seeking care. Topics included: cultural/societal norms affecting health, sexual and reproductive health, respectful and privacy protected care, principles of trauma informed care,  types of gender-based violence, human/women’s rights according to Haitian law, medical exam of the victim, medical-legal aspects/reporting and ethics/ professional development.

Empowering Haitian midwives with the knowledge, skills and sensitivity required to work with GBV victims creates a sustainable model of care. Haitian Midwives are part of the community in which they live and work. They are in the optimal position to provide culturally sensitive evidence based care to Haitian victims and survivors.

We were honored to have SHOG (Societe Haitienne d’Obstetrique et de Gynecologie) and Monique Manigat (Haitian pychotherapist based in Haiti/ Billion Women Rising Ayiti) as presenters. We thank our partners: AISFH (Haitian Midwifery Association), Every Mother Counts, Rona Jaffe Foundation, Global Health Action, NYC Midwives.

Sponsored by Every Mother Counts and the Rona Jaffe Foundation, the 2017 Leadership Conference was a huge success.  Thank you to our sponsors, and to CLE Centre Haitien du Leadership et de l’Excellence for making this conference the best it can be!

This was a wonderful weekend leadership workshop presented in collaboration with FAHM, L'Association Infirmière Sage Femme d'Haiti (AISFH), UNFPA and Institut National Superior de Formation Sage Femme (INSFSF). The midwives in Haiti are working on improving their practice environment, licensing and regulation and FAHM supported this conference to strengthen their leadership skills. Scaling up midwifery means better outcomes for women and babies!  A special thank you to CLE (Centre Haitien du Leadership et de l’Excellence) for their participation (www.cle-haiti.org).