2023-05-03 21:07:48
Conflict, climate shocks and the aftermath of Covid-19 are having a detrimental effect on society as they are forcing families to seek a false sense of refuge in child marriage, according to a new analysis published Wednesday by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Worldwide, an estimated 640 million girls and women living today were married in childhood, or 12 million girls a year. For this reason, Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, points out that “we have to do everything in our power to guarantee their rights to an education and an empowered life.”
And it is that, the proportion of young women who were married in childhood has decreased from 21% to 19% since the latest estimates were published, however, the figure is not enough. In fact, global reductions would need to be 20 times faster to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending child marriage by 2030.
However, girls who are married in infancy face immediate and lifelong consequences. They are less likely to stay in school and face a higher risk of early pregnancy, which in turn increases the risk of maternal health complications and infant mortality. A practice that also affects their mental health and well-being.
married girls of the world
According to the report, South Asia could eliminate child marriage in about 55 years. At the moment, it houses 45% of the married girls in the world. However, India has made significant progress in recent decades.
As for sub-Saharan Africa, which currently has the world’s second highest proportion of married girls (20%), it is more than 200 years away from ending this practice at the current rate.
Meanwhile, in Latin America and the Caribbean there are 58 million married girls, 9% of the world total. However, the report warns that the region is on track to have the second highest regional level of child marriage by 2030, behind only sub-Saharan Africa.
For their part, the Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia have also stagnated. According to UNICEF, child marriage is a rare phenomenon among the wealthiest segments of society, but it continues to be a common practice among the poorest.
Precariousness drives child marriage
The UN agency maintains that girls living in fragile environments are twice as likely to become child brides than the average in the rest of the world. In addition, it details that for every ten times that conflict-related deaths multiply, the number of child marriages increases by 7%.
Extreme weather events caused by climate change also play a role. For every 10% deviation in precipitation (i.e. 10% more or 10% less rain than expected) is associated with an approximate 1% increase in the prevalence of child marriage.
Faced with this situation, Russell considers that “unwavering support for vulnerable girls and families” is needed. “We need to focus on keeping girls in school and making sure they have economic opportunities,” she said. @mundiario
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