WUNRN
Presented
at the UN Human Rights Council Panel on “Harmful Traditional Practices” - 17th June, 2014
LINKING CHILD, EARLY & FORCED MARRIAGE WITH TEENAGE PREGNANCY
By
Khalea Callender - World YWCA
I
am here representing the World YWCA which is one of the largest international
women’s rights movements reaching 25 million women and girls in over 120
countries. The World YWCA’s Strategic Framework has three goals focused on
promoting women's intergenerational and transformative leadership; advancing
women's rights through advocacy, programmes and services; and building a strong
movement with good governance. Within
this context, it prioritises young women's leadership, violence against women,
and sexual and reproductive rights and HIV.
The
practice of child, early and forced marriage is widespread and occurs in all
regions of the world. The World YWCA recognises that it constitutes a
violation, abuse or impairment of human rights, it prevents individuals from
living their lives free from all forms of violence and it has adverse
consequences on the enjoyment of human rights, such as the right to education,
the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and
reproductive health rights.
According
to an UNFPA report, globally, an estimated 1 in 3 young women aged 20 to 24 are
married before the age of 18. If present trends continue, an estimated 142
million girls will be married by their 18th birthday by 2020. The World YWCA
recognises that child marriage is an unacceptable violation of the rights of
children, particularly adolescent girls with long term negative consequences on
their health and wellbeing. It denies these children their childhood,
disrupting their access to education, limiting their ability to participate in
economic and social spheres, and jeopardising their health. It renders girls
and young women more vulnerable to intimate partner violence, including sexual
violence and can increase the risk of HIV.
Child,
early and forced marriage is not limited to Africa and Asia as many may
believe. In the Caribbean, and a lot of other countries in the world, this
human rights violation is associated with teenage pregnancy. “The State of
World Population 2013,” produced by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), notes that
out of the 7.3 million births, 2 million are to girls who are 14 or younger,
many of whom suffer “grave long-term health and social consequences from
pregnancy.” The reality is that teenage pregnancy is most often not the result
of a deliberate choice but rather the absence of choices, and of circumstances
beyond a girl’s control. It is a consequence of little or no access to school,
employment, quality information and health care.
According
to UNFPA the rates of teenage pregnancy in the Caribbean are among the highest
in the world, with 20 per cent of all women in the region becoming mothers
before their 20th birthday, many of them before they are 15 years old.
Countries with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the region include;
Jamaica, Belize, Guyana, the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent. With an
estimated one-third of Caribbean teenage girls being married before their 18th
birthday, many are compelled to do so by unexpected/unplanned pregnancies.
Trinidad
and Tobago, with a population of about 1.3 million, reports 2,500 teenage
pregnancies annually, noting that these are only the figures reported to their
Student Support Services, many are still unrecorded. Research by the Faculty of
Medical Science of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago
(UWI) showed that by age 19, more than 1,000 young women already had four
children. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has taken further steps to
protect the rights of children by establishing a child protection task force.
This committee recently submitted a report to the government who is reviewing
the recommendation put forward.
The
conservative cultures of many parents in the Caribbean brings pressure to bear
on teenage parents. The World YWCA has identified that in order to tackle
teenage pregnancy, one must adopt a holistic approach, which does not only
dwell on changing girls’ behaviour but seeks to change attitudes in society so
that girls are encouraged to stay in school. Child marriage is banned, girls
have access to sexual and reproductive health including contraception, and
young mothers have better support systems.
Within
the context of both violence against women and sexual reproductive health and
rights, the World YWCA has been advocating for the elimination and prevention
of child, early and forced marriage. In over 70 countries worldwide, YWCAs
deliver rights-based services to survivors of violence, including survivors of
child, early and forced marriage and those at risk of violence, including
emergency and long-term accommodation, legal and counselling services and
community education and awareness raising programmes. Furthermore, across the
YWCA movement our members are delivering sexual and reproductive health
services and raising awareness about harmful traditional practices.
To
conclude, child, early and forced marriage is a human rights issue; it affects
the rights of girls and women. Child, early and forced marriage entrenches
gender inequalities; it undermines girls’ right to free and full consent to
participate in decisions affecting them, to live free from all forms of stigma,
coercion, discrimination, violence and exploitation, including slavery and
servitude. Furthermore, it undermines their right to education and health,
including sexual and reproductive health and rights and the chance to live
prosperous and fulfilling lives and being able to fulfil their destiny.