The child was only 10 when her stepfather, then 41, started molesting her. Before she could turn 11, she was already pregnant. The stepfather denies the rape accusations, but is already in jail awaiting trial. The mother is out on bail after being charged with negligence. The incidents of rape of the little girl were reported by the neighbors to the authorities. At first, the mother denied it.
The mother requested for an abortion for her child, but the Health Ministry said there were no grounds for it. Paraguay laws only allow abortion if the health of the mother is in danger. They pointed out that in this case, the mother was in good health who, at that time, was already 5 months pregnant. The decision of the Paraguay government was met with mixed reactions. Religious groups were in support of their move, but human rights organizations did not agree with it, as reported in Yahoo News.
'The physical and psychological impact of forcing this young girl to continue with an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to torture,' Guadalupe Marengo, Deputy Director for the Americas at Amnesty International said.
The World Health Organization cites the high risk of death for young mothers under 15. Mothers this age are more prone to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Amnesty International says it was inhumane for government to force a child to go through with the pregnancy.
The child is now 11 year old, and is not a child anymore, but a mother to a baby girl born through Cesarean in a Red Cross hospital in Asuncion, Paraguay. Her mother and grandmother have petitioned to take custody of the baby.
Child rape is a sad and common story in Paraguay. Children aged 10 to 14 become mothers very early because of sexual abuse. Every year, over 600 young girls go through this trauma. People are asking the government to impose stiffer penalties to offenders, and to fund education programs to educate parents about abuse.
