Carine Jocelyn
Founder, Haitian Women's Collective
Founder, Haitian Women's Collective
“My feminist icons are the day-to-day women who continue to do what they have to do to survive; the mothers, cousins, and aunts, the women in our communities who we often overlook.”
In 2007, Carine established a community health center in Port au Prince, which the local community continues to operate. In 2014, she was hired as the executive director of Profamil, the leading provider of sexual and reproductive health care in Haiti. She was the second woman to hold that position in the organization’s 30-year history.
Carine founded the Haitian Women’s Collective in 2017 to continue her commitment to women’s and girls’ rights in Haiti.
She also serves as the chief executive officer of Diaspora Community Services in Brooklyn, New York, and as chair of the Haiti Adolescent Girls Network, known for their internationally recognized model of safe spaces for girls.
“We need partners that offer solidarity, not aid dependency. We want to bring about meaningful change that will strengthen the sovereignty of the Haitian people. We want to transform the conditions — often a direct result of harmful US policies — that put Haitians at risk to begin with. That’s why we advocate for policies that would produce accountability for aid dollars, and ensure more just immigration procedures and a halt to deportations. Unless we can create space for Haitian voices, especially women’s voices, in policies that affect them, Haiti will continue to suffer. For true recovery to happen, the US and others must take responsibility for some of the abusive conditions in Haiti.”
The Haitian Women’s Collective uses women’s shared expertise and power to advance health, education, civic engagement, leadership, and opportunities for communities in Haiti.
Learn more about Haitian Women’s Collective
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