In the framework of the 193rd Session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Ipas Bolivia, represented by Dr. Malena Morales, Country Director, and Martín Vidaurre, Policy Coordinator, participated this July 21, 2025 in the thematic hearing on the situation of Sexual and Reproductive Rights (SRR) of girls and adolescents in Bolivia.
For years, together with civil society, Ipas Bolivia has been denouncing the alarming numbers of sexual violence and forced pregnancies faced by thousands of girls in the country. In 2024, 2,738 births were reported to girls under the age of 14, of which 240 were to girls under the age of 10; in other words, every two days a girl under the age of 10 became a mother as a result of a forced pregnancy (according to data from the National Health Information System – Epidemiological Surveillance – SNIS – VE).
This demonstrates how in Bolivia early and forced marriages and child unions (MUIFT) are deeply normalized, hiding cases of sexual violence under the guise of “consensual unions”. These practices force girls to drop out of school, assume forced maternity and lose their childhood, exposing them to further violence, poverty and serious consequences for their physical and mental health. They also perpetuate impunity, leaving girls without justice or opportunities for a dignified life.
Ipas Bolivia urges the Bolivian government to:
- To regulate conscientious objection in order to avoid its use as a barrier to access to legal termination of pregnancy (ILE).
- Approve a Comprehensive Program against Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents.
- Update the Plurinational Plan for the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy, which has not existed since 2020.
- Guarantee effective access to abortion at all gestational ages, without discrimination, in compliance with Constitutional Ruling 0206/2014.
- Develop campaigns to eliminate stigmatization and revictimization of girls and adolescents in health services.
- Enact a Comprehensive Law on Sexual and Reproductive Rights that guarantees access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, eliminates unsafe abortions and recognizes voluntary termination of pregnancy as a right.
The IACHR requested specific information from the Bolivian State on teenage pregnancies, rapes of girls under 10 years of age and compliance with its international obligations.
Ipas Bolivia reminds that the State has the responsibility to protect girls and adolescents, guaranteeing their health, life and dignity.
We will continue working and demanding answers until #NiñasNoMadres becomes a reality in Bolivia.
You can watch the full hearing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMGvK7rFCdQ