CHILD MARRIAGE MUST STOP

Child marriage is a human rights violation. Despite laws against it, the practice remains
widespread, in part because of persistent poverty and gender inequality. In developing
countries, one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. One in nine is married
under age 15.
Child marriage threatens girls’ lives and health, and it limits their future prospects. Girls
pressed into child marriage often become pregnant while still adolescents, increasing the
risk of complications in pregnancy or childbirth. These complications are a leading cause of
death among older adolescents in developing countries.
UNFPA promotes legislation and programmes designed to end child marriage. UNFPA also
supports evidence-based, girl-centred investments that empower girls with the information,
skills and services they need to be healthy, educated and safe, helping them make a
successful transition to adulthood. UNFPA also works to support the needs of married girls
particularly in family planning and maternal health.
CLOSE
Denial of rights
Child marriage denies girls the right to choose whom and when to marry – one of life’s
most important decisions. Choosing one's partner is an adult decision, one that should be
made freely and without fear or coercion. On this, virtually all countries agree.
Despite near-universal commitments to end child marriage, approximately one third of girls
in developing countries (excluding China) are married before reaching age 18.
Every day, an estimated 47,700 girls under age 18 are married or at risk of being married.
Many international agreements outlaw child marriage, including the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
against Women . The International Conference on Population and Development in 1994
also called on countries to eliminate child marriage.
Impact on a girl’s health, future and family
Child marriage directly threatens girls’ health and well-being. Marriage is often followed
by pregnancy, even if a girl is not yet physically or mentally ready. In developing countries,
nine out of 10 births to adolescent girls occur within a marriage or a union. In these
countries, complications from pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of
death among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19.
Girls who are married may also be exposed to sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV. When girls marry, they are often forced to drop out of school so they can assume
household responsibilities. This is a denial of their right to an education. Early marriage also
limits their opportunities, including future employment prospects, and has long-term effects
on their families. Girls who leave school have worse health and economic outcomes than
those who stay in school, and eventually their children fare worse as well.
Factors contributing to child marriage
Child marriage is the toxic product of poverty and gender inequality . Girls in child
marriages also tend to be less educated and to live in rural areas. Many impoverished
parents believe that marriage will secure their daughters’ future by ensuring that another
family will be responsible for their care. This is also true in humanitarian crises, when many
parents fear they will be unable to protect or care for their daughters. Some mistakenly
believe marriage will protect their daughters from sexual violence, which is often
exacerbated in times of crisis.
Some parents see their daughters as burdens or commodities. Dowries complicate the
issue: In places where the bride’s family pays a dowry to the groom’s family, younger
brides typically command smaller dowries, creating an incentive for parents to marry their
daughters off early. In places where the groom’s family pays a bride price, parents in
difficult circumstances may marry off their daughters as a source of income.
And more often than not, child marriage is the outcome of having few choices. When girls
have a choice, they marry later.
How to end child marriage
Ending child marriage requires action at many levels. Existing laws against child marriage
should be enforced, especially when girls at risk of child marriage, or who are
already married, seek protection and justice. And where it is not yet the case, the legal age
of marriage should be raised to 18. But laws only provide the framework for action against
child marriage. Practices people deem acceptable are unlikely to disappear through
legislation alone.
Governments, civil society and other partners must work together to ensure girls have
access to education, health information and services, and life-skills training. Girls who are
able to stay in school and remain healthy enjoy a broader range of options, and they are
more likely to be able to avoid child marriage.
And, importantly, girls who are already married need to be supported. These girls
need reproductive health services to help them avoid early pregnancy. Those who become
pregnant need access to appropriate care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and in the post-
partum period. They should be supported, if they choose, in returning to formal or non-
formal school.
Together, these measures lead to healthier families, higher levels of gender equality and, in
turn, stronger societies and more vibrant economies. No society can afford the lost
opportunity, waste of talent, or personal exploitation that child marriage causes.
UNFPA’s role
UNFPA is committed to delivering concrete solutions to child marriage, with an emphasis on
efforts that can be scaled-up and produce measurable results. UNFPA works with
governments and civil society partners, at all levels, to promote and protect the human
rights of girls, including assisting with the development of policies, programmes and
legislation to address and curtail the practice of child marriage. Many of these efforts, such
as the Action for Adolescent Girls programme and the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to
Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage, empower girls to know their human rights,
including their right to choose, as adults, whom to marry.

Author: Koolicbeatzgh