Rights and Opportunities Promotion for Adolescents

Of the total population of Guatemala, 59.3% (9.6 million) live in poverty. Of these, 39% are children and adolescents between the ages of 0 and 15 years. Worse yet, 23.4% of the population live in situations of extreme poverty, of which 46% are girls, boys and adolescents of the aforementioned age group (INE, 2014).

In Guatemala, a country in which most of the population is young, complaints are filed every day regarding hundreds of crimes committed against the integrity and dignity of girls, boys and adolescents, who are repeatedly victims of violence. This violence has serious repercussions on their physical and mental development, while the daily investment by the Guatemalan state is of only 0.73 dollars to cover education, health and security, among other items. In this regard, it is both important and urgent to join efforts to prevent and eradicate all crimes that lead to deaths and abuses against this population group.

Young women aged 13 to 18 are the most vulnerable to suffer violence as a result of sexist patterns beneath which numerous discriminatory practices and sexual violence come to be considered normal. Faced with the reality of poverty in Guatemalan rural areas, many indigenous adolescents and young adults are forced to start working at a very young age in order to pay for primary school. This, at the same time, lowers performance and retention in the education system, making it more difficult to bring their educational level to a point at which it enhances their job opportunities.

Furthermore, many of these young people do not know their rights nor the legal framework intended to protect children and adolescents. Lack of access to education also leads to ignorance concerning aspects of community life that could ensure their development in conditions of equity and in an environment that offers comprehensive protection.