Haiti: poverty - a breeding ground for violence

A long-term resident of Cite Soleil, the Haitian capital's sprawling seaside slum, 83-year-old Elvanise Tidor was first caught in gangland crossfire in 1993, before stepping into harms way again in 2004. She was later hit by a car and can now hardly walk.

Confined to a sparsely furnished corrugated iron shack, she spends most of her time worrying how her children and grandchildren are going to be fed each day.

"My body took the brunt of the bullets, but my family has been hit the hardest," she says. "I can't work or do anything for them. Often the grandchildren go to bed crying from hunger."

Women in countries affected by violence face enormous risks and often show great resourcefulness in overcoming terrible circumstances.

War and violence can bring about loss of loved ones, deprivation of livelihood, loss of civil status, sexual violence, abandonment, increased responsibility for family members, detention, displacement, physical injury, and sometimes death. It forces women and girls into unfamiliar roles and requires them to strengthen existing coping skills and develop new ones.

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