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  • The word restavèk comes from the Creole and French meaning “to stay with.” The term is given to children who come from poor, usually rural families that are sent to live and work as domestic servants in homes without any compensation.In principle, placement of a restavèk involves a parent turning over childrearing responsibility to another household in exchange for the child’s unpaid domestic service. The traditional expectation is that the “caretaker” household will cover the cost of sending the restavèk child to school. The term is widely used in Haiti and has a significant negative connotation, including that such children are dependent and servile. Many restavèk children are exploited and this has a lasting effect on their education, health, mental wellbeing and overall development.
    Republic of Haiti, The Plight of Restavèk (Child Domestic Servants), Submission for the 112th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, Oct. 8 & 9, 2014.

    July 5, 2016