The Peru violated the rights of one 13 years old, rape victim and incestas he not only did not allow her to undergo an abortion but also sentenced her to prison after her abortion, complained today Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The girl, who comes from an indigenous tribe, appealed to this UN Commission explaining that her father raped her from the age of 9 until she became pregnant at the age of 13 in 2017.

“I am appalled by the way the national authorities treated a young 13-year-old girl, a victim of rape and incest,” said Ann Skelton, the president of the Commission, estimating that Peru violated the child’s rights to health and life. “Instead of being protected (…) she was harassed by the health, police and judicial authorities. In fact, from a victim he turned into a perpetrator,” he emphasized.

When she first went to the hospital in Abankai, the 13-year-old stated that she did not wish to keep the fetus and repeated her request, but was never informed that she had the right to undergo a therapeutic termination of pregnancy. Peru, a conservative, Catholic country, allows therapeutic abortion only when the mother’s life is in danger.

With the help of a non-governmental organization, the girl submitted a termination request to the hospital and to the prosecutor investigating her rape, but never received a response.

The health staff, for their part, insisted on having her undergo prenatal tests – going so far as to go to her home, accompanied by police officers, when she did not show up at the hospital.

Stigmatized even within her family and community, the 13-year-old was forced to drop out of school in her village. After she miscarried, she was convicted without proof of an illegal abortion, a charge that carries a two-year prison sentence. The conviction was overturned in 2019, after her appeal to justice.

The Commission, made up of 18 independent experts, calls on Peru to decriminalize abortion for minors and ensure that all young girls have access to safe termination of pregnancy, especially if their life and health are at risk or if these are cases of rape and incest.