New Report Reveals Systemic Failure to Protect Girls from Sexual Violence in Guatemala
Marta was 11 years old when her father raped her. Five months later, a doctor confirmed her pregnancy. When she sought help, authorities sent her back home—to the man who had assaulted her. She gave birth in the same house where she was abused, without medical assistance, and with no justice. Her father fled before he was arrested. Marta never received reparations.
Her story is not unique. Between 2018 and 2024, nearly 15,000 girls in Guatemala—all 14 or younger—became mothers, often through rape. Each of these pregnancies represents a crime, yet the judicial system barely moves. In the same period, there were only 136 preliminary indictments and 102 convictions for cases involving girls under 14.
A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) reveals that Guatemala’s laws claim to protect girls, but in practice, they trap them. The country’s age of consent is 14, yet few mechanisms exist to prevent forced pregnancies. Survivors are often denied access to emergency contraception, and the country’s narrow exception for therapeutic abortion—permitted only when the mother’s life is at risk—remains poorly understood and rarely applied.
Meanwhile, healthcare is a luxury for many. In rural areas, hospitals are hours away, often unequipped and understaffed. Many girls are left to give birth alone. Indigenous girls face additional barriers—language differences, systemic racism, and a lack of interpreters—leaving them even more vulnerable.
The HRW report reveals how Guatemala’s education system is failing girls. Once pregnant, many drop out, pressured by family or stigmatized by teachers and peers. Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is absent, leaving children uninformed about their rights, their bodies, and their options. Some girls fight to return to school, like 13-year-old Juana, who dreamed of becoming a teacher. “I didn’t want a baby,” she told a caseworker. “I wanted to study.”
Yet government programs meant to help pregnant girls are failing them. The Vida program, which provides financial aid, reached only 129 girls in 2024—less than 7% of those who gave birth that year. Bureaucracy, restrictive eligibility requirements, and funding cuts have left thousands of girls without support.
The path to justice is excruciating. Cases take years. Girls must relive their trauma in hearings, only to watch their attackers walk free. Many drop their cases out of exhaustion or fear.
A psychologist working with survivors described it as a system designed to fail: “By the time a case reaches court, the girl is often an adult. She has moved on because she has no choice.”
For girls like Marta and Juana, the consequences are lifelong. They are forced into roles they never chose—mothers before they even become teenagers. They are denied education, healthcare, and financial security. They are denied justice.
Human Rights Watch recommends the following:
Expanding access to emergency contraception, maternal healthcare, and mental health services, especially for Indigenous and rural girls.
Ensuring survivors receive trauma-informed, non-stigmatizing care and have access to comprehensive reproductive health options.
Implementing comprehensive sexuality education in schools to prevent early pregnancies and inform girls of their rights.
Overhauling justice systems to prevent delays, ensure timely indictments, and protect survivors from revictimization.
Expanding financial and social support programs for girl mothers, including reforming the Vida program to remove restrictive eligibility barriers.