The Girls’ Stories

The Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners brought four cases to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in May 2019 against Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Ecuador for failing to protect the human rights of sexual violence survivors. The petitions were submitted on behalf of four adolescent girls, each under the age of 14, who were forced into unwanted pregnancies and maternities as a result of sexual violence.

These cases were presented as part of a larger strategy in Latin American movements called “Son niñas, no madres”—in English, “They are girls, not mothers”—and mark the first time that four petitions are being presented before the UN Human Rights Committee against different states with a combined strategy to tackle a region-wide issue.

Read the girls’ stories below, and read more about the case here.

Fátima was 13 years old when she was raped by a teacher and former member of the institution in charge of child protection in Guatemala. As a result of the rape, she became pregnant.

Fátima’s mother filed a complaint against the aggressor for the rape of her daughter. Immediately, her family began to receive intimidating threats to withdraw their complaint. Months later, the judge hearing the case issued an arrest warrant for the aggressor. Although Fátima, her family, and her lawyers have provided information to the authorities about the aggressor’s whereabouts, to date he has not been captured.

Both the rape and the unwanted pregnancy caused serious health consequences for Fátima, including suicide ideation. Despite this, and the fact that she stated on several occasions that she did not want to continue with the pregnancy, she was forced to carry it to term. Abortion is criminalized in Guatemala, except when the woman’s life is at risk. This law has been interpreted in a restrictive manner, producing, in practice, a regulatory framework that prohibits access to voluntary termination of pregnancy in any case.

During her pregnancy, Fátima was forced to drop out of school. After giving birth, when she wanted to return, she was refused admittance with the excuse that she had to get married and even had to seek legal assistance to be able to return to school.

Today, Fátima still faces the serious consequences of sexual violence, forced motherhood and the failure to obtain justice and reparations in her case. She hopes that no girl’s childhood will be taken away from her.

Norma was placed under the protection of the National Institute for Children and Family of Ecuador (INFA) from a very early age, since it was discovered that her father sexually assaulted her cousin, and Norma was living with him at the time.

Although these facts were reported, Norma’s father was never investigated. In 2011, when she was 12 years old, she was forced to live with her father again, who began to sexually assault her. This situation continued until 2013, when her siblings realized she was pregnant and filed a criminal complaint. Upon realizing that she was pregnant, her mental health deteriorated to the point that she attempted suicide. Despite the damage to her overall health and the fact that she expressed that she did not want to become a mother, she was denied access to voluntary termination of pregnancy and was forced to continue with the pregnancy. At the time of the events, abortion was only permitted in Ecuador to preserve the life and health of the woman—interpreted in a restrictive manner—and in cases of sexual violence against women with mental disabilities.

Norma was forced to carry a pregnancy, have a cesarean delivery and then suffered obstetric violence from her health care providers. Due to the trauma, Norma resisted contact with the newborn, as it caused her suffering; however, she was forced to breastfeed. She also expressed that she wanted to give the baby up for adoption, but she never received adequate information to be able to carry out this decision.

During her pregnancy, Norma was forced to drop out of school. Although she wanted to return to school after giving birth, she was unable to do so because she had no support to care for her child. Her aggressor died years after the events, without having been apprehended or punished for the sexual violence against his daughter.

Today, Norma is still waiting for justice for her and hopes that no girl will go through situations like the one she lived through.

Lucía was 13 years old when a priest from the children’s choir of the parish she attended began raping her. As a result of the sexual violence, she became pregnant.

Lucia’s family filed a complaint against the aggressor, for which they received threats and were stigmatized by the community for having denounced a “man of God”. Months later, a judge ordered his arrest. Despite this, and even though the police knew where he lived and worked, he was never captured.

Both the rape and the resulting pregnancy caused serious health problems for Lucía. Although she did not want to continue with the pregnancy and said she “wanted to die”, she was forced to carry it to term. In Nicaragua, abortion is criminalized under all circumstances, without exception. In addition, Lucia had to face being called “the priest’s wife” in her neighborhood and at school and being blamed for the multiple rapes she suffered.

Lucía hopes not only that sharing her case will generate the reparations that will allow her to resume her life, but also that no other girl will be forced to interrupt her childhood and her dreams because of forced motherhood.

Susana was born and raised in a rural area of Nicaragua plagued by violence. From the age of 7, she was raped by her maternal grandfather, who is a member of an illegal armed group.

The aggressor also prohibited her from leaving the house or receiving visitors. These events occurred repeatedly until September 2014, when she was 13 years old, when she became pregnant. Susana’s grandmother tried to file a complaint against the aggressor five times, but it was rejected by different police stations.

After Susana managed to file the criminal complaint, she did not receive any news about the progress of the investigation for four years. After that time, she was informed that the State could not take action in the case due to the situation of violence and the presence of armed groups in the area where her aggressor lived.

In Nicaragua, abortion is criminalized in all circumstances, without exception. Therefore, Susana had no options to terminate her pregnancy, but neither did she have access to maternal health services during pregnancy. At the time of delivery, the health personnel committed obstetric violence against her.

Susana was never able to access education. Today, in addition to experiencing the irreversible effects of sexual violence and forced motherhood, she continues to be in danger because her aggressor is at large. She hopes that the Committee will bring justice to her case so that no girl survivor of sexual violence is forced to become a mother.