According to Doctors Without Borders, sexual violence against migrants on the route to the US is increasing. Since the beginning of the year, the organization has treated 397 people who were victims of sexual violence in the Darién jungle, between Colombia and Panama, Doctors Without Borders reported this Saturday. Attacks have increased significantly recently; 107 cases were registered in October alone.
According to the victims, they were robbed and raped by armed men in the difficult-to-access region. “This needs to be stopped. Sexual violence affects people’s physical and mental health,” said MSF’s medical coordinator in the region, Carmenza Gálvez. “Victims can suffer injuries, contract sexually transmitted diseases, become unintentionally pregnant, suffer from guilt, depression and anxiety.”
The so-called Tapón del Darién is a gap in the Pan-American highway system. The approximately 100 kilometer walk starts in Colombia, in South America, and leads to Panama, in Central America. The march can last up to ten days.
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The jungle is one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world – not only because of the impassable terrain, partly mountainous and partly swampy, but also because of the gangs active there. Since the beginning of the year, almost 460,000 migrants have crossed the Darién jungle. Most migrants come from Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba and want to reach the USA.