With only 11 years of age, Mariana has suffered sexual abuse for almost half of her life from her father. First, she faced the violence alone, for fear of threats made by her aggressor, who told her not to tell anyone. Many other victims live in silence because of fear.
It all started one afternoon when Mariana was playing in her room; her father came in and took out her brother Marco. Alone with her, Germán began to touch her. The child paralyzed with fear and did not understand what was happening. That was the first of the repeated molestations that lasted five years: in the room, in the bathroom, and the kitchen, it always happened when her mother, Carolina, was not there.
Sexual assaults against the child were documented in other places.
"It was at my grandparents' house; on weekends, when he left me with them, he would abuse me. I remember that once it was Tuesday, I had homework to do, and he took me to my grandparents. My sister stayed with my mother", says Mariana, who is a quiet and shy girl.
"He told my grandparents that I slept with him because he also has a bedroom in their house, I said no to my grandparents, but he took me with him anyways", recalls the child.
Mariana''s biggest fear was that her father would hurt his mother or his two siblings, a four-year-old girl and a ten-year-old boy. She knew he was capable of harming them since Germán had a history of domestic violence against Carolina and the children.
Family dynamics were an essential factor in this case since the roles reversed. Carolina was the one who went to work to sustain the house expenses, while Germán drank alcohol.
One day Marco, Mariana''s younger brother, witnessed by accident what his father was doing to her. Germán slapped him and ordered the child to get out. Scared, they notified an uncle who told his mother what was happening.
"Germán is a violent person, he didn't want to work, so I was forced to make sales by catalog and left my children in his charge. My brothers told me that my children had spoken out to them that when I was absent, he abused my oldest girl, that's why I decided to report it to the authorities", says Carolina, while her voice shows a mixture of anger and fear.
On June 9, 2019, they filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Mexico City, but so far, there has not been much progress, a fact that keeps the family in suspense, for the fear that Germán will return and try to hurt them.
The authorities notified her that they could proceed against him on the crimes of corruption of minors, rape, and sexual abuse. The complaint states that it is aggravated sexual abuse by kinship. However, in more than six months, there has been no progress in the case.
LA SILLA ROTA sought the Attorney General''s Office in Mexico City to know his position on this case. He stated that "the instruction is clear and is being requested to expedite the order to prosecute the investigation folder. At this time, it is still in the process of integration, since different procedures are needed, one is the extension of the interviews; another is the extension of the medical opinion".
Eight out of ten cases, the aggressor is someone close. Unfortunately, Mariana''s case is not isolated; it is a modus operandi that replicates in the country. According to data gathered from the Network for the Children''s Rights of Mexico, 8 out of 10 cases of sexual abuse against children and adolescents occur in "protected" places such as home, school, churches, and sports centers.
The United Nations Children''s Fund also notes in its report, "Statistical overview of violence against girls, boys, and adolescents in Mexico," that children who are victims of domestic assault are also at school and in their community.
They are exposed to combinations of violence that include sexual abuse, screams and threats, and beatings. Another risk they identify is that children who are victims are highly likely to suffer another aggression. UNICEF warns that "revictimization can also be institutional, and it occurs when victims or witnesses of any form of violence are subjected to practices, protocols or methods harmful to their well-being."
The risk increases when taking into account that 6 out of 10 Mexican fathers and mothers do not know how to identify and face a situation of sexual abuse. According to the report, "Violence in Early Childhood," they do not believe that any minor is susceptible to living it.
(María José Pardo/ Traducción: Valentina K. Yanes)