This post is republished with permission from Remix News
Health sources have confirmed that Ceuta University Hospital has treated at least five girls over the past week for alleged rapes following the mass migrant invasion of Ceuta last month.
All the girls are Moroccan and were reportedly under the age of 14 when they were raped, with an emergency doctor verifying the cases and noting that many of these minors are sleeping on the street because of a shortage of places in shelters.
Susana Ascaso, an emergency-room doctor at Ceuta University Hospital, confirmed in an interview published by the Spanish outlet El pueblo de Ceuta that her service is dealing with cases of rape involving migrant girls.
She described the victims as 14-year-old minors who remain on the street because reception centers for minors have no available places.
“It’s not that we refuse to receive them, it’s that there is no room for them,” the doctor said.
In addition to the Moroccan girls, at least one boy was also reportedly raped, bringing the total number of underage victims to six. There may also be more cases that have not been reported yet, as there are more than ten cases involving sexual assault that have been handled by the hospital.
The Spanish National Police have opened an investigation into the alleged rape of a minor who entered Ceuta during the recent mass arrival of migrants. The child was taken to hospital, where injuries consistent with sexual assault were recorded. No arrests have been announced and the precise details of the case remain undisclosed as the investigation continues.
Judicial sources also added that several attempted sexual attacks were prevented by the intervention of local residents.
Ascaso described the entire situation as a “health disaster,” with her department receiving an average of “300 to 400 migrants a day” while operating with the same staff and resources that existed before the massive migrant crisis in July.
After being discharged from the hospital, most patients have nowhere to go. She also warned of the risk of epidemic diseases.
“We do not know if people arrive with tuberculosis, hepatitis or other types of diseases that, today, we will not be able to detect either,” she said.
Meanwhile, the people of Ceuta are also competing for medical care with the migrants.
Ascaso said the “population of Ceuta continues to get sick and go” to hospital as well, where medical authorities have established two different areas, one for migrants and another for Ceuta residents, who “also have the right to receive assistance,” according to the doctor.
Organizations such as Save the Children have highlighted the heightened risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation facing migrant girls and adolescents in Ceuta, largely because of gaps in identification, accommodation, and support.
Jennifer Zuppiroli, a migration specialist with the organization, stressed that an adolescent girl left alone and outside the protection system can find herself in a situation of great vulnerability.
The National Police have given priority to girls and children under 13 in their identification operations. Meanwhile, the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, has acknowledged a change in the profile of minors arriving in the city, marked by an increased presence of girls and very young children.
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