Reports of the crime of sex with minors almost tripled in ten years, as they went from 317 in 2005, to reach a total of 914 complaints in 2014.
This was revealed by the Statistics Department of the Judiciary, where there is steady increase of complaints filed in courts for this offense in the last decade.
Fanny Cordero, spokeswoman for the National Children’s Trust (PANI), explained that sexual relations with people under 15 years old are prohibited and from 15 years old on, they have the freedom to establish relationships, provided there is no abuse from none of the parts.
PANI reports an annual average of 14,000 teen pregnancies, 89% of which are estimated to be the result of relationships between adults and minors, so the figure would exceed the 12 thousand births by this type of relations.
The situation has raised concerns in different institutions, especially since in many cases the age difference is more than 10 years. Therefore, PANI has formalized its support for the bill that seeks to ban the marriage of adults with minors, a goal which is among the main objectives of the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It is clear that teenagers are not ready for marriage or motherhood. They must be in schools and colleges. About 19% of births in the country are from teenage mothers and young people who do not study or have a paid job,”
said Alice Shackelford, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Costa Rica.