A 10 Year Old Gives Birth
A 10 year old girl from Colombia almost died while giving birth to a healthy baby this week. The girl is from a tribe in the jungles of Colombia and it is the first time one of the members of the tribe had ever gone to a doctor for help during pregnancy. The girl arrived because she was in enormous pain from the contractions and doctors delivered the baby via c-section. Apparently the government is not going to do anything to the father for underage sex because they are both part of this tribe. Hey, just because you are part of some tribe does not mean you get to have sex with girls who are 9 or 10 and call it part of your culture. That is messed up. Apparently the father is a 30 year old man. What kind of 30 year old would want to have sex with a 10 year old anyway?
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ReplyDeleteClearly, someone of the Dan Schneider variety.
ReplyDeleteDisturbing.
ReplyDeleteIck.
ReplyDeleteWasn't there a 5 year old from Peru in the 30s that gave birth? WTF is going on in South America?
Disturbing.
ReplyDeleteDisturbing.
ReplyDeleteI am so skeeved out now. I just want to hug my baby girl right now.
ReplyDeleteWe're only hearing about this because the girl had to go to the hospital.
ReplyDeleteThis is not uncommon in parts of the Middle East and South Asia, where child marriages are frequent.
International conventions/treaties are contradictory on these matters. Some allow for the preservation of cultural institutions and practices, while others are supposed to protect children and women. It's obvious which laws win out.
Childbirth freaked me out at age 23. I can only imagine this child is beyond traumatized.
ReplyDeleteActually, there was a 9 year old that gave birth in Colombia in the earky/mid 80's as well. Also part of an Amazonian indian tribe near the village of Leticia. I remember most of the tribe being, shall we say, pro loin-cloth and anti-western clothing? Can't remember the age of the father though.
ReplyDeleteI think most countries in Central and South America give the native tribes autonomy and basically leave them alone unless help is specifically requested (like in this instance).
I am horrified.
ReplyDeleteIn case anyone is interested...
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_youngest_birth_mothers
I'm confused. Doesn't one need to get a period first, before she can become pregnant? Since when do 10 yr olds have periods???
ReplyDeleteSadie, read the list that AKM posted. Some of these girls had precocious menstruation and began getting their period as toddlers.
ReplyDeleteThe awful thing about that list is the number of pregnancies resulting from rape or child molestation. What the hell is wrong with people (men in particular?)
ReplyDeleteSadie, I got my first period when I was 10.
ReplyDeleteRobert, don't even get me started.
It is possible to become pregnant before getting your first period, since pregnancy is based on ovulation and that happens 2 weeks before a period. It's rare, because most girls aren't having sex that young. But not impossible.
ReplyDeleteI also got my cycle when I was 10-and-a-half years old. I hit puberty early in that regard.
lol@ at people calling them "native tribes". It's 2012, time to educate yourselves a little. That includes finding out the facts about why this happened (where's the link?). Do we know that children are routinely having sex with adults? How do we know this isn't an offense within the group? Do we know that the Colombian government is the only body equipped to dole out punishment?
ReplyDeleteAnd why, after all that's been reported here about child sex and molestation in H-wood, is "Enty" suddenly confused about adults wanting to have sex with children?
What robert said. Times a million.
ReplyDeleteJasmine, the difference here is that no one has anything tangible to gain whereas in Hollywood it's part of a power play/an attempt to become famous.
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ReplyDeleteI got my first period at age 10 also. I kind of knew about what a period was but was still shocked (as was my mother - she thought I had a few more years to go).
ReplyDeleteI kind of knew as well, but my mother (the nurse) failed to tell me anything about a woman's body. She figured I'd just learn it at school. Hell, I was a senior in high school when I realized "penis" and "vagina" weren't swear words.
ReplyDeleteI got my period at 8, but my mum had already started listening to 'your changing body' cassettes while we did dishes since she knew that she could get me to stand there long enough to listen to them properly.
ReplyDeleteWhoa- I forgot there was another Jasmine who posted on this site. And just my luck- she sounds like an Enty conspirasist haha.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think that obviously it is common knowledge this DOES happen in the world, what's more upsetting to me is that governments continue to condone the various forms of oppression and violence these women are facing in these cultures.
I dont care HOW ethnocentric it sounds or whether some tribe is facing extinction- having sex with a child is WRONG no matter how acceptable it is in any particular culture. Shame on the Colombian govt for not stepping in.
@Jasmine (orig)
ReplyDeleteIt's only wrong because you've been socialized to think its wrong.
But when you're in charge of a diverse nation where indigenous peoples live, you have to respect the autonomy of said tribe, whether you (as in vous) agree with it or not.
Sue Ellen- I realize that I've been socialized to think it's a taboo, this is why I mentioned knowing I was about to sound ethnocentric.
ReplyDeleteAnd I sorta see your point about having to juggle being in charge of a diverse population.
I just will NEVER see sex with a child who is not old enough to know what is consensual or not as RIGHT.
I feel the same way about female circumcision, but that's a whole other bag of worms, haha.
Puberty is not very important among boys, but girls are exposed to rituals when they start menstruating, requiring them to go through a period of seclusion.
ReplyDeleteThe girl is obliged to get a haircut shaving her head, and to rest in a hammock hung near the house. She is also fed with a special vegetarian diet called Jaguapi, bathes with frequency.
She is taught on how to become a woman and female labor: sewing, birth control, pregnancy and maybe erotic techniques.
This came from here
http://wayuutribeinfo.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/wayuu-religion.html
also
in 1913 creating a direct influence over the Rancherias of Guarrachal, El Pájaro, Carazúa, Guaraguao, Murumana, Garra patamana and KarraipÃa. While Nazareth had some control over the rancherÃas of Taroa, Maguaipa, Guaseipá and Alpanapause.
