Child Marriage class for FamilyHealth.pptx

Child Marriage

1. Child Marriage Presented By: Sulata Karki MPH 1 st Year SPH and CM

2. Global Scenario Each year, 15 million girls are married before the age of 18. That is 28 girls every minute and 1 girl every 2 seconds. Globally, the rates of child marriage are slowly declining but progress isn't happening fast enough. More than 700 million women, and over 150 million men, already suffer the consequences of child marriage. If there is no reduction in child marriage, the global number of women married as children will reach 1.2 billion by 2050 , with devastating consequences for the whole world. 2

3. Child marriage is a truly global problem that cuts across countries, cultures, religions and ethnicities. Child brides can be found in every region in the world , from the Middle East to Latin America, South Asia to Europe . The International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) 2012, identifies that child marriage most often occurs in poor and rural communities . It also says most of the effects of child marriage are seen among girls . 3

4. 20 Countries with the Highest Absolute Numbers of Child Marriage* India Bangladesh Nigeria Brazil Ethiopia Pakistan Indonesia Mexico Democratic Republic of the Congo Tanzania Uganda Philippines Egypt Mozambique Niger Sudan Iran Nepal Thailand Kenya Source: UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 2016 4

5. Introduction 5

6. Introduction Child marriage is defined by global organizations as a formal marriage or informal union entered into by an individual before reaching the age of 18 . Considered as a form of forced marriage given that one or both parties have not expressed their full, free and informed consent. Child marriage not only denies girls an education, it often makes them vulnerable to a cycle of discrimination, domestic violence and abuse. By being made to bear children when they have barely attained puberty, they are forced to put themselves and their babies at risk. 6

7. Introduction Studies have shown that child married couples are often less advantageous, may come from broken homes, may have little education and low status jobs in comparison to those that marry after adolescence. Child brides are particularly prevalent in South Asia (46%) and in Sub-Saharan Africa (38%). 7

8. Why does it happen? Culture and Tradition Simply because it has happened for generations Straying from tradition could mean exclusion from the community Gender Role Girls are not valued as much as boys, they are seen as a burden in family 8

9. Why does it happen? Poverty Giving daughter in marriage allows family to reduce on their daughter’s expenses Where a dowry is paid, it is often welcome income for poor families They often have to pay less money if the bride is young and uneducated Girls living in poor households are almost twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls in higher income households Security To ensure safety in areas where girls are at high risk of physical or sexual assault Families with greater hardship, they may see child marriage as a coping mechanism to face poverty 9

10. Why is it important to have a minimum legal age of marriage? Important way to safeguard boys and girls from being married before they are ready. It is important that children are recognized in the law as being children and they are accorded with the full protection of the law. In order to ensure that parental consent or other exceptions are not used to force girls into marriage. Important tool that helps those working to dissuade families and communities from marrying off their daughters as children. 10

11. Global, Regional and National Agenda Global Target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goal aims to end child marriage by 2030. Regional The African Union and the South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children have launched initiatives to end child marriage and support married girls. National Countries are developing national action plans to end child marriage, in partnership with civil society, UN agencies and girls themselves. 11

12. International Laws about Child Marriage Child marriage or marriage without the free and full consent of both spouses is a human rights violation and is not in line with several international and regional agreements, including: Universal Declaration of Human Rights Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriage Convention on the Rights of the Child Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Also known as ‘The Maputo Protocol’) African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child Inter-American Convention on Human Rights 12

13. Child Marriage in Nepal Child marriage is illegal in Nepal and has been since 1963. The current law sets the minimum age of marriage at 20 for both men and women. Under the law, adults who marry children, family members and other adults who arrange marriages of children, and religious leaders who perform child marriages are all committing crimes and are subject to prosecution. 13

14. Child Marriage in Nepal Nepal scores poorly on gender disparity. In 2011, Nepal stood 126 th out of 135 countries in the ‘Global Gender Gap’ index of the  World Economic Forum. Nepal still has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. 37% of Nepalese girls are married before the age of 18. - UNICEF 2016 The 2015 earthquake devastated the country and left girls and women in an increasingly vulnerable position, leading to fear that child marriage rate may increase over the next year. 14

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16. Consequences of Child Marriage Termination of Education Early Pregnancy Domestic Violence Sexual Violence Psychological and Social Consequences 16

17. Health Consequences of Early Pregnancy Early pregnancy can have severe health consequences for both mothers and babies. Complications resulting from pregnancy and childbirth are the second highest cause of death globally among adolescent girls aged 15-19 years old. Girls ages l0-14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20-24. Still births and newborn deaths are 50% higher among mothers under 20 than in women who get pregnant in their 20s. 17

18. Health Consequences of Early Pregnancy Due to physical immaturity, young girls are more susceptible to obstructed labor, which is a leading cause of maternal mortality globally. The younger the mother – babies are at greater risk associated with premature and low birth weight. Child marriage is also associated with uterine prolapse causing incontinence and frequent infections. Risk of sexually transmitted diseases. 18

