WEEK 6

THE TRAGEDY OF GIRLS PREGNANT FOR VIOLATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA

http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2015/05/150512_america_latina_embarazos_ninas_violadas_vs

Belen was 11 years old when she became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather. His case caused a sensation in Chile a couple of years, since that country not allowed to abort despite a huge campaign that carried out civil society organizations concerned with the health of the child. Today another girl goes through the same experience to Bethlehem, and his case has again focused the interest of activists for human rights. Small lives in Paraguay and his name is kept in reserve to protect your identity. But it is known that it has just 10 years and carrying five months pregnant and a half.

Pregnancy seems to be the result of repeated abuse from her stepfather, who are currently detained, as well as her mother, accused of having unprotected. Amnesty International (AI) launched a campaign to demand that the Paraguayan authorities to be allowed to have an abortion, a claim which is supported by the High Commissioner for the United Nations human rights (UN) and other agencies. But despite the high profile that has acquired this case and the Bethlehem before, the truth is that their stories are not exceptional situations.

The Center for reproductive rights (CRR, by its acronym in English), an international organization dedicated to the defense of these rights, said to the BBC that there are hundreds of cases of girls pregnant after being raped in Latin America, but they tend not to be broadcast. It is a problem difficult to quantify. First, because many families do not report it since in general cases of abuse occur in the bosom of the family group. In these cases result rape babies tend to be declared "of unknown father", said to this medium who work closely with the pregnant minors. In addition, the majority of Governments has no statistics on that reality, explained to BBC World Monica Arango, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the CRR

Opinion personal

Unfortunately this happens most of the time since there are abusive people who take advantage of the trust that exists in the family environment and it is noteworthy that not only parents uncles cousins but also close to the family friends are cause both physical and psychological damage, and many of these times mothers know but for fear of being judged or same partners to stop them allow to keep this and follow up to the consequences of pregnancy in girls.

 Andrea Martinez Duran