The friars constantly visited the settlements inviting to attend mass. Wayuu children in the orphanage were educated with traditional European customs.
Conflicts between the Wayuu people and the Colombian government decreased since then. In 1942 Uribia celebrated for the first time Christmas and New Year's Eve.[2]
which came from here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayuu_people
@Sue Ellen, you may feel it's the correct thing to do, but you don't have to accept someone's core beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI am not down with cannibalism. I am not ok with 30 year old men having sex with 10 year olds to reproduce, or for any reason. This country believed slavery was ok. If nothing changed that would still be happening.
Also in the beginning of the 1900's it really wasn't that common in the US for pre-teens to be marrying twenty-somethings. That is a bit of a misconception.
I got my period when I was 9 and my mom was too horrified to talk to my sister and I about anything remotely related to that. She put a box of pads and a book on my bed. The book had a girl wearing a poodle skirt and the question I remember most is
ReplyDeleteCan I dance while I am menstruating?
Answer: Yes, but only in moderation
hahahahah
I always talked to my kids about everything, but I sure wish I had that book now, to laugh with my daughter about.
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ReplyDeleteI got my period at 11, and had friends who began at 10. Also, at 11, I was 5'6", wore a c-cup bra and looked like I was 18.
ReplyDeletePhysically, sure, I looked like a woman. And in a tribal situation I suppose I would have been considered ready for baby-makin'.
Our notion of a menstruating girl with breasts still being considered a non-sexual child is, well, modern.
@kelly, that is HIGHlarious! I also remember hearing that you shouldn't swim during your period because your uterus could get infected, haha. As if menstruation is an open wound. And that was in the mid-1970s.
ReplyDelete@Rose
ReplyDeleteSpeaking in purely political terms, you do have to accept the indigenous peoples traditions whether you like it or not.
End of.
@figgy - Holy s! You were 5'6" and wore a C cup when you were 11 years old? My 11 year old self would have been so jealous of you.
ReplyDeletePopcorn, I was 5'6" and a 36D when I was 12. I was hit on by a Santa Claus at the mall, but I was, well, 12 so it took me years to realize he was hitting on me.
ReplyDeleteI have relatives who went to school in the DR. The DR is known for their MLB players - who you would think are more Americanized since they live and work here. However, they go home and are caught having sex w/12,13,14 year olds. It is no big deal there, so unless some mainstream media gets ahold of the news, we never hear about it. Big Papi aka David Ortiz was reported about around five years ago. As far as I know, nothing happened - the age of consent is as young as 8!! The closer you are to the equator, the warmer the climate and girls tend to mature faster. Now w/hormones in our foods, girls are starting their periods younger and younger. I found this out because they were in the DR for med school (now both practicing doctors in the US). The only reason I knew is because people were calling Big Papi a racist and knowing he was Dominican, I asked my relative and found out all this lovely information. It still grosses me out, but it is a completely different culture...
ReplyDeleteDarn spell correct - rapist not racist!!
DeleteWe have a ten-year old at our school who was raped by a man her mother let live in their trailer with them. She gave birth as a fifth grader..... We pretty much kept it from the children as she was on "home bound" for several months. What a mess.
ReplyDeleteUgh. This just pains me to think about.
ReplyDelete"What kind of 30 year old would want to have sex with a 10 year old anyway?"
ReplyDeleteA pervert?? Roman Polanski?? Wilmer valderrama??
The thing is, it's happening and only once in a while do we hear about the child giving birth.
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ReplyDelete@SueEllen- once we stop hiding behind 'cultural practice' as a valid reason for raping children, all of society will be better as a whole. Children have never had the power of consent and never will, because they are children. Everyone else is always more powerful than them.
ReplyDeleteIt is never okay. It wasn't okay when the Greeks raped little boys in ancient times, it is not okay for 30 year old men to 'marry' 10 year old girls now.
-Butterfly
Www.reasonsyoushouldntfuckkids.wordpress.com
^ Everything Butterfly said.
ReplyDeleteLet's not continue this politically correct bs about how we modern Americans don't understand how the world works, other cultures need to be protected, etc. F*cking kids is wrong. PERIOD. FOREVER. END OF STORY.
"What kind of 30 year old would want to have sex with a 10 year old anyway?"
ReplyDeleteSadly, the answer is pretty much any adult male that thought they wouldn't get caught. Some pedophiles are opportunistic in their crimes & victims.
I believe they're called "pedophiles" she says sarcastically.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for cultural sensitivity, but I hope anyone who has sex with a child gets painful penis rot and dies a miserable death.
ReplyDelete^^^ surfer, you stole the words out of my mouth. Dan Schneider. Sicko.
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ReplyDelete@snowstorm- i'm dominican. please educate yourself before you start spewing nonsense. the age of consent IS NOT 8. it's actually 18, and i know a lot of guys that have gone to jail for having sex with 16 yo's. sadly, as is the case in the states as well, pedophilia occurs, and is more widespread in the lower social stratae (which big papi comes from). however, as a society, we DO NOT condone it, accept it or see it as normal. david ortiz's way of acting is actually a product of his time at the states (thinking he can do whatever he wants just because he hit it big), and please don't say he should have been americanized as if the rest of the world were filled with savages- you sound ignorant. want an example of an all-american guy? read up on jerry sandusky hon.
ReplyDeleteSour girl, I have Dominican family members. So, while I do not divulge that much personal info, I was not speaking out of ignorance. I enjoy the DR, wish I could find the rum soaked coconuts here in the states. I don't know the exact age of consent, I am sorry for being so very off. However I do know what goes on down there and it goes on in the states too. I am sorry I offended you. It surely was not my intention.
ReplyDelete