In Mexico, Teen Girls Cope with Early Motherhood Nicole Crowder - The Washington Post
go to original October 24, 2015

Gloria and her baby at home. (Christian Rodriguez)

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Latin America is the only region in the world where teenage pregnancy is still increasing. Mexico has become a worldwide leader in teen pregnancy. One in every two girls who have begun having sex between the ages of 12 and 19 becomes pregnant. Each year, more than 11,000 babies are born to girls between the ages of 10 and 14. Access to continued education is one of the key ways young girls can avoid the vulnerability of becoming early mothers, according to Mexico’s Director of UNFPA Leonor Calderon.

“For Mexico and the Latin American countries it is a fundamental human right to complete the basic education cycle, so we have the obligation to avoid any cultural practice that could limit that right,” Calderon said. “In many cases, it has to do with the absence of a life project that could give a hope or encouragement to continue on their studies.”

Photographer Christian Rodriguez’s stunning series “A Mixe Flower” takes a closer look at the issue of teen pregnancy in Latin America — Mexico in particular — by documenting a 13-year old named Gloria Rafael Valentin who was repeatedly raped and abused by her father before giving birth when she was 12.

See the photos at The Washington Post

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