What is E arly Marriage

2. What is Early Marriage • Marriage is a partnership between consenting adults and is usually binding in law. In early marriage (sometimes called child marriage) one or both of the people involved are under 18. • Early marriage often happens under customary laws without any formal registration. It mostly affects girls, who may be coerced, tricked or forced into marrying against their will, but it affects boys too, albeit on a smaller scale. • Early marriage is not specific to any country or region. It happens for many reasons, but the causes are usually complex. Married at an early age

3. Facts on Early Marriage 1 One in seven girls in the developing world (excluding China) will be married before the age of 15. 2 If nothing changes, there will be 142 million child marriages in developing countries between now and 2020. That’s 37,000 girls a day. 3 Child brides have a pregnancy death rate double that of women in their 20s. 4 One-third of girls in the developing world will be married before the age of 18. 5 Girls from poor families are nearly twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls from wealthier families.

4. Age at First Birth 1 Half of all first births in the developing world are to adolescent girls. 2 Medical complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15-19 worldwide. 3 Girls between the ages of 10 and 14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20 to 24. 4 If a mother is under the age of 18, her infant’s risk of dying in its first year of life is 60 per cent greater than that of an infant born to a mother older than 19. Teen moms in Turkana

5. How Can Education Make a Difference  Education allows children and young people to make their own choices about their future and enter into marriage only when they choose to.  Free and compulsory education is a key factor in combating discrimination and helps to ensure that the child is at the center of educational laws and policies.  If the right to education is fulfilled, early marriage will no longer be a default choice for poorer parents who wish to safeguard their children’s future, in particular for girls.  When a girl in the developing world receives seven years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. Esther’s class (top right)

6. Other Resources At what age?..Report www.right-to-education.org/sites/r2e.gn.apc.org/files/At%20What%20Age_.pdf Promoting Rights in Schools http://www.right-to-education.org/sites/r2e.gn.apc.org/files/S333%20PRS_final_1.pdf Breaking Vows: Early and Forced Marriage and Girls’ Education www.plan-uk.org/resources/documents/Breaking-Vows-Early-and-Forced-Marriage-and- Girls-Education Girls Not Brides www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage PLAN - Because I am a Girl project www.becauseiamagirl.org International Center for Research on Women www.icrw.org/files/images/Child-Marriage-Fact-Sheet-Education.pdf

7. References Used in this Presentation Right to Education Project , www.right-to-education.org The Girl Effect Factsheet, www.Girleffect.org Young women who want an education