When Roselande Belony’s story first surfaced online, the prevailing narrative held that she was a pastor’s daughter, secretly intimate with another young man while engaged to a church member, but something about that tale did not add up.
A closer investigation revealed the truth: Roselande was never engaged, her father does not run a church, although she is an active congregant, and the supposed “fiancé” who gave an anonymous interview has never been identified. No one bothered to verify his identity because sensational gossip proved more entertaining than facts. There was no statement from Roselande, no confirmation from her family, and certainly no reliable testimony from the man in the video.
Most who profited from this scandal were chasing clicks and ad revenue, with no regard for the damage to a young woman’s reputation. In jurisdictions such as New York (Penal Law § 250.45) and California (Penal Code § 647(j)(4)), the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images, so‑called “revenge porn,” is a criminal offense punishable by fines, imprisonment, and civil damages. Moreover, international law recognizes a right to privacy (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 12), and Haiti’s own Constitution guarantees personal dignity and privacy (Article 32), yet Haiti has no specific statute against revenge porn, leaving victims with little or no legal recourse under the Haitian Penal Code’s general provisions on defamation (Article 298) or invasion of privacy (Article 269).
What happened to Roselande is not a moral lapse, it is a crime. Her privacy was violated, and she has nothing to be ashamed of. By attacking her, society normalizes cyber violence and sends a chilling message that anyone could be next. One female pastor even confessed to her congregation that she had watched the illicit video, and based on what she saw, declared that Roselande “could never be one of her parishioners,” because, in her words, “the men in her church would never behave like that.” That unhinged remark revealed far more about the pastor’s own choices than about Roselande’s character, and meanwhile several male pastors publicly urged the faithful to leave Roselande in peace and invited her to their churches for prayer and support.
In reality, Roselande’s phone was stolen on public transportation, the thief hacked into it, and disseminated those intimate images without her consent. A young journalist and first runner‑up of Miss Teen Kiskeya 2022, she has since been subjected to mockery, hate speech, and calls for her social ostracism, even as Haiti endures a historic crisis and widespread insecurity.
We have witnessed Haitians celebrate violent gang leaders as revolutionaries, granting them platforms to terrorize communities, yet those same voices blamed Roselande, the victim in this crime, for her own exploitation. When it comes to holding authorities accountable for police failures or gang violence, the airwaves fall silent, but the moment a private scandal breaks, everyone becomes judge, jury, and moralist.
Roselande Belony deserves our respect and protection, not our scorn. She has not issued a formal statement, and she need not, for she owes no one an explanation. What she does deserve is an apology, the full support of her community, and legal reforms in Haiti that criminalize the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images, only then can we begin to repair the harm done and reaffirm that every individual’s privacy and dignity are inviolable.
Lè istwa Roselande Belony parèt sou entènèt la, yo te fè kwè li se pitit fi yon pastè, k ap gen relasyon ak yon lòt jenn gason pandan li t ap fè fiyanse ak yon manm legliz la, men te gen yon bagay ki pa t mache nan istwa sa.
Lè nou fouye pi fon, verite a parèt: Roselande pa t janm fiyanse, papa li pa dirije okenn legliz (men li menm li se manm youn), epi “fiyanse” ki te bay yon entèvyou anonim la poko janm idantifye. Pesonn pa t pran tan pou verifye idantite li paske bwatiko te pi plis atiran pase reyalite. Pa t gen okenn deklarasyon soti bò Roselande, pa t gen okenn konfimasyon nan men fanmi li, e pa t gen okenn temwayaj serye soti bò jenn gason ki nan videyo a.
Majorite moun ki pwofite sou eskandal sa te kouri dèyè klik ak reklam, san yo pa konsidere domaj yo t ap fè sou repitasyon yon jèn fi. Nan jiridiksyon tankou New York (Lwa Penal seksyon 250.45) ak Kalifòni (Kòd Penal § 647(j)(4)), distribisyon imaj entim san konsantman—sa yo rele “revenge porn”—se yon ofans kriminèl ki ka mennen amann, prizon, ak domaj sivil. Anplis, Lalwa Entènasyonal (Deklarasyon Inivèsèl Dwa Moun, Atik 12) rekonèt dwa pou vi prive, epi Konstitisyon Ayiti (Atik 32) garanti diyite ak vi prive chak moun. Men, Ayiti pa gen okenn lwa espesifik kont “revenge porn,” konsa viktim yo pa gen mwayen legal solid anba dispozisyon jeneral Kòd Penal Ayisyen sou difamasyon (Atik 298) oswa envazyon vi prive (Atik 269).
Sa k rive Roselande a pa yon echèk moral, se yon krim. Yo vyole vi prive li, e li pa gen anyen pou wont. Lè moun atake li konsa, sosyete a ap normalise vyolans sou entènèt epi voye mesaj ke nenpòt moun ka viktim pwochen. Yon pastè fi menm admèt devan kongregasyon li ke li te gade videyo sa, epi sou sa li te wè, li deklare Roselande “pa ka janm manm legliz li,” paske, selon li, “gason nan legliz li pa t ap janm konpòte yo konsa.” Deklarasyon san sans sa a montre plis sou chwa pastè a pase sou karaktè Roselande, pandan plizyè pastè gason te mande piblikman pou kite Roselande an repo epi yo te envite li nan legliz yo pou lapriyè ak sipò.
An reyalite, telefòn Roselande te vòlè sou transpò piblik, vòlè a te kraze sekirite li epi li te pibliye imaj entim sa yo san konsantman li. Kòm jounalis jenn epi premye vis‑Miss Teen Kiskeya 2022, depi lè sa a, li sibi mokri, diskou rayisman, ak demann pou izole li sosyalman, menm lè Ayiti ap travèse yon kriz istorik ak ensekirite jeneralize.
Nou te wè Ayisyen selebre chèf gang vyolan kòm revolisyonè, ba yo tribin pou enstale pè, menm lè yo blame Roselande, viktim krim sa a. Lè li rive pou mande kont polisye oubyen konbat gang vyolans, medya yo rete silansye, men dèske yon eskandal prive parèt, tout moun vin jij, jiri, ak moralist.
Roselande Belony merite respè ak pwoteksyon nou, pa rejè. Li poko bay okenn deklarasyon ofisyèl, e li pa oblije, paske li pa dwe bay okenn eksplikasyon. Sa li merite se yon ekskiz, sipò total kominote li, ak refòm legal ann Ayiti ki penalize distribisyon imaj entim san konsantman. Se sèlman konsa n ap ka kòmanse repare domaj yo epi rapafime ke vi prive ak diyite chak moun se sak pa gen dwa vyole.
