LONDON, Aug 4 (TrustLaw) - Every day, more than 25,000 girls under the age of 18 are married worldwide, rights groups estimate. For many child brides, a future of poverty, exploitation and poor health awaits.
Following are key facts on child marriage around the world.
* Every three seconds, a girl under the age of 18 is married somewhere in the world, mostly in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
* The practice affects a third of girls -- and some boys -- in developing countries, according to UNICEF, which describes child marriage as "perhaps the most prevalent form of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls".
* The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child says 18 years should be the minimum age for marriage.
* Child rights activists say marriage at a young age violates a child's basic human rights because they are too young to be able to give "free and full consent" -- a right enshrined in Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* Child marriage is most common in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
* In many developing countries the practice is illegal but the law is often not enforced or it operates alongside customary and religious laws.
* Girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth than women in their 20s. If they are 15-19, they are twice as likely to die.
* Girls under the age of 18 are more likely to develop obstetric fistula, which causes severe incontinence. This condition occurs during childbirth when a hole develops between the vagina and bladder or rectum.
* Girl brides are more likely to be infected with the HIV virus by their older husbands. A study in Kenya and Zambia by University of Chicago researchers found that among 15- to 19-year-old girls who are sexually active, being married increased their chances of having HIV by more than 75 percent.
* A girl bride is more likely to be beaten or raped by her husband and experience abusive relationships with her in-laws.
* The babies of child brides are 60 percent more likely to die before the age of one than children of women older than 19.
* Child brides are rarely allowed to go to school. Many are expected to bear and raise children and carry out domestic work for their in-laws.
* Girls from poor families are nearly twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls from wealthier families.
* The number of child marriages often increases during conflicts or natural disasters.
* Some families use marriage to build and strengthen alliances, to seal property deals, settle disputes or pay off debts.
(Sources: The Elders, International Center for Research on Women, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Plan UK, UNICEF)
(Reporting by Alex Whiting; editing by Tim Large and Sonya Hepinstall)
CHILD MARRIAGE: Denying girls’ rights, perpetuating poverty
View the complete special report at childmarriage.trust.org
Videos:
- Prologue
- Sapna’s story, India
- Farhiya’s story, Kenya
- Fatou’s story, Senegal
- Krishna and Kishan, India
- Cherie Blair interview
- Cassandra Balchin interview
Articles:
- Child marriage a scourge for millions of girls
- Child brides face 'silent health emergency'-experts
- Child 'drought brides' sold secretly in Kenya
- Teenage brides suffer pain and shame of fistula
- India schoolgirl defies tradition to reject child marriage
- From child bride to Senegal rights crusader
Resources:
- Info-graphic
- FACTBOX-Child marriage threatens girls' health and rights
- Q+A: Why does child marriage happen?
- Child marriage: further reading
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