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13-year-old rape victim in Mexico refused abortion after judge rules it was 'sexual coercion'

Human rights campaigners have taken up the case of a 13-year-old girl whom they say has been denied her legal right

Rachael Revesz
New York
Tuesday 02 August 2016 15:25 BST
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Protesters in Mexico City say 'No means no' when it comes to consent
Protesters in Mexico City say 'No means no' when it comes to consent

A 13-year-old rape victim has been denied access to an abortion after a judge ruled that the alleged assault was “coercion”.

The ruling has come despite the abortion being the girl’s legal right and medical evidence that she was subjected to sexual violence.

In May, the teenager was at home during a school holiday when she was sexually assaulted by a work colleague of her father’s. The teenager reported her attacker to the police and a medical report corroborated her version of the alleged crime.

The public prosecutor accused the abuser of rape, according to The Guardian.

A judge in the state of Sonora instead accused the alleged attacker of having illegal sex with a minor.

Rape-related abortions are legal in the region and local health officials are blocking the girl’s access to the procedure.

When Mexico City legalised abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in 2007, other Mexican states tightened up their restrictions on terminating a foetus.

By downgrading the nature of the crime from rape to coercion, the abortion in Sonora would not be legal for the victim.

The move is being protested by human rights campaigners, who argue that the judge’s interpretation of the crime does not alter the fact that the girl was assaulted and became pregnant as a result of rape.

"This is important in terms of the criminal investigation, but should not affect access to legal termination," said Regina Tamés, president of GIRE, a women’s rights organization, told El País.

"She was the victim of a sexual assault, and, as such, it is irrelevant what the judge considers to be a crime or not. There is no legal impediment preventing the authorities from supporting her," she added.

In Mexico, 25 per cent of girls are sexually assaulted before reaching 18 years old, according to a survey by the Executive Commission of Attention to Victims.

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