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	Ending Forced Childbirth in Latin America and the Caribbean by Equality Now, agencies   April 2016   Mainumby was just ten when she became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather in Paraguay. She was isolated from her family and friends, institutionalized and forced to give birth despite the extreme medical risk involved. In August, doctors performed a C-section on her and, fortunately, she survived. Both she and her baby are in the process of trying to recover.   While Equality Now and our partner CLADEM are relieved that Mainumby survived the pregnancy, her childhood was stolen and her ordeals far from over. She struggles daily with the physical and mental scars of sexual abuse and forced motherhood at the tender age of 11. She has still has not seen justice against her rapist. She cannot return to school without childcare and her mother lost her job as a result of this case. She is also worried about how to support Mainumby and the baby and provide a stable home.   Forced pregnancy and subsequent childbirth is a huge issue in Paraguay. The country’s Ministry of Health reported that 684 girls between the ages ten and fourteen gave birth in 2014. Reports suggest that numbers are likely to have increased since. And early pregnancy is not only dangerous for the mother. In Paraguay, infants born to mothers 15 – 19 are nearly 80% more likely to die the first year than infants born to 20 – 29 year olds.   Earlier this week, Equality Now and CLADEM were petitioners in a thematic hearing at the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights. Various ministers from the Paraguayan government also attended. We highlighted Mainumby’s case and recent findings by the UN Special Rapporteur on the high rate of maternal mortality in the country – most of which is due to early pregnancies caused by sexual abuse. We discussed our concern around the high rates of child sexual abuse and how forcing girls to continue high-risk pregnancies resulting from that abuse has a profound impact on their physical and mental health.   The Commissioners questioned the country’s lack of protocols on sexual abuse and forced pregnancy and motherhood. They recommended that Paraguay review its domestic violence legislation and explore ways of reducing the potential for further violence by removing alleged abusers from the home more rapidly. They criticized the fact that Mainumby’s rights as a child were not adequately protected and were not prioritized. Paraguay did not respond specifically on sexual abuse of children and adolescents, but chose to focus its response instead on the unrelated issues of trafficking and sex tourism.   Paraguay is not alone in Latin America and the Caribbean with its inadequate protection of girls who are abused and forced to give birth. Niñas Madres, a new regional report by CLADEM on the issue showed that the number of births to girls under 14 years, in 12 countries in the region, was 60,690 in 2012. Most pregnancies are because of sexual abuse from family members – and impunity for perpetrators is likely to be at least 90%.   There is a severe lack of statistics on the various facets of this issue, which makes implementation of appropriate policies nearly impossible. Where laws protecting girls from sexual violence including child pregnancy and forced childbirth do exist, they are rarely implemented.   Instead of being able to access support after being being raped and made pregnant, girls such as 11-year-old Mainumby are frequently re-victimized by being sent to an institution and forced to give birth, despite the high physical and psychological risks involved. Incredibly, governments can and do perpetuate violence against girls, rather than protect them from harm and ensure they are empowered to live safe, healthy and prosperous lives.   Girls in Latin America, the Caribbean – and around the world – continue to fall through the cracks of justice systems, which fail to protect them from harm – and often exacerbate the level of violence they endure. According to UNFPA, around the world, two million births take place each year to girls under 15 years. If the current trend continues, this figure will reach three million by 2030.   There needs to be a global solution to this global problem. It is imperative that all penal codes clearly categorize sexual abuse and forced pregnancies as illegal and hold perpetrators of violence accountable. Governments must be held accountable for implementing their laws. Measures should be taken to ensure that all girls are fully safeguarded from harm in the first place, but also to ensure that they are provided with the support they need to live full and healthy lives – a scenario which would benefit not only the girl herself, but all of society. http://www.equalitynow.org/ Visit the related web page
	One in five young women kidnapped for marriage in Kyrgyzstan reveals new study by Reuters, Duke University, Open Democracy   One in five young women kidnapped for marriage in Kyrgyzstan reveals new study. (Reuters, Duke University, agencies)   About one in five young women and girls in Kyrgyzstan are kidnapped for marriage, according to a study published this week which found their babies are smaller than average, probably due to their mothers psychological distress.   Bride kidnapping, which also occurs in countries like Armenia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and South Africa, is particularly common in rural parts of the Central Asian country even though it is illegal, researchers from the U.S.-based Duke University said.   The practice, known as "ala kachuu" which means "to take and run away", involves a potential groom forcibly taking a young woman or girl back to his home before pressuring her to agree to marriage by writing a letter of consent and wearing a "marriage scarf" over her head.   In many cases, the groom will rape his kidnapped bride to prevent her from returning to her family due to shame, according to the United Nations Population Fund.   "After kidnapping, these women are no longer assumed to be virgins. In addition, they might be perceived as stubborn and belligerent if they resist the marriage.. and become less attractive to other potential suitors," the report said.   Between 16 and 23 percent of women in Kyrgyzstan are abducted for marriage, but the rate is much higher among ethnic Kyrgyz where a third of all marriages are due to kidnapping, it said.   Ethnic Kyrgyz make up 70 percent of the country''s 6 million population which also includes Uzbeks, Russians and Turks.   Kidnapped brides tend to be younger than those in love marriages or arranged marriages, with 19 being the mean age, the study found.   Nearly one in 10 girls in Kyrgyzstan are married before they turn 18, according to global charity Girls Not Brides.   Although Kyrgyzstan outlawed bride kidnapping in 2013 and banned child marriage in 2016, nearly 12,000 young women and girls are thought to be kidnapped for marriage each year, the Women''s Support Centre in Kyrgyzstan says.   The study, published in the journal Demography, also said babies born to kidnapped brides weighed 80 to 190 grammes less than those from arranged marriages. Smaller birth weights have been linked to a higher risk of disease, lower education rates and earnings, it said.   It was unclear why these babies were smaller, but it was likely due to the psychological trauma suffered by the mother from being in a forced marriage, said economics professor Charles Becker, who co-authored the study.   There also seemed to be an underlying tolerance for bride kidnapping even though it is illegal, he added.   "The stigma of having been kidnapped does not seem to be large among the Kyrgyz, and people are willing to discuss it openly, even with strangers," Becker said in a statement.   "Our next step is to explore why the practice of kidnapping is unofficially accepted in a country that quite recently had a woman president."   http://bit.ly/2f9TiZm http://bit.ly/2u2pSz8 http://tmsnrt.rs/2w5hZdB   When women in the North Caucasus are murdered by their families for supposed “immoral behaviour”, justice is rarely done, write Maria Klimova and Yulia Sugueva for Open Democracy, profiling recent court cases: http://bit.ly/2wmBlhC
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