Despite the authorities’ denials of irregularities, organisations and specialists are raising the alarm about child pregnancies linked to sexual violence in centres intended to protect vulnerable minors.
Mario Hubert Garrido
Although the government denies it, cases of pregnancy among young girls and adolescents in shelters designed to care for minors without family protection, run by the National Department for Childhood, Adolescence and Family (Senniaf), are rife in Panama.
Lilibeth Cárdenas, the recently-appointed head of Senniaf – an organisation facing a structural crisis and that has already had at least four directors – speaking at the María Guadalupe shelter in the capital, said that at that centre there were no such anomalies among girls aged eight and nine, despite the complaints.
According to a database belonging to the child protection organisation ‘DAPI’, responsible for supervising the centres, there is no record whatsoever of such cases in any of the six shelters for adolescent mothers and pregnant adolescents. The newspaper ‘La Estrella de Panamá’ described a recent visit to the María Guadalupe shelter, currently home to 15 girls and adolescents between 13 and 17 years old, although in the past it has handled cases of girls eight and nine years old.
According to the newspaper, there are minors there bringing up children, a scene that is not exceptional as it forms part of a persistent trend. Statistics from the United Nations Population Fund show that Panama has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the region at 57 for every thousand.
Every day, at least 21 girls and adolescents become pregnant. Between 2021 and 2024, almost 28,000 cases were recorded among under-19s.
Latin America still has one of the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy in the world with an average of 52 births per thousand adolescents.
The highest figures recorded are in countries like Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, reaching between 70 and 90 cases per thousand. Panama is situated above the regional average while countries like Chile, Uruguay and Argentina have the lowest rates, between 30 and 50 or sometimes even less. The problem is exacerbated in indigenous Panamanian areas like Ngäbe Buglé, the newspaper adds, since in some places like the Kankintú district over 45% of adolescent mothers never went to school.
Nationally, provinces like Herrera, Los Santos and Panama also have a high incidence, together with the indigenous territories.
With regard to health, professionals warn of the risks brought by these early pregnancies among adolescents.
The gyno-obstetrician Saskya Linares says pregnancies in girls from eight years of age are classified as child pregnancies and, in practice, are always linked to situations of sexual abuse.
The effects are not only physical, she states, as there is also a lack of emotional and psychological readiness to face motherhood at that age.
She also highlights that, in many cases, the victims’ contact with the health system comes too late. Abuse usually occurs in close environments, under threat or through manipulation, which delays reporting and limits the medical options available, she emphasises. Although Panamanian law allows abortion in cases of rape under certain conditions, in practice for many girls it is too late to take this option.
Sexual violence
Official Senniaf statistics show that in 2025 there were 387 cases recorded of adolescent pregnancies linked to situations of abuse and violence, and so far in 2026 there are already 146.
Among under-14s, the number of cases recorded is lower, but they are no less serious: each case has a story of sexual violence behind it.
In Panama, abortion is governed by the penal code (article 144), which allows it only in two circumstances: when the woman’s life or health is at risk or when the pregnancy is the result of a rape meeting specific medical and legal conditions.
However, in practice, access is limited. Late reporting, bureaucracy, lack of information and social pressure mean many girls continue with pregnancies they did not choose. PL
(Translated by Philip Walker – Email: philipwalkertranslation@gmail.com) – Photos: Pixabay
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