Port-au-Prince, October 21, 2025.- Faced with rising insecurity and massive family displacement, many Haitian children suffer from serious psychological disorders, warns the Vice President of the Haitian Psychological Association, Pascal Nery Jean Charles. Speaking this Tuesday at Magik 9 microphone, he alerts on a « unprecedented vulnerability » internally displaced children, exposed to violence, malnutrition and a glaring lack of supervision.
« This is the first time that many Haitian children face such a difficult psychological situation. », deplores psychologist Pascal Nery Jean Charles. Speaker in Panel Magik on Tuesday, the Vice President of the Haitian Psychological Association (AHPsy) drew an alarming picture of the mental health of children in a context marked by violence and the proliferation of internally displaced persons.
According to him, several children had to flee their homes several times, sometimes after witnessing traumatic scenes. « Some suffer physical or sexual abuse, including girls », he stresses. The closure of many schools worsens the situation: without structural activities or educational support, these children have a socialization deficit and increased emotional vulnerability.
The psychologist indicates that many displaced children develop behavioural disorders, such as aggressiveness, the imitation of scenes of violence or a marked social withdrawal. « There are children who play gangs or pretend to be gang leaders. », he observes. These behaviours reflect a trivialization of violence, which influences their perception of reality and disrupts their emotional development.
The physical situation is equally worrying. Without adequate care, many children suffer from malnutrition and unsupported health problems.
Faced with this reality, Pascal Nery Jean Charles calls on the authorities and the media to act to transform the social narrative around youth. « In several disadvantaged neighbourhoods, some children see gang leaders as models of success or respect. », he deplores. For him, there is an urgent need to integrate behaviour management and mental health programmes into schools and sites for displaced persons, with the presence of school psychologists in order to promote positive values and rebuild a healthy social environment.
W.A.
