Raped, miscarried, arrested: Inside El Salvador’s ‘outrageous’ state-sponsored persecution of vulnerable women

Raped, miscarried, arrested: Inside El Salvador’s ‘outrageous’ state-sponsored persecution of vulnerable women

Dozens of women are serving decades-long sentences in the country for miscarriages and stillbirths, often as a result of rape, with some handcuffed to a bed while they are still haemorrhaging. Lucy Anna Gray speaks to the activists and lawyers fighting to free them and change the law once and for all

The Independent, Tom Ford
Sep 1, 2019

After 33-months in prison for having a stillbirth as a result of rape, Evelyn Hernandez was released. Less than two years later she was dragged back to trial with prosecutors demanding she be sentenced to 40 years for aggravated homicide. The now 21-year-old spent three years going through trials, jail and scrutiny, all while she was still recovering. In her first trial, Hernandez didn’t use the sexual assault as defence out of fear of violent repercussion. It wasn’t until she later received therapy that she would share this information.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/el-salvador-abortion-rape-laws-miscarriage-evelyn-hernandez-birth-a9083021.html