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'We feel that this symbol of the butterfly shows that for every one of us, there are thousands of people around the world that are with us in our struggle. To create this solidarity in the world between so many countries and people, is a great work of Amnesty and I hope it continues and gets stronger.' Martha Munguiá, Nicaraguan Alliance of Women's Centres
Thank you to the thousands of you who created a butterfly. More that 50,000 butterfly were made worldwide with 17,000 people from the UK taking part. Your butterflies have been sent to Nicaragua (via post, email and thumb drives) where they formed part of a huge solidarity action on 28 September 2011, the Day for the Decriminalisation of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Making butterflies at Hay
Over 1,500 people at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival stopped by our stall to create a butterfly in solidarity with the women and girls of Nicaragua.
Global solidarity: butterflies from around the world
People in 40 countries have been creating butterflies to send to Nicaragua, using both our digital tool and old-fashioned paper and pens.
Rape and sexual abuse in Nicaragua
Two-thirds of reported rapes in Nicaragua are against girls and young women under the age of 17.
Many girls are trapped in abusive situations with no way out. The stigma associated with the crime means it is often the survivor - not the abuser - who is blamed. For girls who speak out, the struggle for justice can be traumatic. Failures and lack of resources in the justice system often mean cases collapse and attackers walk free.
Nicaragua's total ban on abortion
Some young survivors face extra trauma if they become pregnant because
of the rape. For these women and girls the idea of giving birth may be
unbearable as well as dangerous to their health the younger they are.
But in Nicaragua they have no choice. Since 2008, the law has made all forms of abortion in all circumstances a crime, even where the health and life of the woman is in danger or where she is the victim of rape or incest.
There is little or no help from the government, which has failed to prevent sexual abuse, to provide care to survivors or to guarantee they receive justice and reparation. Young rape survivors need psychological, medical and legal support and help to rebuild their lives.