What is wrong with child marriages?

Girls who formally marry or cohabit as if married before the age of 18 are more likely to have early pregnancies, experience dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth, acquire HIV, and experience domestic violence. Ending child marriage will improve the health of millions of girls, and their children.

What are the negative effects of child marriage?

Child marriage is driven by poverty and has many effects on girls’ health: increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases, cervical cancer, malaria, death during childbirth, and obstetric fistulas. Girls’ offspring are at increased risk for premature birth and death as neonates, infants, or children.

What are the effects of forced marriage?

It very often leads to early pregnancies which exposes girls to the risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth, it affects their ability to actively engage or even attend school and therefore limits the possibility of economic independence from their ‘spouse’.

What does the law say about child marriage?

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, for example, covers the right to protection from child marriage in article 16, which states: “The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage….”

Why do parents marry their daughters?

Parents marry their daughters because they think it will protect them from increased or generalised violence, including sexual violence. Displacement breaks down social networks and protection systems, making girls more vulnerable to child marriage.

Similar to child brides, child grooms are forced to take on adult responsibilities for which they may not be prepared. The union may bring early fatherhood and result in additional economic pressure in the form of providing for the household; it may also constrain the boy’s access to education and opportunities for career advancement.

How can we solve the problem of child marriage?

Laws to address child marriage should be part of a comprehensive legal and policy framework which addresses its root causes, including gender inequality. This framework should include issues such as: Marriage and divorce (including registration and solemnisation of marriages, alimony and custody of children).