According to Haitian sports journalist Bertinie Cherizard, “Haiti is one of the bastions of women’s football in the Caribbean.” Les Grenadières—named for an armed unit of the Haitian indigenous army—have attracted significant attention for being what FIFA has called Haiti’s golden generation of women footballers, making their impact known year after year in the face of overwhelming local obstacles.

Armed groups of men use sexual violence as a means to terrorize, subdue, and punish the population, particularly women. As these groups seize the material assets of the people living in these areas, they also consider bodies as objects at their disposal.