Paraguay: Girls Forced to Become Mothers
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Giving birth before 14.
In 2022, 470 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 gave birth in Paraguay, and 40 were hospitalized for abortions. Most of these pregnancies result from intrafamilial sexual abuse, but the victims are forced to carry the pregnancies to term due to deficiencies in reproductive education, the almost total prohibition of abortion, and the influence of conservative leaders. Juliana Quintana, a journalist from El Surtidor, and Nathaniel Janowitz from VICE News, visited a shelter in Asunción where no girl is considered too young to give birth. Additionally, they speak with two young women who lived there as well as with experts who have studied the complex scenario behind the crisis of child and adolescent pregnancies in the country.
This episode was originally published in El hilo, a podcast produced by Radio Ambulante Studios, which contextualizes the most relevant news events in Latin America every Friday.
Find the English translation of “Paraguay: Girls Forced to Become Mothers” here. Or check out the Spanish transcript here.
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