In the last three years in Ecuador, every day seven girls between the ages of 10 and 14 have given birth, which legally means that sexual abuse has been committed. With adolescents between 15 and 19 years old, 65 births are registered every day. Some 26,000 childbirths are recorded in minors each year in Ecuador.
This alarming figure places the country among the nations with the highest rate of premature pregnancies in Latin America. According to the National Observatory, in 2016 in Ecuador 2,115 girls between 10 and 14 years old became mothers and more than 23,000 adolescents between 15 and 17 also suffered from early pregnancy.
As of today, many unheard voices are still victims of sexual abuse which then turns into teenage early pregnancy and then into a chain of abuse, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking. To cut this problem from the root is our goal. Pray for these girls, so that they can grow old in a peaceful environment where their rights are respected. Together we can make a change.