--- title: Young Girls Flee Central America in Higher Numbers Due to Violence description: A recent UN report gives haunting first-hand accounts from some of the girls who fled canonical: https://time.com/3034030/immigration-border-girls-violence/ author: Joan E. Greve article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-25T16:52:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:54.070Z og:title: Young Girls Flee Central America in Higher Numbers Due to Violence og:description: A recent UN report gives haunting first-hand accounts from some of the girls who fled og:url: https://time.com/3034030/immigration-border-girls-violence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30425a33d96f44a1/69869d44e53aba02804d3bcc/central-american-young-girl-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Central American Female Immigrants og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Young Girls Flee Central America in Higher Numbers Due to Violence twitter:description: A recent UN report gives haunting first-hand accounts from some of the girls who fled twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30425a33d96f44a1/69869d44e53aba02804d3bcc/central-american-young-girl-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Migrant Girls Share Haunting Stories About Why They Fled by [Joan E. Greve](https://time.com/author/joan-greve/) ## Joan E. Greve Jul 25, 2014 4:52 PM UTC  Central American immigrants await transportation to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center on July 24, 2014 near Mission, Texas. Central American immigrants await transportation to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center on July 24, 2014 near Mission, Texas.John Moore—Getty Images by [Joan E. Greve](https://time.com/author/joan-greve/) ## Joan E. Greve Jul 25, 2014 4:52 PM UTC The number of young girls captured at the US-Mexico border has increased by 77 percent this year, according to Pew Research Center [analysis](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/25/at-the-border-a-sharp-rise-in-unaccompanied-girls-fleeing-honduras/) released Friday. The number of girls under the age of 18 apprehended at the border this fiscal year was 13,008 compared to last year’s 7,339, according to Pew. The number of boys under 18 apprehended is still much higher at 33,924, but that represents only an 8% increase from 2013. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees released a [report](http://www.unhcrwashington.org/sites/default/files/1%5FUAC%5FChildren%20on%20the%20Run%5FFull%20Report.pdf) earlier this year that included haunting accounts from some of the young girls apprehended, in an analysis of 404 children from Mexico and Central America who had been detained at the border. “The head of the gang that controlled her neighborhood wanted Josefina to be his girlfriend and threatened to kidnap her or to kill one of her family members if she didn’t comply,” the report writes, of one 16-year-old from El Salvador. “Josefina knew another girl from her community who had become the girlfriend of a gang member and had been forced to have sex with all the gang members.” Two-thirds of the children from El Salvador, both male and female, reported threats of violence from organized crime as one reason for fleeing. “One of \[the gang members\] ‘liked’ me. Another gang member told my uncle that he should get me out of there because the guy who liked me was going to do me harm,” said 15-year-old Maritza. “In El Salvador they take young girls, rape them and throw them in plastic bags. My uncle told me it wasn’t safe for me to stay there.” Other girls reported domestic violence as a reason for leaving. Lucia, a 16-year-old from Guatemala, escaped her abusive grandmother’s home only to move in with an abusive boyfriend. “He beat me almost every day,” Lucia said. “I stayed with him for four months. I left because he tried to kill me by strangling me. I left that same day.” The increasing numbers of children from Mexico and Central America seeking refuge in the United States has prompted a [legislative battle](http://time.com/3028637/obama-eyes-major-immigration-move/) in Washington. It remains unresolved. ### Photographer Captures Birds-Eye View of Border Crisis  A U.S. Office of Air and Marine helicopter patrols over the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrant families walk before being taken into custody by Border Patrol agents near McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents chase undocumented immigrants through the countryside near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrant families into custody at the border fence in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrant families into custody in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  An undocumented immigrant awaits medical attention by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants in dense brushland some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border in Brooks County, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  An undocumented immigrant awaits transportation to a processing center after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  An undocumented immigrant sits after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrants await transport to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center after being detained near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  A U.S. Border Patrol agent endures the heat after taking undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrants flee into dense brush from U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Brooks County, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents guard undocumented immigrants before sending them to a processing center near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrants are transported to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center after being detained near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. 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