The Health Protocol fails survivors of sexual violence in Honduras

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Nuestra edición de setiembre 2026, “Niña, interrumpida”, incluye reportajes becados por La Sala: Mujeres en la Redacción, con el apoyo de Vikes (Fundación Finlandesa para los Medios y el Desarrollo). Medios de Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua y Costa Rica, incluyendo El Colectivo 506, se unieron para el retroceso y los desafíos en los derechos de la niñez y adolescencia en Centroamérica. Lea más sobre la edición y La Sala aquí.

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Editor’s note:

The names of the victim and her mother have been changed to protect the identity, privacy, and safety of the minor, in accordance with international child rights standards and Honduran legislation on the protection of children and adolescents.

“Just like they raped her, they raped me.” Those words, spoken by her daughter, who was only 11 years old, left Carmen paralyzed. She will never forget them.

A year after the sexual assault, the girl dared to confess what she had suffered at the hands of her own uncle, who was supposed to protect her, but instead became her abuser.

Carmen, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, learned a year later that her daughter had been assaulted by her husband’s brother. The news filled her with deep guilt—for not having recognized the danger sooner, and for the fact that her daughter had not trusted her enough to tell her what had happened at the time.

The confession came when another rape case against a 9-year-old girl, allegedly committed by her own father, came to light in the community. That day, while Carmen was discussing the news with her daughter, the girl began to recount the assault committed by her uncle, who took advantage of the fact that she and her younger sister were alone at home.

“Mommy, first it was me and now another girl,” she confessed.

“During those days, we learned in the community that a father had raped his daughter,” Carmen recounts through tears. “Sadly, these cases happen all too often in these neglected communities, where the State’s presence is nonexistent. I remember she started crying. I asked her, ‘What’s wrong?’ When I heard her say, ‘Just like they raped her, they raped me,’ I felt an emptiness in my chest. I felt responsible. I was supposed to protect my daughter, and I failed; instead, I put her in the hands of her attacker.”

Carmen is originally from an indigenous Tolupan community in Yoro, the departmental capital, in northern Honduras. Their community is an area rich in forests and natural resources, abandoned by the State and coveted by timber and mining entrepreneurs.

The last National Demographic and Health Survey conducted in the country more than 10 years ago highlights the deficiencies in health and education in these Tolupan communities. The percentage of chronic malnutrition among children under five is almost double that of other departments in Honduras, and unmet basic needs reach an alarming 70.6%. The population living in extreme poverty stands at 48.5%, well above the national average of 31%.

Carmen was clear that her fight was against those who seek to dispossess indigenous peoples of their ancestral territory, but she never imagined that she would also have to protect her daughter from her fellow fighters and from her family environment.

“That man, who was not only my brother-in-law but also a fellow activist, abused my daughter when she was barely 10 years old. He did it when my other, younger daughter was also there. …That was one of the worst days of my life. I left her alone and I failed her. I allowed that man to hurt her,” says Carmen, visibly shaken.

A crime that is rarely reported

Honduras is among the countries with the highest rates of sexual abuse against girls and adolescents. According to Plan International Honduras, a minor is sexually abused every five hours. Most of these cases are never reported and remain hidden within homes.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office, through the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of Children, registered a total of 4,976 rape cases between 2023 and 2025. Among the most common crimes are sexual abuse, incest, and “special violations,” which Honduran legislation describes as sexual assault with penetration and without consent.

Impunity reigns in Honduras. Civil society organizations confirmed for this report that more than 90% of these cases go uninvestigated and that those responsible remain unpunished. The same fate awaits the man who sexually assaulted Carmen’s daughter.

The complaint was filed a year after the crime, but the progress of the investigation is still unknown. Carmen confirms that her daughter’s attacker remains free: she frequently encounters him in the community and even sees him actively participating in community organizing groups that promote the defense of their territory.

After learning of the rape, Carmen says the abuse and pressure continued for her daughter. The family situation became tense; several relatives refused to believe her and asked her to forget the assault. They told her the girl had made it up and that reporting it would be the worst thing she could do.

However, Carmen was certain that this time she would not let her daughter down.

She sought support from the environmental organization she belongs to. One of her colleagues helped her file a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office. Her daughter underwent an evaluation and gave a statement. The aggressor was summoned to testify, and a case file was opened.

And the Prosecutor’s Office?

