Ending child marriage in africa human rights watch. Unicef, ending child marriage, progress and prospects2014. India has the largest number of the reasons behind child. In this article we examine progress toward universal adherence to the international. Progress and prospects, 2014 accessed 19 august 2017. A statistical analysis of violence against children, 2014. Unicef global databases, 2014, based on demographic and health surveys dhs.
Child and early marriage as slavery international institutions mu st explicitly recognise ke y incidences of child and early marriage as constituting slavery and slaverylike practices1 i. Effects of education and poverty on the prevalence of girl. More recently, a national campaign was launched to raise awareness about the issue and the government is working on a 10year national strategic. Boys are also married as children, but girls are disproportionately affected. Not all forced marriages are child marriages, but by definition, all child marriages are. Niger has the highest overall prevalence of child marriage in the world.
In its concluding observations, the crc committee systematically calls on states parties to bring the legal age of marriage to 18 for all. Child marriage series part 1 make every woman count blog. In conclusion, the present study has shown that young age at menarche increases the risk of child marriage in maharashtra. A recent united nations report entitled ending child marriage progress and prospects found that, despite the existence of a stringent anti child marriage law, india ranks sixth among countries with the highest prevalence of child marriages across the globe. In addition, unicef is supporting the government of ethiopia in implementing ending child marriage programmes in amhara, afar and somali regions. This 5minute video was first presented on 21 july 2014. Jan 05, 2017 in its concluding observations, the crc committee systematically calls on states parties to bring the legal age of marriage to 18 for all. Title, ending child marriage progress and prospects. Progress and prospects, 2014 2 unicef, progress for children. The focus of the initiative which commenced in september 2014 is to eradicate child marriage in ghana and to achieve the following key results.
Globally, one in six adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19 years is married or in union, and as many as 700 million women were married as child brides in 2014. This brochure explores the data and statistics behind those stories. Child marriage is a significant health and childrens rights concern in many low and middle income countries lmics. In 2014, the ministry of gender, children and social protection set up an ending child marriage unit, with the mandate to promote and coordinate national efforts to end child marriage in ghana. Progress and prospects, unicef, new york, 2014 international standards set the minimum age of marriage at 18. Pga celebrates international day of the girl child 2014. Similarly, unicef and unfpa have developed a joint programme to end child marriage based on the lessons learned from the successful implementation of the joint programme on the elimination of fgmc. Child marriage happens to girls, because they are girls. Progress and prospects, 2014 an increasing number of organisations are using entertainmenteducation in countries like india and nepal, to try to tackle child marriage on a large scale. Summary of research in bangladesh, india and nepal. Not all forced marriages are child marriages, but by definition, all child marriages.
Countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage. Data coverage is below 50 per cent for east asia and the pacific region due to the lack of comparable data on child marriage for china in unicef global databases. One girl under 15 married every seven seconds save the children. End child marriage, 2012 3 unicef, state of the worlds children. The new figures mean that 25 million child marriage have been. Child protection,2016 for figures for sub saharan africa, latin america and mena. International center for research on women, 20 ending child marriage. Unicef 2014 estimates that girls are married before 18 almost five times more than boys.
Around one in four married girls and women between the ages of 1519 have suffered. However, to end the practice by 2030 the target set out in the sustainable development goals. Therefore, eliminating child marriage is a major priority, globally. Pdf education as a contrivance to ending child marriage in. Although both boys and girls fall victim to child, early and forced marriage, it should be noted that. From 2014 to 2017, unicef interventions contributed to reaching 11. Over 30 countries have developed, or are developing, national policiesprogrammes towards this goal. As of 2006 the latest year for which data on early marriage is available, 24. In ghana, one in five girls marry before their 18th birthday and one in 20 girls is married before her 15th birthday. Our findings fill a critical knowledge gap by showing that genderbased discriminatory practices like child marriage increase girls likelihood. Similar results have been reported for rural bangladesh.
What can the global movement to end child marriage learn from. Progress and prospects, unicef, new york, 2014 international standards set the minimum age of marriage. The practice of child marriage has been wellstudied among girls, but there. Foreign policy objectives, 20 5 these figures are an update from the unfpa. Jul 22, 2014 according to a unicef report titled ending child marriage progress and prospects, child marriage among girls is most common in south asia and subsaharan africa and india is among the top 10. Child marriage unfpa united nations population fund. Unicef presents those countries and populations where girls are at the most risk of being married as children. United nations childrens fund, 2014, ending child marriage progress and prospects. Research priorities on ending child marriage and supporting.
Globally, the practice of child marriage is declining, especially when it comes to the marriage of girls under age 15 percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union before. Mar 21, 2016 the united nations childrens fund unicef report on ending child marriage. Prospects and progress ending child marriage will help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty by allowing girls and women to participate more fully in society. The new figures mean that 25 million child marriage have been averted. Age at menarche, education, and child marriage among young. Marriage before the age of 18 is a fundamental violation of human rights. Forced marriage occurs without the full and free consent of one or both parties, or where one or both parties are unable to end or leave the marriage. One girl under 15 married every seven seconds save the. The information has been carefully selected and compiled from unhcrs global. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. In 2014, unicef, with funding from the government of canada, focused on policy making, community mobilization and evidence generation to end child marriage.
