Human rights abuse and other criminal violations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a random survey of households was published online on Aug 31, 2006, and in print on Sept 2, 2006. 1 Within days, The Lancetwas informed that co-author Athena Kolbe had previously written about Haiti as a journalist under the name of Lyn Duff. Because Kolbe had worked as a volunteer at an orphanage in Haiti founded by President Aristide and had written sympathetically about Aristide after he was deposed, 2 concerns were expressed about the paper’s findings. In response to credible allegations that one author’s former activities might constitute an undisclosed conflict of interest, The Lancet began an inquiry. 3 The authors’ institution, Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan, USA) was asked to investigate the matter, and the issue was referred to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Eileen Trzcinski, Professor and Interim Director of Research at Wayne State Uni versity School of Social Work, audited 100 questionnaires selected by computerised randomisation. Outcome details on the original handwritten records corresponded with the project’s computerised database. The overall distribution of rapes and murders were re-analysed according to alleged perpetrators, and the results