Lima.- The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) denounced that the death of a 13-year-old Peruvian girl shortly after giving birth at home was preventable and warned that it is not an isolated incident, as barriers to access to sexual and reproductive health services are costing lives.
The girl died on August 1 shortly after giving birth at her home in the center of the Peruvian Andes, after having been the victim of an alleged sexual assault.
“This is a preventable death that should never have happened, just as sexual violence against girls, boys, and adolescents should not happen. The Peruvian State and its institutions must guarantee the comprehensive protection of children”, said Unicef in a statement.
She added that, in the particular case of pregnant girls, institutions must grant access to information, health services, care, psychosocial and legal support to exercise the rights granted to them by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Peruvian regulations.
The deceased girl’s mother told journalists that the minor lost consciousness after the delivery and was found dead two hours later.
“Este no es un caso aislado. Según información del Ministerio de Salud, el fallecimiento de niñas y adolescentes menores de 19 años por causas relacionadas al embarazo o el parto representaron el 14 % de las muertes maternas en el país en el 2024”,
sostuvo Unicef.
He affirmed that violence against children, “which has in sexual violence the most extreme situation of violation of rights”, must convene the entire State and society so that comprehensive protection measures for children are extended, without exceptions.
UNICEF and UNPFA reported that in the last three years, maternal mortality of those under 19 has progressively increased, from 10.9% in 2019 to 14.3% in 2024, equivalent to 35 of the 244 deaths recorded that year.
