UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Haiti continues to see alarming levels of gender-based violence, with survivors and those at risk having limited access to the essential support they need, a UN spokesperson said Thursday.

Between January and September, over 7,400 cases of gender-based violence were reported in Haiti, an average of about 27 per day, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, at a daily briefing.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that sexual violence made up around half of the cases, and nearly two thirds of these involved gang rape. Two out of every three victims were displaced people, he said.

During the same period, UN humanitarian partners were able to reach only 7 percent of the 833,000 people that the United Nations aims to reach with specialized support to address gender-based violence this year, said the spokesperson.

The response remains critically underfunded, with an overall gap of 13.5 million U.S. dollars -- 70 percent of the over 19 million dollars needed for this year, Dujarric said. Enditem