WUNRN
10 Myths about Child Marriage
12
February 2015 - Author: UNFPA
The
effects of child marriage are devastating and far-reaching. Photo illustration
by Whitney Kidder. © UNFPA/Whitney Kidder
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Despite
widespread condemnation of child marriage, the practice persists around the
world, perpetuated by a toxic mix of poverty and gender inequality. Its effects
are devastating, yet the issue is often deeply misunderstood.
Dispelling
these misperceptions is one of the crucial first steps towards ending child marriage
once and for all. Below, UNFPA addresses ten of the biggest myths about the
practice, its causes and its consequences.
Myth 1: Child marriage
is rare.
Child
marriage is actually quite common. About 1 in 3 girls in the developing world
are married before age 18.
New
estimates from UNFPA show that this year alone, 13.5 million children – most of
them girls – will be married before they turn 18. About 4.4 million of them
will be married before they turn 15. This equals 37,000 child marriages each
day.
Myth 2: It only happens
in Muslim/African/poor countries.
Actually,
child marriage takes place all over the world, across continents, cultures and
religions. It even happens in wealthy Western countries – including the United
States and United Kingdom. But it is much more common in the developing world
because one of the main driving factors is poverty.
In Eastern Europe and Central Asia,
10 per cent of girls are child brides. In the Arab States, 19 per cent of girls
are. In other regions, the number rises as high as 43 per cent.
The
majority of child marriages take place in Asia and the Pacific, the most
populous region. There, about 40 million girls are child brides.
Myth 3: It only happens
to girls.
It is
true that the vast majority of child marriages involve girls. But boys can be
married off, just as girls are. Estimates from UNICEF suggest
that about 18 per cent of those married before age 18 are boys, while about 82
per cent are girls.
Myth 4: Ending child
marriage means interfering in other countries’ affairs. They should decide for
themselves.
Countries
around the world have decided – that child marriage is a grave violation
of human rights.
Child
marriage is prohibited by two of the most broadly endorsed human rights
agreements in the world, the Convention on the Rights of the Child
and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women. Together, these treaties have
been signed or ratified by
every country except one. And
the outlier, South Sudan, has taken steps to ratify the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The
problem persists not because governments support child marriage but because of
continuing poverty and gender inequality.
Myth 5: Only monsters
would allow their daughters to be married off as children.
It can
be hard to imagine why someone would choose to have their child married off.
But for millions of people, child marriage can seem like the best – or only –
option.
Impoverished
parents, for example, often believe marriage will secure a daughters’ future by
making another family responsible for her care. And parents in humanitarian
crises, where sexual violence is rampant, may see child marriage as a way to
protect their daughters. In fact, child marriage rates have been known to skyrocket during the chaos of war.
Myth 6: So this is
really a family matter, right?
The
consequences of child marriage don’t stay in the family. They affect whole
societies and countries.
Child
brides are more likely to become pregnant before their bodies are mature,
increasing the risks of maternal and newborn death. Child brides are also much
more likely to drop out of school – a waste of their potential – and their own
children tend to be less healthy and less educated.
This
takes a cumulative toll on communities, workforces and economies, and the loss
is carried over generations.
Myth 7: These girls must
be completely helpless.
Actually,
girls can play a huge role in ending child marriage – when they know their
rights and have access to the right information and opportunities.
For
example, through UNFPA’s Action for Adolescent Girls programme, girls in 12
countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America are learning about their human
rights. These include their right to dignity, their right to education and
health, their right to live free of abuse and coercion, and their right to
choose, as adults, whether and whom to marry.
Girls in
the programme also receive key information and services, including
comprehensive sexuality education and life skills training. They receive health
services and participate in savings groups, which help them become financially
literate. With these skills and services, girls often become empowered to stand
up for themselves.
Girls
equipped with this knowledge and skills have persuaded their families to delay or cancel engagements. Many have been inspired to
become advocates and leaders in their communities.
When people begin to see healthy, educated, safe and unmarried adolescent girls
as the new normal, it can change perceptions and expectations about child
marriage.
Myth 8: Only harsh
penalties can end this practice.
Most
countries have already enacted strong laws against child marriage. While it is
true that these laws need better enforcement, laws alone cannot end child
marriage.
When
parents fear for their daughters’ safety, better security is needed. Gender equality
must be advanced. And extreme poverty, which drives so many child marriages,
must be eradicated. For this, many changes are needed, including social safety
nets for girls and their families, as well as improved access to education,
health services and economic opportunities.
Myth 9: This issue doesn’t affect me.
When the
potential of a third of all girls in the developing world is undermined,
everyone is affected. The loss of their collective potential is immeasurably
huge, and it touches every economy and workforce in the world.
Try to
imagine a world where tens of millions more girls are educated, healthy and
empowered, where every community benefits from the full bloom of their
creativity and resourcefulness. Because of child marriage, their ideas,
abilities and solutions are lost to all of us.
Myth 10: There’s nothing
I can do about child marriage.
There
are many ways to help end child marriage, from supporting
programmes that advocate for human rights, girls’ empowerment and youth
leadership, to raising one's voice about the issue.
Bringing
these issues to the attention of the public and global leaders can help make
them an international priority. Young people can – and are – sharing their
concerns about such issues through the #ShowYourSelfie campaign,
which will be presented to world leaders at the 2015 United Nations General
Assembly. Show your support for ending child marriage by sharing your selfie
with the hashtag #IDONT.