Tens of thousands of girls are raped and become pregnant across Latin America every year. The ages of these girls show that these pregnancies were from sexual abuse and constituted forced pregnancy and motherhood.
The Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM) conducted a regional review to gather evidence that would make it possible to highlight this silenced reality in the region, and to promote debate using clear and conclusive concepts on forced child motherhood. The intention is to use these results to develop advocacy actions at the national, regional and international levels that will create changes. Information was gathered from 14 countries, including: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.
The study was carried out with the support of The Sigrid Rausing Trust and translated into English by Equality Now.