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20. Impact Child brides face huge challenges as a result of being married as children isolated with their freedom girls frequently feel disempowered deprived of their fundamental rights to health, education and safety greater risk of experiencing dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth contracting HIV/AIDS and suffering domestic violence Increased economic dependence and inequality 20

21. Impact Strong physical, intellectual, psychological, and emotional impact, cutting of all educational opportunities and chances of personal growth for both boys and girls. Communities and nations also feel the impact - systems that undervalue the contribution and participation of girls and women limit their own possibilities for growth, stability and transformation. 21

22. Current Legal Framework - Nepal The Constitution of Nepal, 2015 for the first time, explicitly prohibits child marriage as a punishable offense and establishes victims’ right to compensation for violations from perpetrators. The Constitution also protects children from child marriage by guaranteeing their right to : identity and birth registration; education and health care; protection from hazardous work and protection from neglect, immoral use, or any form of physical, mental, or sexual abuse or exploitation in the name of religious or cultural practices. 22

23. Current Legal Framework - Nepal The 2002 Eleventh Amendment to the Muluki Ain sets the legal age of marriage as 20 years for both men and women. The law specifically penalizes marriages below the legal age with imprisonment and fines for adults who marry children. The Children’s Act, 1992 , defines a “child” as a minor under 16 years of age, and establishes the rights to determination of the date of birth and to necessary protection without discrimination from parents and state authorities. 23

24. Current Legal Framework - Nepal Children’s Rules, 1995 , specifically entrusts the Central Children Welfare Board (CCWB) with the duty to identify measures to eliminate child marriage and encourage and support the appropriate government agencies and non-governmental organizations to implement those measures. Raising awareness on child rights issues, including on child marriage, is also one of the priority interventions of the CCWB. 24

25. Current Legal Framework - Nepal The Local Self Governance Act, 1999 , obligates local-level governance bodies to adopt necessary programs for the protection of women and children. Accordingly, the Ministry of Local Development – allocate at least 10% of their budgets for programs and projects that directly benefit women and children. These funds to be used by local bodies in formulating specific programs to end child marriage. 25

26. Current Legal Framework - Nepal The Government of Nepal has also adopted the National Strategy to End Child Marriage in Nepal, 2016 that provides policy framework to combat child marriage and promote legal accountability. The Government has also committed to end child marriage by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals . 26 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” proposes target, ‘eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations’

27. Current Legal Framework - Nepal Nepal is a member of the South Asian Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) , which adopted a regional action plan to end child marriage. The regional action plan is being implemented from 2015 – 2018. Taking a multi-sectoral approach to end child marriage , the strategy incorporates six pillars namely: empowerment of girls and adolescents; quality education for girls and adolescents; engaging boys, adolescents, and men; mobilizing families and communities; access to services and strengthening and implementing laws and policies 27

28. Punishments 28

29. C hallenges in Enforcing L aws Even where strong legal frameworks exist, their enforcement is often weak. Reasons for non-implementation of the law can vary from one context to another, and may include: Lack of awareness and training among law enforcement officials and other relevant professionals to ensure that laws are understood, implemented and enforced Lack of birth and marriage registration Discrepancies between formal and religious or customary law on the minimum age of marriage 29

30. How can we end child marriage? 30 Ending child marriage requires work across all sectors and at all levels. It requires us to understand the complex drivers behind the practice in different contexts and adapt our interventions accordingly. Efforts to be aligned: empowering girls, mobilizing families and communities, providing services and strict implementation of laws and policies

31. Education is the best prevention against child marriage and efforts are to be made to improve not only girls' enrollment, but also retention. Increase adolescents' awareness regarding disadvantages of child marriage. Poverty reduction and job creation programs can also contribute to delaying the age at marriage. Local community and religious leaders need to be trained on the impact that child marriage has on the future of the girls, the community and economic viability of families. 31

32. Conclusion Incidence of child marriage is really one of serious and important issues regarding child protection as it is still happening throughout the world in 21 st century. It is also alarming us the incidence of child marriage is higher in Nepal comparing with South Asian countries. The consequences are awful for girls in terms of their health and education right. Strong implementation of laws and joint effort from different sectors like media, academia, civil society and government etc. are to be made to stop and end child marriage. 32

33. Conclusion Ending Child Marriage matters - Child marriage violates girls’ rights to health, education and opportunity. It exposes girls to violence throughout their lives, and traps them in a cycle of poverty. Ending child marriage is a smart investment because it is not only the right thing to do, but is also an economically practical decision for overall development. 33

34. References UNFPA, Child Marriage Profiles: Nepal , 2012 UNFPA “Marrying too young: End child marriage“, 2012 http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/MarryingTooYoung.pdf UNICEF, Nepal Working Paper Series , Cost of Inaction: Child and Adolescent Marriage in Nepal , 2014 UNICEF,  State of the World’s Children, 2016 Unite for sight: Module 12, Child Marriage and Child Health http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs364/en/ Causes and Consequences of Child Marriage: A Perspective https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307087744_Causes_and_Consequences_of_Child_Marriage_A_Perspective. 34

35. 35 THANK YOU