Child marriage persists as a health and human rights violation for girls in ethiopia despite significant reductions in the prevalence rate over the last decade unicef, 2018. Our approach to ending child marriage has two timeframes. Comments on who global plan of action on violence against. Published by unicef, this report presents an overview of statistics and facts on child marriage. 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. Child marriage reflects traditional and cultural norms that perpetuate discrimination against girls. Refworld ending child marriage progress and prospects. Progress and prospects, released in 2014, indicates that globally, each year, 15 million girls marry before their 18th. Feb 26, 2018 child marriage is a human rights violation disproportionately affecting girls in lower and middleincome countries and has serious public health implications. Child marriage, also known as early or forced marriage, is defined as any marriage. This unicef reports looks at trends in child marriage over the past 30 years. The new figures mean that 25 million child marriage. Community education is needed in rural south asia to communicate that menarche is an indicator of development, not readiness for marriage or healthy childbearing.
Empowering women and girls for shared prosperity, 2014. Progress and prospects, 2014 2 unicef, hidden in plain sight. Home to one in three child brides inter press service. This plan sees reforming legislation, improving access to services, empowering children, advocacy and monitoring to be important steps towards ending child marriage. For young girls, child marriage often leads to the interruption or end of their. When girls are allowed to be girls, everybody wins.
Progress and prospects, unicef 2014 3 too young to wed, the growing problem of child marriage among syrian girls in jordan, save the children, 2014. Jul 22, 2014 india home to one in every three child brides in world. Ending child marriage progress and prospects refworld. Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status. Mar 27, 2018 child marriage is a significant health and childrens rights concern in many low and middle income countries lmics. In the least developed countries, that number doubles 40 per cent of girls are married before age 18, and 12 per cent of girls are married before age 15. Zonta has been committed to ending child marriage since 2014. Child marriage and associated outcomes in northern ghana. Jul 22, 2014 about 27 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 years were married before age 15 in india, unicef said in a report titled ending child marriage progress and prospects. Director, data, research and policy, unicef moderator.
Easily share your publications and get them in front of issuus. Global and regional estimates on violence against women. Evidence for the worlds best investment, washington dc, brookings institution press, 2016 accessed 10 september 2017. Child marriage unicef south asia 2018 2021 progress. Every child counts, 2014 4 council on foreign relations, ending child marriage. Read about progress and prospects of ending child marriage worldwide. A report card on adolescents, 2012 3 unicef,the state of the worlds children, table 9. Progress and prospects that all girls have access to education and other opportunities. Education as a contrivance to ending child marriage in africa. The case for business action to end violence against children. Understanding the scale of child marriage, october 2014, p. Child marriage is a widespread violation of human rights. Adolescent girls at risk of or affected by child marriage are better able to express and exercise their choices.
This donor report summarizes unicef results and activities from 2014 to 2017. Many factors interact to place a child at risk of marriage, including poverty, the perception that marriage will provide protection, family honor, social norms, customary or religious laws that condone the practice, an inadequate legislative framework and the state of a countrys civil registration system. Ending child marriage can only lead to progress oneindia news. India home to one in every three child brides in world. If current trends continue, more than 140 million girls will marry early in the next decade or nearly 40,000 per day unicef. Child marriage among girls is most common in south asia and subsaharan africa, and the 10 countries with the highest rates are found in these two regions. The problem with the child marriage act the daily star. Ending child marriage, progress and prospects, 2014. Even in countries where child marriage is less common, the same gender differences are found. Consequences of child marriage for sexual and reproductive. According to unhcr data, more than 6 percent of syrian girls aged between 12 and 17 in lebanon are married. What can the global movement to end child marriage learn from the. Child marriage in india an analysis of available data.
Jul 22, 2014 child marriage among girls is most common in south asia and subsaharan africa and india is among the top 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage, unicef said in a report titled. They use carefully designed storylines which address a range of challenges women and girls face in the home and in society. Sep 03, 2015 to address these gaps in knowledge and to identify research priorities on ending child marriage and supporting married girls, who organized an expert group meeting in december 20 in collaboration with girls not brides and unicef. However, many are struggling to operationalise these policiesprogrammes, particularly at subnational. Progress and prospects, which looks at trends in child marriage over. In niger, for instance, 77 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 in contrast to 5 per cent of men in the same age group. Ending child marriage will help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty by allowing girls and women to participate more fully in society. Progress and prospects, 2014 2 unfpa, marrying too young. The new figures mean that 25 million child marriage have been averted in in the past ten years. D uring the past decade, the proportion of young women who were married as children decreased by 15 per cent, from 1 in 4 25% to approximately 1 in 5 21%. More than 700 million women worldwide, who are alive today, were married before their 18th birthday. Child marriage among girls is most common in south asia and subsaharan africa and india is among the top 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage, unicef. Child marriage is closely linked to early childbearing with consequences that can be fatal. Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online.
Child marriage, also known as early marriage or forced marriage is a violation of human right united nations, 1989 which adversely impact on girls education, physical and social life unfpa, 2012. Accelerating the movement to end child, early and forced marriage. Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread. Executive summary the issue of child, early and forced marriage and its impact on health and education has. Globally, the practice of child marriage is declining, especially when it comes to the marriage of girls under age 15 percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married. Child marriage is becoming less common around the world, with the proportion of women who were married in childhood dropping from one in four to approximately one in five in the past decade. The practice of child marriage has continued to decline around the world. Globally, one in every five girls is married, or in union, before reaching age 18. Empowered and educated girls are better able to nourish and care for their children, leading to healthier, smaller families. Progress and prospects, unicef, new york, 2014 5 the term in a union is used because in ghana many marriages are not formally registered but are actually informal unions or customary marriages. Ending child marriage will help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty by allowing girls and. The south asia initiative to end violence against children saievac adopted a regional action plan to end child marriage in august 2014. United nations childrens fund, ending child marriage. Establish a national strategic framework and coordinating mechanism for eliminating the incidence of child marriage and its related consequences such as teenage pregnancy 2.
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