Girl, 11, is denied an abortion in Peru after being raped by her stepfather

An 11-year-old girl in Peru was refused an abortion after being raped by her stepfather.

The young girl, who had been given the pseudonym Mila to protect her identity, learned last month she was 13 weeks pregnant after being abused by her father.

The primary school child from Iquitos, the capital of the Loreto region in the Amazon rainforest, was found to have been constantly abused by her stepfather since she was six years old.

Peruvian authorities detained the stepfather, but he was released shortly after a court rejected a request for pre-trial detention.

Mila was transferred to a shelter by Loreto authorities and moved away from her family to ensure her safety. Her three siblings, including a four-month-old baby, were also sent to the same shelter.

Mila’s mother, who also maintains her anonymity, has since said she was also abused by the stepfather and was unable to help her daughter because he threatened to kill her.

“I was scared because he threatened me, he closed the door on me. When I wanted to go out, he told me, “If you tell the neighbors, I’ll kill you and run away,” Mila’s mother told Peru’s Epicentro TV.

“When I talk about him, I’m scared. I have nightmares.’

The mother said the regional authority, the Loreto Special Protection Unit (UPE), has not provided information on how Mila can access a safe abortion, despite a request for termination of pregnancy. El País reported.

The Peruvian Center for the Promotion and Defense of Sexual and Reproductive Rights (PROMSEX) took up the case. At that time, the mother said that UPE referred Mila to the Loreto Regional Hospital so that the board of directors could decide whether the child could have access to an abortion.

But the hospital board decided that Mila should go ahead with the pregnancy, claiming the 11-year-old had said she did not want to terminate the pregnancy.

They also said rape cases are not covered by the law on therapeutic abortions – a medical abortion performed because it endangers the mother’s life.

Despite the administration’s claims, the United Nations Population Fund identifies children under the age of 15 as three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related problems.

PROMSEX urged authorities to reconsider the matter, leading to the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations agreeing that a new medical commission will re-examine the matter.

Mila was transferred to a shelter by Loreto authorities and left her family to ensure her safety (file image)

“I want it removed from her womb. I want to see my daughter, but I don’t want to see that baby because it hurt my daughter,” the mother told Peruvian broadcaster.

A joint statement signed by a number of international organizations – including the Peruvian Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UN Women – expressed serious concern about the child and called on the government of Peru to take action.

“We urge you to reconsider the decision to deny her access to therapeutic abortion and to guarantee Mila, and all pregnant girls and teenage victims of sexual violence, this right – with safe and age-appropriate procedures – and within 22 weeks after pregnancy, as determined. according to medical protocol,” the statement read.

“We remind you that forced motherhood due to rape is not voluntary and threatens integral health.”

It comes after a 13-year-old Indigenous girl, identified as Camila, was also refused an abortion after being raped by a relative.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) ruled in June that the Peruvian government had violated Camila’s rights and failed to provide her with necessary information on how to access a safe abortion.

The UN ruling urged Peru to decriminalize abortion in all cases of child pregnancy and provide protections for victims to ensure they don’t have to go through the trauma again.