Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • The Center’s Impact
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Annual Reports
    • Corporate Engagement
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Global Advocacy
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Stories
    • Events
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Press Releases
    • Statements
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • U.S. Abortion Rights: Resources
    • Maps
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
    • Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Make a Donor Advised Fund Gift
    • Leave a Legacy Gift
    • Donate Gifts of Stock
    • Give a Gift in Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Employee Matching Gifts
    • Mail a Check
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal

UN condemns Guatemala for forcing a girl to become a mother

Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • The Center’s Impact
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Annual Reports
    • Corporate Engagement
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Global Advocacy
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Stories
    • Events
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Press Releases
    • Statements
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • U.S. Abortion Rights: Resources
    • Maps
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
    • Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Make a Donor Advised Fund Gift
    • Leave a Legacy Gift
    • Donate Gifts of Stock
    • Give a Gift in Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Employee Matching Gifts
    • Mail a Check
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

SRHR General

Regions:

Latin America & Caribbean

Type:

News, Statement

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

06.06.2025

SRHR General Latin America & Caribbean News

UN condemns Guatemala for forcing a girl to become a mother

Vanesa Restrepo

Share

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id

The UN Human Rights Committee has issued a decision recognizing that forced pregnancy and forced motherhood violate the human rights of girls.

06.05.2025 (STATEMENT) — In a new victory for all girls in Latin America and the world, the UN Human Rights Committee has held Guatemala responsible for violating the human rights of Fátima, a girl who survived rape and became pregnant but was denied access to abortion due to the country’s restrictive regulations.

The UN recognized that Guatemala failed in its duty to protect Fátima, who at 13 years old was raped by a teacher who had also been an official of the agency responsible for protecting children in the country. Despite expressing several times that she did not want to be a mother, Fátima was forced to continue with the pregnancy, blamed for the violence she experienced, was forced to interrupt her studies, and suffered severe consequences to her overall health, including suicidal ideation. Meanwhile, her attacker was never captured, despite the case being reported.

In its ruling, the Committee emphasized that forced motherhood profoundly interrupts and limits girls’ life projects, affecting their personal, educational, and professional aspirations, and seriously violating their right to a dignified life.

Likewise, it recognized that the sexual violence, pregnancy, and forced motherhood that Fátima suffered caused her extreme suffering, including suicide attempts. It noted that the State’s refusal to provide her with essential reproductive health services—such as the legal abortion to which she was entitled—constituted a violation of her right to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, as well as a form of gender discrimination based on stereotypes about women’s reproductive roles.

To prevent cases like Fátima’s from recurring, the Committee ordered the Guatemalan State, among other measures, to guarantee access to health services such as voluntary pregnancy termination, eliminating any barriers; as well as to strengthen existing therapeutic abortion protocols so that no girl faces forced pregnancy and motherhood. Additionally, it ordered the creation of a public policy for reparations for survivors of sexual violence, forced pregnancy and motherhood; and to take actions to prevent sexual violence, including access to comprehensive sexual education. Finally, it demanded mandatory training for health, justice, and education personnel on gender, childhood, and human rights issues.

Statement by Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights

“For the fourth time this year, the UN has unequivocally stated that denying a girl of an abortion is cruel, inhumane, and degrading. We commend the Committee for again recognizing that reproductive rights are human rights, and that they are essential for gender equality.

For Fátima, the violence did not end after her sexual assault. It was perpetuated when she was denied the right to make decisions about her body and her future and was instead forced to become a mother. Fátima’s case is not unique. Thousands of girls around the world, including in the United States, are facing forced pregnancies and motherhood as a result of sexual violence. Today’s victory puts countries and states on notice to ensure that their laws protect the rights of girls and women, including their right to reproductive autonomy.”

Statement by Catalina Martínez Coral, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights

“All girls have the right to dream, to play, and to write their own history, and for that, they need their rights to be guaranteed. As a society, we have an agreement that the protection of girls is a priority. But that promise is broken when we do not give them access to all health services, including abortion, and force them to assume motherhood they do not want and for which they are not prepared. The Guatemalan state failed Fátima, and we all failed her as a society. With these decisions, states can now act, protect, and provide reparations. They can take real actions to stop sexual violence and prevent this painful story from repeating itself. We continue to fight so that all girls in the world are allowed to remain girls, not mothers.”

Learn more about the Fátima’s story

The Center for Reproductive Rights’ allied organizations in this litigation are: Planned Parenthood Global (Global), Mujeres Transformando el Mundo (Guatemala), Observatorio en Salud Sexual y Reproductiva (Guatemala), Surkuna (Ecuador), Promsex (Peru), and Debevoise & Plimpton.

Tags: niñas no madres, girls not mothers, Guatemala

Related Posts

Center’s Cases at the UN Seek New Human Rights Standard to Ensure Safe Abortion and Protections for Sexual Abuse Survivors

“They are girls, not mothers” cases against Ecuador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua—brought on behalf of four girls denied access to abortion...

Abortion, Adolescent SRHR, Maternal Health, SRHR General,Latin America & Caribbean, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Accountability Bodies, United Nations,In the Courts, At the United Nations
Center’s Cases at the UN Seek New Human Rights Standard to Ensure Safe Abortion and Protections for Sexual Abuse Survivors

Victory at the UN in the “They Are Girls, Not Mothers” Cases

Human Rights Committee establishes new worldwide standards for access to abortion, sex education, and protections for sexual abuse survivors.

Abortion, Adolescent SRHR, Maternal Health, SRHR General,Latin America & Caribbean, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua,In the Courts, At the United Nations
Victory at the UN in the “They Are Girls, Not Mothers” Cases

Ganan las niñas, condenas históricas exigen a los Estados de Ecuador y Nicaragua que ninguna niña sea obligada a ser madre

Read English version here.  Respondiendo a las demandas del Movimiento Son Niñas, No Madres*, el Comité de Derechos Humanos de...

SRHR General,Latin America & Caribbean, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Ganan las niñas, condenas históricas exigen a los Estados de Ecuador y Nicaragua que ninguna niña sea obligada a ser madre

Sign up for email updates.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Gift Acceptance Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2024)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Better Business Bureau Charity Watch Top Rated Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up