Final PBL : Child marriage

PBL NEWS REPORT : Joyce, Milky, Xinran, Yaxuan

18 August 2022

CHILD MARRIAGE

SDG5 : Gender Equality "Whenever I saw him, I hid. I hated to see him," recalls Tahani, pictured here, of the early days of her marriage to Majed, when she was 6 and he was 25. The couple live in Yemen.

Can you believe that there are still

2,928,000 girls suffering from child marriage

What is “Gender Equality”

What is “Child Marriage”

Gender equality is the state in which access to rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender.

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.

Child marriage, the marriage of children under the age of 18, is a harmful practice which violates the rights of children. Child brides are less likely to finish school, and are more likely to be victims of violence and become infected with HIV. And often lack the skills needed for employment.

Child marriage can be found in every region in the world, from the Middle East to Latin America, South Asia It is a global problem.

Believe it or Not ! Every 3 seconds girls around the world are suffering from ‘Child marriage’ Why is it a problem ?

750 million women and girls were married before the age of 18.

Child marriage robs them of their childhoods, education, health and freedom, and can leave girls vulnerable to abuse for the rest of their lives.

Causes 1. Poverty

Child marriage is most common among the poor who have fewer resources and opportunities to invest for girls. Parents may assess the costs and benefits of marriage and decide to marry their daughters early if they are seen as an economic burden that can be relieved through marriage.

2. Social norm

Potential reasons for child marriage include the traditional belief that women and girls are considered to have a primary role as wife and mother only.

3. Traditional age of marriage:

On average one quarter of men and an equal share of women believe that it is morally wrong for a woman to delay getting married to further her education or to start a career.

4.

No making

decision

Families make decisions about their daughters’ marriages within the context of social norms.

Girls growing up with no sense of the right to assert her own point of view.

What are the effects from ‘Child Marriage’ 1. Healthcare

3. Education

Girls who marry when they are young tend to feel isolation and depression. It is affect their mental health.

Not only that research shows that marriage by the age of 20 years is a risk factor of HIV infection in girls. This problem leading to rising of Morality rate.

No access to enroll in and complete school: When girls get married early, formal schooling and education often cease, and they will be removed from the social network and support structure that schools provide which Limit women’s literacy,numeracy and financial skills.

2. Economics The problem is include reduce returns to paid employment ,increase in unpaid domestic work and reduce economic growth in a community Child marriage creates barriers to female employment which contribute lower labor force participation rates and lower labor force returns.

Intergenerational effects: Lack of education makes it more difficult for women to obtain information about health and education for their children, and girls whose mothers haven’t received education are more likely to

marry early. It’s like a vicious circle.

4.Human rights Violation:

Child marriage leads to domestic and sexual violence and exploitation into roles that can only serve the family.

Religion>Law： Child marriage uses culture, honor, tradition and religion as a pretext to legitimize the violation and abuse of girls' human rights.

They are tolerated by governments and permitted by laws. In these places, even if there are laws against child marriage, most people don't obey them.

If we don’t take action now, 150 million more girls will be married by 2030.

How can we help those girls ?

Laws Introduce strict laws to end violence and sexual assault and child marriage. The most widely accepted definition for a child is anyone under the age of 18, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Provide services

Both unmarried and married girls need high quality health services to live healthy and safe lives.

Making sure health services are youth-friendly and that girls are able to access care without judgement and without male supervision is also important.

Why we select” Education” as our recommendation?

Education Increasing access to accessible, high quality and safe schooling is a critical strategy in ending child marriage.

Education built knowledge, open new opportunities and can help to shift norms around the value of girls in the community.

Mobilise families and communities Families and communities must be engaged in transforming the negative social norms that limit girls’ choices.

By working together, we can extend gender equality in the home and in public spaces, so that girls can reach their full potential.

For other solutions, the phenomenon can only be changed from the outside.

But we cannot avoid the fact that there are regions where people still think that child marriage is right. When the person who thinks this way has more power, he has the possibility to change the existing laws. The reason for choosing education is that it can change the social practices and beliefs that are instilled in people. Although this is a long-term process, it is useful. It will enable young people to resist child marriage and the older generation to become aware of the dangers of child marriage. In addition, education enables girls to gain useful knowledge so that they can find work and get paid without being dependent on men. At the same time, education enables girls to fight for the right to make their own decisions and gain more freedom.

“Education for girls is one of the best strategies for protecting girls against child marriage” How can Education help to reduce Child marriage ?

