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DIGNA, the right for women to interrupt pregnancy resulting from rape

Like any other situation women face, rape, pregnancy resulting from rape and forced pregnancy –when interruption is not accessible–, condense the discrimination women live in our societies, as well as highlighting the role social and legal institutions play in the reproduction of this discrimination. Forcing woman to continue with an unwanted pregnancy caused by rape undermines their human dignity. Therefore, it is necessary that health and justice sector professionals, as well as public administration agents, have a better understanding of their responsibilities and carry out actions to comply with the norms regarding access to lawful termination of pregnancy (LTP) of women who have been raped, thereby guaranteeing this right in Latin American Countries and the Caribbean.

Lawful termination of pregnancy (LTP) in case of rape is legal in various countries of the region, but their characteristics may vary from country to country, therefore, we make available to the community timely information that would help guarantee secure access to Legal Abortion.

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Statistics

  • By 2002, 150 million children and teenagers in the world had experienced coerced intercourse or other sexual violence, and a third of teenagers had initiated sex life forcibly (United Nations 2006)
  • Between 8 and 27% of the women and girls reported having been raped (Researching Violence Against Women 2005)
  • 6 out of 10 women around the world experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime (UNIFEM 2009) http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/
  • Partner rape varies between 5% and 47% (Violencia sexual en las Américas y el Caribe análisis de datos secundarios, 2010)
  • Between 8% and 27% of the women reports to have suffered non-partners sexual violence (Researching Violence Against Women 2005)
  • Surveys carried out in different countries of Latin America, using samples based on schools, have found that between 5% and 40% of the teenagers tells having been sexually abused at any stage of their lifetime (¡Ni una más! El derecho a vivir una vida libre de violencia en América Latina y el Caribe, 2007)
  • Studies agree that between 10 to 15% of women that are raped become pregnant. Regarding the decision of continuing the pregnancy, 50% decided to interrupt it (Investigaciones e Intervenciones Sobre Violencia Sexual Desarrolladas En América Latina y el Caribe, 2011 – El Acceso al Aborto Legal de las Mujeres Embarazadas por Violación en la Ciudad de México, 2003)
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