As migration to the US border rises, experts fear surge in sexual violence
Al Jazeera
Groups like Doctors Without Borders report an increase in sexual assault cases around migration hot spots like the Darién Gap.
Tijuana, Mexico – Marina figured, if she stayed in Venezuela, her life would be short. Maybe special security forces would kill her. Maybe the military. Maybe the police. Speaking out against the administration of Nicolás Maduro, she feared, would be a death sentence.
“One way or another, they are going to kill you,” she said. “I prefer to leave before they come to kill me.”
Marina felt she and her family had no choice but to flee. Escaping Venezuela was only the start of her troubles, though.
Marina — who asked that her full name be withheld — embarked on the perilous trek many migrants and asylum seekers take: up through Central America to the border with the United States.
There, she hoped her family would find a better life. What happened on the road, however, would leave two of her children with lasting scars.
