Violence

Girls and teenagers around the world suffer different forms of violence during their lifetime

“If we talk about female genital mutilation, it is a forbidden practice in Chad, but people continue to do it confidentially and secretly. To get to the mutilation, there is a whole process that involves the parents and people very close to the parents. How a girl, who is a minor, is going to be able to denounce all these people in court. It’s really very difficult.”

Sifa Kaite

JRS Chad Child Protection Coordinator.

“I am married, a mother of four boys and two girls. I was married at a very young age and did not have the opportunity to finish my studies. Our economic situation was difficult. My mother told me that I was grown up and that she was going to give me in marriage. I told her that I did not want to get married. But I was forced to marry that man at the age of 15.”

Iklas

Sudanese refugee in Iridimi camp, Chad.

“It happens that fathers drink, humiliate their daughters, do more to boys than to girls. In some families the fathers themselves harm their daughters. I used to say to my father “I want to study” and he told me “why are you going to study if you are a woman, you are still going to get married and they are going to feed you”. That’s why my father said that the best thing to do would be to stop studying and be able to help him financially. So, when I was 12 years old, I worked as a cook in a house. I cooked meals, washed clothes, did the housework. I stopped studying for five years.

Kim

Alumna of Fe y Alegría Guatemala.

MORE THAN 200 MILLION GIRLS IN THE WORLD HAVE UNDERGONE GENITAL MUTILATION.

Apart from causing serious psychological damage, female genital mutilation causes problems in pregnancy and childbirth, sexual dysfunction and chronic infections. In addition, girls lose access to education, given the health complications and pain involved. In some areas, the costs associated with the mutilation ceremony may result in school dropout due to the family’s inability to pay for both.

This form of violence is widespread, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in some Middle Eastern countries – Iraq and Yemen – and in Indonesia.

The main reason for female genital mutilation is the belief that it is necessary to get a good marriage. In some communities, girls who do not undergo mutilation are considered promiscuous and unclean and do not get married.

Not only does it pose a serious risk to their health, but it also violates the fundamental human rights of girls around the world.

EVERY YEAR 12 MILLION GIRLS ARE MARRIED BEFORE THE AGE OF 18

Globally, 1 in 5 women aged 20-24 (19%) were forced into child marriage. Poverty, armed conflict and humanitarian crises encourage this practice. Many families see the marriage of their daughters as a safe way out to avoid harassment or physical or sexual assaults, which are common in conflict zones.

Child marriage deprives girls of their basic rights to health, education and security: they are more vulnerable to multiple forms of violence, more likely to be in poorer health, more likely to have children at very young ages when they are physically and psychologically unprepared, and more likely to drop out of school. In some countries, complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of mortality among adolescent girls aged 15-19 years.

Child marriage is a serious violation of girls’ rights and is the most widespread form of sexual abuse and exploitation of children under the age of 18.

150 MILLION HAVE SUFFERED SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Twenty-seven percent of girls in the world suffer sexual violence and it is in Latin America where the panorama is most worrying: in 2017 more than one million girls and adolescents were victims of this type of violence.

These girls face, in addition to unwanted pregnancies and psychological trauma and suffering, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. They may be socially excluded, which leads them to live on the street or engage in sex work. In cultures where virginity is highly valued, sexual violence can stigmatize girls, as it is seen as a stain on family honor, leading in extreme cases to the murder of the victim.

99% OF THE 4.5 MILLION TRAFFICKED AND SEXUALLY EXPLOITED VICTIMS ARE WOMEN AND GIRLS

Around the world, girls are subjected to different forms of abuse and exploitation, including overburdening them with domestic chores. Most girls are forced to perform household chores such as cooking, fetching firewood, fetching water or caring for younger siblings. All of this hinders their educational continuity, prevents their comprehensive development and violates their rights.

The average age of girls who are sexually exploited is between 11 and 14 years old, and they are trapped in cycles of violence that include rape, torture, forced abortions, starvation and threats of murder to family members. 34.2 million girls and women are refugees or displaced, making them even more prone to suffer any form of violence or abuse.

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