Costa Rica News – Girls are being used by their own parents, rented out for sexual purposes.
The Ministry of Health, the Mesoamerican Initiative and other institutions are trying to curb this abuse as well as teen pregnancies.
Every 90 minutes a baby is born in Costa Rica to a teen mom. Parents are offering up their young girls to store and bar owners to have sexual encounters in exchange for debts being forgiven.
This is sadly seen as common in rural areas where there is much poverty and little opportunity. Sex with minors is traded for easy money, payment of liquor or gambling debts and to get a better job.
Community members and public officials are urged to make complaints reporting such activity.
Families are urged to see the violence in this behavior. A bill is stalled in Congress to punish with prison the act of sex with anyone under 15 years old.
