Raped, pregnant, then… thrown in jail
As if the teenager’s ordeal wasn’t enough...
As the cell door clanged shut behind Evelyn Hernandez, the injustice hit her.
She was just a teenager – barely 19.
Yet she’d been jailed for 30 years for murder and branded a child-killer.
For Evelyn, being locked up was just another horror in a long line of unthinkable ordeals she’d suffered.
The first was when she was a 17-year-old college student and she’d been raped by a violent gang member.
Going to the police wasn’t really an option for Evelyn.
She’d grown up the Latin American country of El Salvador, a place plagued by drug gangs and poverty. Violence against women wasn’t unusual.
And she didn’t know it at the time, but the rape had resulted in a pregnancy.
For 32 weeks, Evelyn was oblivious of the baby growing inside her. But then, one day in 2016, she suddenly experienced intense abdominal pains.
In agony, she made her way to an outdoor toilet, where her mother found her passed out shortly afterwards.
She’d lost a lot of blood.
Frantic,
Evelyn’s mother rushed her daughter to hospital, no idea how she’d ended up in such a state.
But, after checking Evelyn over, doctors discovered she’d recently given birth.
A search of the toilet led to a grim discovery – a stillborn baby boy in the septic tank. Evelyn and her mother had no idea she’d given birth.
But, instead of being given emotional support, Evelyn was treated like a criminal. She was arrested and accused of deliberately inducing an abortion and killing her unborn child. Evelyn insisted that she’d had no idea that she was pregnant.
But it didn’t matter, prosecutors built up a case against her anyway, accusing her of aggravated homicide. For, as well as being overrun by crime, El Salvador is also a deeply religious country. Around 80 per cent of the population identify as Catholic or Evangelical Christian. And in 1998, El Salvador introduced a total ban on abortion. It means that any woman accused of terminating a pregnancy can face a prison sentence of up to 40 years. Even if the mother’s life is endangered by the pregnancy, the law insists she must still carry the baby to term. Even in cases involving rape and incest.
A cruel and twisted law, considering an estimated 25,000 women fall pregnant in El Salvador every year as a result of rape.
And women who miscarry or deliver stillborn babies – as Evelyn had – would sometimes be suspected of inducing an abortion. A crime as serious as murder.
So, in July 2017, Evelyn Hernandez appeared in court in El Salvador.
She protested her innocence, telling the court she’d been raped and knew nothing about the baby growing inside her until it was too late.
The Citizen Group for the Decriminalisation of Abortion (CDFA) said there was no proof she’d tried to
kill her baby. It claimed she’d suffered a pregnancyrelated complication and the baby had been born dead.
Yet Evelyn was found guilty and, just 19 years old, she was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison.
Evelyn was sent to the Ilopango women’s prison, notorious in El Salvador – a jail for women accused of murdering their babies.
The CDFA estimates around 20 women are in prison for abortion crimes in El Salvador when, in truth, many have simply suffered miscarriages.
Evelyn’s story ignited fury around the world. Instead of being recognised as a victim, Evelyn was being treated no better than a murderer.
Women’s campaign groups used Evelyn’s case to highlight El Salvador’s severe anti-abortion laws.
While Evelyn was behind bars, activists worked hard to bring her justice. An appeal was launched. Lawyers argued that forensics had been unable to determine whether Evelyn’s son had died in her uterus or in the septic tank.
They believed there wasn’t enough evidence to convict her – and they were right. In August this year, a Supreme Court judge overturned her sentence.
The judge agreed there was a lack of concrete evidence to show Evelyn was responsible for her baby’s death.
The court found that her conviction was based on prejudice.
After 33 months in prison, Evelyn was released.
Standing outside the courthouse, she was overwhelmed with emotion. Dozens of women gathered to show support.
‘Thank God, justice was done,’ she said.
Soon after she was exonerated, Evelyn used her new-found international platform to call for an end to the criminalisation of women like her.
But it was soon clear that Evelyn’s own fight still wasn’t over.
In September, prosecutors announced their plans to appeal against Evelyn’s acquittal.
In a statement, prosecutors said, There’s no reason to consider her a victim of anything. On the contrary, the only victim is her son. After serving almost three years behind bars, Evelyn’s freedom still wasn’t guaranteed. Now, she is waiting to hear whether she will face trial again.
Like so many women in El Salvador, Evelyn’s rights are in jeopardy and the injustice has sparked fury among activists.
Protesters in the city of San Salvador recently marched to the Attorney General’s office. They threw eggs filled with confetti and sprayed red paint in support of Evelyn.
‘We do not want Evelyn to be viewed as a criminal and persecuted,’ one protester said. ‘We’re going to stand with her until justice is done.’
Still just 21, Evelyn Hernandez should have her whole life ahead of her.
Instead, she lives in limbo, waiting, wondering if the cruel El Salvador justice system will come for her again.
If you’ve been raped, sexually abused or sexually assaulted – or if you think you might have been, visit rapecrisis.org. uk for support.
She was being treated no better than a murderer