GOOD ENVIRONMENT IN SCHOOL

EDUCATED PEOPLE

MEDICAL/SYSTEM

1. Promote access to, retention of girl’s education through facilities.

1.Change the expectations, attitudes, and practices to religion leader, community and parent.

1. Facilitate access of adolescents at risk of child marriage and girl to vocational training institutions.

2.Create protective and safe environments.

2.Integrate gender and rights education in school curriculum.

2.Strengthen civil registration systems to protect boys and girls from sexual and physical violence.

3.Improve menstruation and hygiene management for girls in school.

3.Build girls' and boys' capacities in life.

3.Offer safe spaces for girls and boys to talk about sensitive issues.

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4.Senior women and male teachers in schools.

4.Accurate reproductive health information to enable them to manage their growth and development.

From the idea to ‘Reality’

The integration of Sexual and Reproductive Health Education with the provision of sanitary infrastructure can boost adolescent girls’ confidence, reduce drop-out rates, reduce child marriage rates, grow overall gross national product (GNP).

How Safe Spaces Are Helping to Prevent Child Marriage in Sierra Leone The purpose Tackle child marriage in 12 of the most high-prevalence including Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Yemen, and Nepal. According to the UN agency, factors which put girls at risk for child marriage include: being orphaned, not living with one’s parents UNFPA aims tactics includes the creation of safe spaces across the country.

“We can’t work with the girls without engaging [men] …

This supports community dialogue on the benefits of keeping girls in school, why men and boys need to support the girls to have better lives and make better decisions,”

Why could ‘’Safe space’ help ?

These safe spaces are used to educate girls on the law so they can feel empowered to reject child marriage and report it when necessary. It also relays to them the importance of staying in school.

SAFE SPACE is means schools, community centres, and even spots under trees — wherever the community deems is a safe space for girls to meet and speak openly.

Benefits of keeping girls in school : girls are empowered with life skills so that they can claim their sexual and reproductive rights

Promote adolescent health friendly services and rights in health facilities.

Girls participate in a discussion as part of UNFPA Sierra Leone's safe space initiative, part of the UN agency's effort to curb child marriage in the country. | UNFPA Sierra Leone

Menstrual health and hygiene empowers women and girls: How to ensure we get it right If menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) is well managed from the start, it has potential to contribute to increasing female empowerment.

Getting this right is important. If we failing to do so, it will influence on infrastructure, education, product supply(affordability), solid waste(environment), Stigma.

Take Mozambique as example, as part of the Urban Sanitation Project and COVID-19 support, the World Bank is financing a set of interventions aimed at ensuring safe return to school.

The interventions include water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in 165 schools, benefiting 157,000 students. But they go beyond infrastructure to include sanitary pads, soap as well as menstrual education.

“Child marriage is a complex issue not only bound by the law, but also religious, traditional, and social norms — and simply rejecting it outright is often not enough.”

——Jacky Habib

The power of education can make a significant impact to child marriage The effectiveness of Education

The limitation

Going to school can save some girls from child marriage:

Fund

According to World Bank data, each year of secondary education may reduce the likelihood of marrying before the age of 18 by five percentage points or more in many countries.

Girls with secondary or higher education are 3 times less likely to marry as children compared to girls with no education.

On average, every additional year of schooling reduces the risk of marriage before age 18 by six percentage points.

Reference https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/saf e-spaces-child-marriage-Sierra-Leone/ https://blogs.worldbank.org/water/menstrual -health-and-hygiene-empowers-women-an d-girls-how-ensure-we-get-it-right https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/ho w-education-can-help-reduce-child-marriag e/ https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/documents/8 57/Addressing-child-marriage-through-educ ation-what-the-evidence-shows-knowledge -summary.pdf

Most child marriage countries are poor and backward countries, they may not have as much money to support them to provide education and hygiene for girls.

Poverty In poor places and families, there are not enough resources and opportunities to invest in girls. If daughters are seen as a financial burden that can be relieved through marriage, parents may evaluate the costs and benefits of marriage and decide to marry early rather than allow girls to receive an education.

Social norms Parents——In most cases, girls do not dare go against their parents. They decide when daughters should get married, and, in cases where daughters refuse, they forcefully marry them off.

School——Gender equality in education cannot be achieved by the education sector alone. Negative gender norms in society bring gender bias in education. Countries need to focus on making schools more inclusive for all students, whatever their background, ability or identity.

Religion——They influence family decisions through sermons. When people try to set a specific age for marriage and make it legal, they mobilize communities to stop these efforts.

Child marriage is a complex issue and education is a solution but requires long-term efforts. While there are still limitationss, in the future, we think we can change people's minds and behaviors through education to reduce the number of child marriages.