09/03/2026
WHEN EVEN A POLICE BADGE CANNOT PROTECT SOMEONE FROM HOMOPHOBIC VIOLENCE
The reports and videos concerning Haitian police officer Cazeau Claudio Doupy have left me outraged, shaken, and heartbroken.
Reports indicate that Officer Doupy was lured through an online group used by LGBTQ+ people, taken into gang-controlled territory at Bon-Repos, kidnapped, beaten, filmed, and publicly humiliated because of his actual or perceived sexual orientation.
His captors reportedly exposed details of his private life and forced him to say that he would no longer meet other men. He was eventually released alive after several days of captivity, visibly weakened.
Whether this man identifies as gay, bisexual, or uses no label at all is his truth to tell, not ours. What matters is that his private life and perceived sexual orientation were weaponized against him.
This was not gossip. This was not comedy. This was not morality.
This was violence.
As a masculine-presenting Haitian le***an, I cannot look at this case as though it concerns someone else.
It concerns me. It concerns every masculine woman who cannot hide her gender expression. It concerns every gay Haitian man who carefully measures his words and movements. It concerns every transgender Haitian whose body makes them visible before they have decided whether it is safe to speak.
It concerns every LGBTQ+ Haitian who has learned to scan a room before entering, lower their voice before speaking, erase messages from their telephone, invent relationships to satisfy relatives, or live two lives simply to remain safe.
Officer Doupy wore a police uniform. He carried a badge. He served the country.
Yet neither his badge nor his uniform protected him from being hunted, brutalized, exposed, and turned into a public spectacle.
If an armed police officer can be trapped and abused over his actual or perceived sexual orientation, what protection exists for the young le***an living with hostile relatives? For the transgender woman crossing gang-controlled territory? For the gay man whose neighbors have begun asking questions? For the LGBTQ+ person who cannot safely report violence to the police?
We must also examine our reaction as Haitians.
A human being’s humiliation should never become entertainment. His pain should not become a joke, a viral video, or an invitation for others to demand more violence.
Please do not circulate the graphic videos. His suffering is evidence of a human-rights crisis—not entertainment for social media.
There is nothing Christian, Haitian, masculine, or honorable about torturing another person because of whom they may love.
Cruelty does not become righteousness because someone wraps it in religion or calls it tradition.
Homophobia is not Haitian culture.
Transphobia is not morality.
Silence is not protection.
To every gay, le***an, bisexual, transgender, q***r, intersex, or gender-nonconforming Haitian currently living in the United States with an uncertain immigration status, I need you to hear me:
Do not decide on your own that it is too late to seek protection.
Call us even if:
* You entered the United States more than one year ago.
* You previously had TPS and that protection ended.
* You had TPS but never applied for asylum.
* You are afraid to disclose your sexual orientation or gender identity.
* Your family does not know that you are LGBTQ+.
* You previously applied for asylum and your case was denied.
* You have an immigration-court case or an old removal order.
* You were harmed in Haiti but were too ashamed or afraid to tell anyone.
* Conditions or threats affecting you have changed since your previous immigration decision.
Exceptions to the one-year asylum deadline may exist. Maintaining TPS may be relevant to that analysis. Changed circumstances, extraordinary circumstances, new evidence, appeals, motions to reopen, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture may need to be evaluated.
None of these possibilities is automatic, and no outcome can be promised. Every case is different. But you deserve to have your individual situation screened before assuming that you have no options.
CUASVAHH is inviting LGBTQ+ Haitian immigrants in immigration limbo to call (904) 374-7463 to schedule a free and confidential asylum screening consultation, including an evaluation of possible persecution based on membership in a particular social group.
Your sexual orientation or gender identity will not be disclosed to your relatives, friends, employer, church, or community without your permission, except where disclosure is legally required.
Only authorized staff who need the information to assist with your matter will have access to it. Before anything is submitted, we will explain what information must be provided to immigration authorities or the court.
If keeping documents that reveal your sexual orientation or gender identity could place you in danger, tell us. We can discuss a safe telephone number, neutral messages, secure electronic delivery, office pickup, or another lawful way to protect your privacy.
Official applications and case records must always remain truthful and accurate. We will never ask you to lie or create a false story. We will help you tell the truth safely, carefully, and with dignity.
When you call, you may simply say:
“I need a confidential asylum screening.”
You do not have to explain your sexual orientation to the person answering the telephone. Please do not place private details in the comments under this post.
I see you.
CUASVAHH sees you.
You are not an embarrassment.
You are not a curse.
You are not a mistake.
You are not alone.
Your life has value, and your truth deserves protection.
Call CUASVAHH: (904) 374-7463
Christians United Against Sexual Violence and Homophobia in Haiti