“The complaint was filed at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in San Pedro Sula and then sent to Yoro. I kept asking, but they never gave me an answer. In 2025, they arrested the guy, but they detained him for only two or three days and then released him,” Carmen says.

One of the lawyers who supported her told her that the case remained open and that the investigations were ongoing. Radio Progreso and La Sala sought information about the case; Yuri Mora, the spokesman for the Public Ministry, said that the alleged aggressor was granted provisional dismissal because the minor and her mother did not appear at the hearing. In response, Carmen maintains that she never received any communication from the Prosecutor’s Office: “no calls, no summons. We filed the complaint and they never notified us of anything else”.

At the time of publication, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of Children had not responded to formal requests for information regarding the stalled investigations or the criteria followed in the cases reported in the department of Yoro.

“The man walks free, as if nothing happened, even though he knows all the harm he caused my little daughter. But we can’t do anything here; we have no one to defend us. Women and girls are left with no choice but to survive in this reality,” she laments.

Carmen recounts that she has also been attacked by members of the community, who question her right to defend the territory but claim she was unable to protect her daughter.

“These are complaints coming from people who support deforestation and mining; they are trying to attack me to get these projects implemented,” the activist says.

Through a public information request, the Attorney General’s Office reported that between 2023 and 2025, only 38 people were arrested for sexual offenses against minors. The majority of the arrests were related to rape, statutory rape, other sexual assaults, electronic contact with minors for sexual purposes, sexual harassment, and exhibitionism.

Carmen’s daughter, one of thousands of cases

Sexual violence against girls and adolescents is a harsh reality in Latin America. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), between 2000 and 2023, one in three 15-year-olds experienced physical or sexual violence.

In Honduras, six out of 10 victims of sexual crimes are minors, according to a 2021 report by the Human Rights Observatory of the Center for Women’s Rights (CDM).

Furthermore, 24% of Honduran women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. A significant proportion of these cases occurred before they turned 18, according to the first National Specialized Survey on Violence against Women and Girls 2021.

The departments of Olancho, Santa Bárbara, and Copán have the highest incidence rates. Associated factors include poverty, domestic violence, dropping out of school, and ingrained social norms, which justify gender roles, assigning control or superiority to men over women’s decisions, bodies, and freedom.

So what’s the protocol for assisting victims of assault?

The swearing-in of Xiomara Castro as President of the Republic in January 2022 was a historic event in Honduras. More than 55 years since women gained the right to vote, a woman occupies the presidency. It was an important step for the women’s rights movement in the region.

Her arrival was accompanied by great expectations, fueled by campaign promises and the demands of feminist organizations for progress on rights that have been postponed in Honduras.

Thus, under pressure from women’s organizations, Castro approved the Comprehensive Care Protocol for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Violence in December 2022.

This instrument began to be developed in 2016, but its approval occurred six years later. This delay was due, among other aspects, to the fact that it included the use of the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP), which was prohibited in Honduras from the 2009 coup until March 2023, when the president eliminated the prohibition.

According to the protocol, the first 72 hours are key for the victim because of the potential during this period to prevent diseases, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV, and pregnancies.

The document states that the initial interventions should be supportive—offering words of comfort to help the person not feel like a victim, and fostering trust. From there, a comprehensive approach involving mental health, medical, and social services is required so the person can explain what happened just once, and then receive priority medical attention. If they arrive within 72 hours, STIs can be prevented, and if they arrive within 120 hours, pregnancy can be prevented.

The Protocol also addresses the participation and coordination between the Public Prosecutor’s Office (if the victim wishes to file a complaint), Ciudad Mujer, and other public institutions.

Stalled training for doctors

For this investigation, Radio Progreso and La Sala: Mujeres en la Redacción interviewed general practitioners, gynecologists, and heads of pediatrics in the public sector. Although most are aware of the protocol for attending to rape victims and the general procedure to follow, they indicated that the Ministry of Health has not yet provided the corresponding training.

“These cases are always complex. We know in broad strokes how to handle them. I even learned that in previous years, people were trained so that they could then train others, but that didn’t happen; it stalled. It’s crucial to understand the document and receive training to know how to treat victims with dignity,” said a young doctor who works at the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in San Pedro Sula. She asked to remain anonymous because she is not authorized to give statements.

Dr. Clara López is a member of the National Congress representing the opposition Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre). During the first two years of the administration of President Xiomara Castro, also of Libre, López spearheaded the gender perspective within the health system. She comes from the feminist movement and served for two years as head of the Gender Unit at the Ministry of Health (SESAL).

