Brazil Records Six Abortions per Day for Raped Girls Aged 10-14

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The legal abortion of a 10-year-old child who was raped in Espírito Santo has become a battlefield in Brazil.

After judicial authorization, the girl was taken to another state on Sunday, August 16th, to interrupt the pregnancy. She reported that she had suffered sexual abuse from her uncle since the age of six and that she did not tell others because he threatened her. The child’s uncle is at large.

Although the case has become the backdrop for an ideological fight and has been addressed as something unprecedented, official data shows that an average of six daily hospitalizations for abortion take place in Brazil involving girls aged between 10 and 14 who became pregnant after being raped.

These cases involve procedures performed in hospital, and hospitalizations after miscarriages or abortions performed at home.

If the number seems high for those who do not follow the issue, it is low when compared to the number of child and adolescent rapes occurring in Brazil: every hour, four girls up to the age of 13 are raped in the country, according to the 2019 Brazilian Yearbook of Public Safety.

It also argues that it only makes sense to deal with this issue from a specific case if it serves to show that this violence is much more common than one might think. “It’s a very sad story. And unfortunately it’s one of many, Brazil is faced with many such cases.”

According to data compiled by BBC News Brasil from the Ministry of Health’s Hospital Information System of the SUS (National Health System), Brazil records at least six abortions per day in girls aged between 10 and 14, on average.

In 2020 alone, there were at least 642 hospitalizations. The country also records an annual average of 26,000 births from mothers aged between 10 and 14.

Since 2008, almost 32,000 abortions involving girls in this age group have been recorded.

Considering the 20,000 hospitalizations in which there are data on race or skin color, 13,200 involved mixed-race girls (66 percent) and 5,600 involved white girls (28 percent). These data include abortions performed for medical, spontaneous and other reasons.

Of the 20 cities with the most hospitalizations in absolute numbers, all are capital cities, except for Duque de Caxias (RJ), Feira de Santana (BA) and Campos de Goytacazes (RJ). There are no data available for the private health care system.

Rape cases (not only of children) are one of the three situations in which abortion is allowed in Brazil. The other two are anencephaly. and risk of life for the mother.

Over the past ten years, Brazil has recorded, on average, one pregnancy termination per week for medical reasons involving girls aged between 10 and 14. In 2020, there were at least 34 occurrences in this age group and 1,022 including women of all ages.

“Every pregnant girl up to 14 years old was raped, no matter the circumstance. The rape of the vulnerable is specifically defined by age,” says Luciana Temer, who also holds a doctorate in law from PUC-SP and is the ex-Secretary of Youth, Sport and Leisure of the State of São Paulo.

Illegal exposure

In violation of laws protecting children and adolescents in Brazil, far-right activist Sara Giromini, known as Sara Winter, disclosed details that enabled people to trace the Espirito Santo case, including the location of the hospital where the child was staying at the time.

Luciana Temer points out that the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) protects the identification of all children and adolescents. “The ECA also protects the name of the juvenile offender, as well as the girl victim. The name could not be provided, nor the hospital, no data at all.”

At the hospital, a group of people rallied against the legal abortion of the raped child and even shouted “murderer” in an attempt to attack the doctor in charge of the procedure authorized by the Court, according to videos posted on the Internet.

On the other hand, women who support the right of the child to have a legal abortion were also at the site. They argued that the girl’s life is at risk and that she is entitled to legal abortion.

“Let’s not give up the life of a 10-year-old girl. Forced pregnancy is torture. Pregnancy at ten is death. Legal, safe and free abortion is aimed at preventing death,” repeated the group.

Luciana Temer points out that the case’s wide exposure tends to increase stigma towards victims of sexual violence.

“All sexual violence, particularly against very young girls and boys, has serious consequences for them and their families. And the more noted the case, the worse. This girl will be stigmatized, this family will be stigmatized with all this repercussion,” she says.

“If I were a grandmother, I would ask for financial compensation, including moral damages, for those who disclosed this. That’s absurd. It’s become ideological and radical.”

Source: G1

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