According to the International Children’s Emergency Fund of the United Nations, the practice of child marriage is diminishing, but only at a rate that would take 300 years to completely eradicate; a perfect storm of crises may yet turn the trend around.
“Especially in the past ten years, we have unquestionably achieved progress in the renunciation of the practice of child marriage. Unfortunately, this progress was insufficient, said Claudia Cappa, the report’s lead author, to AFP on Tuesday.
Estimates from UNICEF place the number of child brides at 12 million every year, with 640 million girls and women having married before turning 18 in total.
However, it did point out that the number of such marriages has been declining over the past 25 years.
According to the agency, 25% of 20 to 24 year old young women were married before they turned 18, but by 2012, that number had fallen to 23%, and by 2022, it had fallen to 19%.
However, the report stated that by 2030, nine million girls are anticipated to be married off.
Cappa stated that the bulk of these marriages involve girls between the ages of 12 and 17. “At current pace, we might have to wait 300 years to eliminate child marriage,” he added.
Additionally, UNICEF worries that the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic, international conflicts, and the escalating effects of climate change could undo the hard-won progress.
According to the report, COVID-19 might be the only cause of an additional 10 million child marriages between 2020 and 2030.
“The world is engulfed by crises on top of crises that are crushing the hopes and dreams of vulnerable children, especially girls who should be students, not brides,” said UNICEF chief Catherine Russell in a statement.
Families may feel compelled to wed off children as a security measure during such circumstances.
Although child marriage is obviously against children’s rights, the report notes that it is frequently seen by families as a “protective” measure for girls, offering financial, social, or even physical protection.
Additionally, it allows you to take care of one less mouth.
Geographically, South Asia is the main reason why the number of girl marriages is declining.
However, the 640 million women who were married as children today, or about 45% of them, still reside in this region. One third of that is from India alone.
The situation in sub-Saharan Africa, which appears to be defying the trend, is of particular concern to UNICEF.
With one in three marriages occurring before the age of 18, the survey stated that girls there now have the highest risk of child marriage in the entire globe.
By 2030, it projects that there will be a 10% increase in child brides.
