A/HRC/44/52/Add.2 societal problem, fear of retaliation and stigmatization, the lack of trust in law enforcement agencies and the low quality of existing services and protection mechanisms for victims of violence. C. Sexual violence, including rape, with specific focus on girls 58. According to data received during the Special Rapporteur’s visit from the Attorney General’s Office, between August 2014 and October 2019, a total of 5,426 rape cases were filed in court. Between January and June 2019 alone, there were 2,430 reported cases of rape, equivalent to 14 reported cases of rape a day. Between 10 August 2014 and 30 November 2015, official statistics showed a total number of 7,407 reported cases of rape, sexual assault and other sexual violence against women, in which only 72 resulted in the perpetrator being sentenced. 12 This means that only 1 per cent of complaints of sexual violence against women actually result in a sentence. 59. Sexual violence within intimate partner relationships is still largely a taboo subject in Ecuador, with low levels of reporting. When intimate partner sexual abuse is reported, it is less likely to result in prosecution and conviction than assault by a stranger. 60. Sexual violence against children and adolescent girls remains prevalent in Ecuador, as does the high level of impunity in these cases (CRC/C/ECU/CO/5-6, paras. 26–27). Girls under 14 years old are in fact the primary victims of sexual violence. Between 2015 and 2017, there were 718 reported cases of sexual violence against children under the age of 10.13 The Attorney General’s Office receives an annual average of 14 reports of rape each day, in 3 of which the victims are girls under the age of 14.14 61. The rate of teenage pregnancy in Ecuador remains among the highest in Latin America. In Ecuador, the birth rate among girls aged between 10 and 14 years old increased from 2.5 per 1,000 births in 201315 to 2.6 per 1,000 births in 2018.16 In 2018, over 2,000 girls under 15 gave birth. Not included in these statistics are cases in which the pregnancy ended in miscarriage, stillbirth or with therapeutic or clandestine abortion, meaning that the overall numbers of child and teenage pregnancies in Ecuador in 2018 are likely to have been much higher. 62. The Special Rapporteur was troubled to learn that incest is prevalent in certain provinces, where local customs deem it more appropriate for girls to have their first sexual experience with a family member rather than a stranger. It is reported that 9 out of 10 girls under the age of 14 have their first sexual experience with persons older than them, while 8 out of every 100 become pregnant by men aged 30 years or older. In half of the reported cases, the family failed to take steps to prevent the sexual abuse within the family from happening again.17 63. A large number of child and adolescent pregnancies are the result of sexual violence. According to the law, children cannot legally give consent before the age of 14, which means that sex with anyone younger than 14 years old is, by definition, rape. 12 13 14 15 16 17 Ecuador, Fiscalía General del Estado, “Las víctimas de violencia de género también reciben ayuda legal y psicol��gica”, Revista Fiscalía Ciudadana, No. 39 (2016), p. 9. Coalición Nacional de Mujeres del Ecuador, “Contribución conjunta para la lista de cuestiones anterior a reportar” (2019), para. 21. Available at https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/ 15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCEDAW%2fIFR%2fECU%2f34223&Lan g=en. Soraya Constante, “El delito de abortar en Ecuador”, El Pais, 28 September 2016. Inter-American Commission of Women, Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI). Informe hemisférico sobre violencia sexual y embarazo infantil en los Estados Parte de la Convención de Belém do Pará, para. 87. INEC, “Estadísticas vitales: registro estadístico de nacidos vivos y defunciones 2018”, p. 12. Available at www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/documentos/web-inec/Poblacion_y_Demografia/ Nacimientos_Defunciones/2018/Principales_resultados_nac_y_def_2018.pdf. Data provided to the Special Rapporteur during the visit by representatives of UNICEF. 11