During Castro’s term (January 2022-January 2026), outreach programs in public health centers and hospitals throughout the country following the protocol’s approval. These sessions provided training to key personnel on the implementation of the regulations, the doctor explains.

“In the prioritized hospitals, capacity has been installed—not only knowledge of the regulations, but also to guarantee the supplies and medicines necessary to prevent, during the first hours after a sexual assault, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies resulting from sexual violence,” says the legislator.

Furthermore, the protocol included first-line psychological support and other requirements for assisting both female and male victims. The protocol even went further, encompassing the LGBTIQ+ population. For example, it includes the provision of emergency contraception to transgender men.

“It’s a protocol aligned with international standards,” López explains to Radio Progreso.

The importance of attending to a victim of assault

According to the legislator, the contribution of this protocol lies in changing the paradigm that, after a violent event, medical attention is not necessary.

“There are women who, for one reason or another, do not want to report or cannot do so because they are afraid,” she says. “However, this protocol guarantees that, at the very least, they receive physical and mental health care, as well as support so that they can find the necessary conditions to report.”

Medical professionals urge activation of response protocol

Contrary to the institutional version presented by Representative López, social worker América Rajo—from the municipality of El Progreso, Yoro, in northern Honduras—confirmed that, despite having been approved in 2022, the protocol for attending to victims of sexual assault began to be socialized only in 2026, with a training process for health personnel.

The goal is for workers to know the protocol and have the tools to assist survivors of sexual violence, preventing revictimization.

“I believe this is a good time to reinstate the protocol,” she says. “We are concerned to see that violence against women is on the rise. In Honduras, there are far too many femicides and sexual assaults, which should compel the authorities to activate the protocol and even adapt it to the current reality. It is urgent that healthcare personnel, in addition to receiving training, be made aware of these cases and know the regulations they must follow to support victims.”

The official states that she has consulted with several health centers: the staff has informed her that, in addition to training, they are receiving instructions on the form or format that should be used to register cases.

“A record must be filled out when a patient arrives with this type of assault, and depending on her condition, she is referred to other agencies. The municipality of El Progreso, Yoro, cannot be the exception, because this is a nationwide strategy and is linked to the prevention of teenage pregnancies,” she explains.

The consequences of abuse

The social worker, who is also a member of the Inter-institutional Committee for the Prevention of Violence against Women, confirms that the number of pregnant girls continues to rise: “When we review the statistics we have in the municipality, we find pregnancies among girls between the ages of 10 and 14. They are practically children. We also see cases of adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19.”

“This indicates that every municipality needs sex education to prevent rape and unwanted pregnancies, since everything is related to a lack of information and sexual assaults, which should be investigated,” she states.

As an example, the city of El Progreso, Yoro, has 11 health facilities distributed between urban and rural areas. Between 2023 and 2025, more than 150 pregnancies were registered in girls between the ages of 10 and 14.

These data show that sexual assaults continue to occur; that most cases are not investigated; and that many girls who are victims of abuse are forced to continue with unwanted pregnancies.

The State abandons girls

Although Carmen’s daughter filed a report a year after the incident, no one—neither the Prosecutor’s Office nor a health facility—offered emotional support. No one even explained how to file the report, or the formal process that would follow. Mother and daughter faced the isolation of a justice system that rarely arrives on time, “especially when you are a woman, Indigenous, and poor,” the mother laments.

For Carmen, the effective application of the protocol is not an administrative procedure, but an urgent need so that other girls do not have to face the consequences of sexual assault alone.

Her daughter managed to recount what happened a year later, but many minors remain silent, especially in communities where the presence of the State is limited and the aggressors are part of the family or other community organizing spaces.

While healthcare workers begin training and public institutions in Honduras attempt to implement a tool approved in 2022, victims continue to wait for medical attention, psychological support, protection, and justice. For Carmen, the protocol must cease being just a document and become a real response for girls and women facing sexual violence.

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This story was produced as part of a La Sala: Mujeres en la Redacción journalism production grant, funded by Vikes, the Foundation for Media and Development, an initiative that seeks to strengthen independent, critical and investigative journalism—as well as to promote the participation, leadership and projection of women journalists—through influential and impactful actions that contribute to making their voices visible and positioning them as benchmarks of journalism, research and public opinion.