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Full Article: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/child-marriages-39000-every-day

CHILD MARRIAGES - 39.000 EVERY DAY

Content partner // World Health Organisation - March 7, 2013

Between 2011 and 2020, more than 140 million girls will become child brides, according to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

If current levels of child marriages hold, 14.2 million girls annually or 39 000 daily will marry too young. Furthermore, of the 140 million girls who will marry before they are 18, 50 million will be under age 15........

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http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/findings-from-india-low-self-esteem-leaves-girls-vulnerable-to-child-marriage/

CHILD BRIDES - CYCLE OF POVERTY, INEQUALITY, RISKS - LIFE SKILLS INTERVENTIONS IN INDIA

Every year, an estimated 14 million girls aged under 18 are married worldwide with little or no say in the matter. In the developing world, one in seven girls is married before her 15th birthday and some child brides are as young as eight or nine.

Neither physically nor emotionally ready to become wives and mothers, these girls are at far greater risk of experiencing dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth, becoming infected with HIV/AIDS and suffering domestic violence. With little access to education and economic opportunities, they and their families are more likely to live in poverty.

By Dr Ashok Dyalchand, Institute of Health Management, Pachod (IHMP) Published: Wednesday 10 Oct 2012

Girls learning about reproduction. Photo credit: Institute of Health Management, Pachod

Dr Ashok Dyalchand works at the Institute of Health Management, Pachod (IHMP) in India. IHMP has found that girls with low self-esteem are particularly vulnerable to child marriage and has been instrumental in developing new and creative ways to identify and supporting at risk children.

http://www.ihmp.org/ihmp_pachod.html

Why Reproductive and Sexual Health of Adolescents is Important?

Life Skills Interventions can effectively raise the Age at Marriage

Adolescent girls are vulnerable to social and health risks that necessitate special attention being paid to this group. One such risk is early marriage. An extensive community based study carried out by IHMP in 1998-99 showed that the median age at marriage for girls in Aurangabad district, rural Maharashtra, was alarmingly low at 14.5 years. Another important issue that emerged from this and other IHMP studies is the lack of educational opportunities for young girls. Due to safety concerns, parents stop formal education for daughters if the school is outside the village. After discussions with parents, IHMP designed and is conducting a one-year life skills course for unmarried adolescent girls. The course aims to improve girls' self-esteem and literacy, and delay marriage.

The Life Skills Program at a Glance
Objectives:

1. Improve the social status of adolescent girls by developing skills related to gender, legal literacy, and team-building.

2. Improve adolescent girls’ health status by increasing their cognitive and practical skills in health and nutrition.

3. Promote self-development and increase self-confidence and self-esteem.

4. Delay age at marriage for adolescent girls by achieving all the above.

Structure:

A one-year course, 1 hour each weekday evening, taught by a trained village woman with at least a 7th grade education. A total of 225 one-hour sessions, divided into 5 sections: Social Issues & Institutions; Local Bodies; Life Skills; Child Health and Nutrition; Health.

Target group: Unmarried adolescent girls ages 12-18 years, with a focus on out-of-school and working adolescents.

Current status of program:
Till date 6000 girls have already participated in the course from villages and slums in Pune city.

UNMARRIED ADOLESCENT GIRLS

Data and Methodology:
Data were collected at baseline in 1998-99, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. A quasi experimental design is being used to study the impact of the life skills intervention. For the first round of the intervention, 17 study and 18 control villages are being compared.

To examine trends over time, annual data on age at marriage has been collected in the study villages since 1997.

Impact of Life Skills Intervention on Age at Marriage :
Attendance in life skills classes: Analysis from the first round of the life skills intervention shows a significant impact on age at marriage. From the sample of 1146 girls , only 9% of the girls who completed the course were married before the age of 18 years, compared to almost one-third of the girls who never attended. Girls who never attended the course were more than two-and-a-half times more likely to get married before age 18 compared to girls who completed the course. Girls who attended partially married earlier than those who completed the course, but even partial attendance provided some protection against early marriage compared to those who never attended.

Exposure to life skills intervention: An analysis of determinants of early marriage among girls in the control and study areas shows that, after controlling for background characteristics, girls in the control area were almost 4 times more likely to be married before age 18 than girls in the intervention area.

Conclusion & Implications
Life skill education results in a measurable increase in knowledge about basic facts that can improve their quality of life. It also results in a measurable increase in self confidence, self-esteem and decision making ability in adolescent girls. Age at marriage can be considerably delayed by providing Life skill education to adolescent girls. Sex education and education on sexuality and conception is an integral part of life skill education and has the potential fo reducing risk and improving reproductive and sexual health of adolescent girls.

Life skill education can be provided to both school going and out of school girls through community based initiative . Not a single parent has objected to education on sex, sexuality and conception provided to their daughters. The intervention has the potential to be replicated in the whole of Maharashtra.