- In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 1.6 million girls and adolescents become mothers every year. In Mexico, although cases among girls have been reduced by almost half in a decade, the percentage remains stagnant and is still unacceptable.
- Ipas LAC calls for safe abortion, comprehensive sexuality education and collective care measures as pathways to reproductive justice and autonomy.
In the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 25, Ipas Latin America and the Caribbean (Ipas LAC) warns that child pregnancy continues to be an extreme form of gender-based and sexual violence that affects thousands of minors every year, and we must continue to fight to eradicate it.
In Mexico, for example, according to data from the Birth Information System (SINAC), between 2015 and 2024 the number of child pregnancies -that is, in girls under 15 years of age- decreased from 12 180 to 6 471 cases. However, the percentage of total pregnancies has remained stagnant at 0.6% during the last decade, which shows that the problem has not changed its proportion, despite institutional efforts.
“In women under 15 years of age, pregnancy is not the result of a deliberate decision, but a consequence of circumstances beyond their control. Gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence, is one of the main causes of child pregnancy,” said Maria Elena Collado, Ipas LAC’s deputy director of knowledge management, said Maria Elena Collado, Ipas LAC’s assistant director of Knowledge Management.
Ipas LAC notes that most of these cases do not stem from peer relationships, but from rapes perpetrated by adult men, often family members or people known to the victim.
Structural violence and reproductive rights
In Latin America and the Caribbean, every year, more than 1.6 million girls and adolescents (between 10 and 19 years of age) become mothers, that is, one every 20 seconds in the region. The adolescent fertility rate remains among the highest in the world: about 50.6 births per 1,000 among adolescents aged 15-19 years, surpassed only by Sub-Saharan Africa (UNFPA, 2025).
Forced child pregnancy not only violates the right to a life free of violence, but also seriously compromises the physical, mental and emotional health of girls and adolescents, their access to education and their ability to make choices. At the same time, limited access to sexual and reproductive health services (including safe abortion) represents another form of structural violence.
“The denial of abortion in cases of rape is also a form of institutional violence. To talk about abortion is to talk about self-care and human rights,” stressed Ipas LAC’s Knowledge Management assistant director.Ipas LAC’s Deputy Director of Knowledge Management emphasized.
Guaranteeing access to comprehensive sexuality education, contraceptives, safe medicines, and abortion and postabortion services is an obligation of the State. These actions not only protect people’s autonomy and health, but also contribute to breaking the cycles of structural violence, inequality and poverty.
Self-care and rights: an empathetic perspective
In the framework of the 25N, Ipas LAC invites to reflect on abortion as a right to self-care, so that abortion is an informed and accompanied decision that protects health and life.
“The state has an obligation to ensure that no girl is forced to become a mother. Preventing forced child pregnancy and guaranteeing safe abortion are urgent measures of justice and reparation,” concluded María Elena Coll, Ipas LAC’s deputy director of knowledge management.concluded María Elena Collado, Ipas LAC’s Deputy Director of Knowledge Management.