Ten million more girls face the risk of child marriage because of the COVID-19 pandemic, warns the UN agency focused on children UNICEF Canada. In the decade before the pandemic, progress had been made in reducing marriages of girls by 15 percent. This drove the risk from one in four girls married early to one in five, representing some 25 million marriages averted.
“COVID-19 is threatening the fragile gains made to advance girls’ rights,” said Rowena Pinto, Chief Program Officer at UNICEF Canada. “Shuttered schools, isolation from friends, and rising poverty have added fuel to a fire the world was already struggling to put out. International Women’s Day reminds us that we can and we must extinguish child marriage.”
Risks of violence, poor health, death
Girls who marry as children suffer immediate and lifelong consequences, says UNICEF Canada. They are more likely to suffer domestic violence and are less likely to stay in school. They face an increased risk of early and unplanned pregnancy which may lead to maternal complications and death. They may also be isolated from family and friends which takes a heavy toll on their mental health and well being.
17-year old Rima Bera has faced threats for reporting and preventing child marriages in West Bengal, India, but she plans to continue her work. (UNICEF Canada)
Hundreds of millions married early
Pandemic restrictions have made it hard for girls to access the health care, social services and community support that offered protection against early marriage, pregnancy and violence. Job losses and poverty may have obliged families to marry off their daughters.
Around the world, an estimated 650 million women and girls alive today were married in childhood, says UNICEF Canada. About half live in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria. UNICEF is calling on governments to take immediate action to stop childhood marriage.
“By reopening schools, implementing effective laws and policies, ensuring access to health and social services – including sexual and reproductive health services – and providing comprehensive social protection measures for families, we can significantly reduce a girl’s risk of having her childhood stolen through child marriage,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
While the government of Canada has joined international efforts to end the marriage of children under the age of 18, researchers say the practice goes on in Canada itself. Using data from statistics agencies and censuses, researchers at McGill University found that more than 3,600 marriage certificates were issued to children under 18 between 2000 and 2018.
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