Longing and Belonging

In Peru, UNICEF reports nearly one in five girls becomes a mother before 18. The legal age of consent is 14 and early unions between adolescent girls and adult men remain culturally normalized in rural areas, even when marriage under 18 is illegal. Dense jungle and mountainous terrain make these communities difficult to reach, and limited law enforcement capacity leaves girls especially vulnerable to sexual violence, coercion, and disappearance. Growing up in Mexico, where high rates of adolescent pregnancy persist, and having witnessed the lasting impact of sexual abuse within my own family, I feel compelled to examine these systems and explore how to make informed change.

This project examines these conditions through Casa Mantay, an asylum home in Cusco for teenage mothers, which I have been documenting since 2023. Many residents arrived after abuse, family-arranged unions, or exploitation. The home provides shelter, education, healthcare, and psychological support until they turn 18. But what happens afterward?

Casa Mantay represents a powerful model for breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty, poor education, and unemployment that often accompanies early pregnancies. While centered in Cusco, the project situates these experiences within global legal, cultural, and educational structures, as adolescent pregnancy affects 16 million girls each year. The work provides material to catalyze dialogue and policy reconsideration far beyond Peru.