Talking About Colombia

The horrible statistics of violence against children give much to think about:

•    In Colombia, everyday, 3.4 children die a violent death.

•    In 2010, 1,248 children under the age of 17 were murdered. Fifty of them were younger than four years old, according to a forensics report.

•    In 2010, forensics examined 17,291 cases of sexual violence against children. About 30 percent of such cases go unreported.

•    In 2010, 81.4 percent of such crimes occurred at home; the aggressors were parents, step-parents, or relatives, according to Profamilia, an NGO that services reproductive health.

Senator Gilma Jiménez of the Green Party is lobbying for harsher punishment for the assasins and sexual abusers of children. She told El Tiempo, “Most children are hurt in their own homes.”

Much of the problem stems from unwanted pregnancies.

Read more on Senator Gilma Jiménez’s work here.