Day 6
Gender Violence and Girls
Adolescent and pre-adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to violence, including sexual violence, due to their position in society. Gender inequalities and under-valuing of female children means that girls are often denied their rights to life, security, education, health care, adequate nutrition, and protection from all forms of violence, neglect. Girls are more often denied the right to education, which substantially limits their opportunities for advancement and entrenches their economic dependence on others for support in adulthood.
Sexual, emotional, and physical violence against girls affects their development and sense of well-being. It can destroy the bonds of trust within families and have a drastic impact on future relationships. In some cases, parents and other family members are responsible for violence against girls or are complicit in violence. 'Honour killings', child marriage, child trafficking, physical and sexual abuse, FGC/FGM (female gentital cutting/mutilation), and others are forms of violence, or expose children to violence, that commonly involve family members. The remaining portion of this article will highlight the problem of child marriage.
"A girl came to our area after she got married to her husband. When she refused to have sex with him, he beat her up. Then my parents and some other people intervened. After that, she ran away in the middle of the night to her parents and said to them that she wants to go to school. But, since they refused to send her to school, they married her again. Then she hanged herself … She didn't want that [marriage], but we don't have a choice." Amhara girl (Ethiopia), age 15, married at age 4 [1]
Child Marriage
"Child marriage is a violation of human rights whether it happens to a girl or a boy, but it represents perhaps the most prevalent form of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls. The harmful consequences include separation from family and friends, lack of freedom to interact with peers and participate in community activities, and decreased opportunities for education. Child marriage can also result in bonded labour or enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation and violence against the victims. Because they cannot abstain from sex or insist on condom use, child brides are often exposed to such serious health risks as premature pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and, increasingly, HIV/AIDS." [2]
Child marriage can be defined as the "marriage of anyone below the age of 18. It is the marriage of a child to an adult or another child, and may be legally condoned by national laws." [3] As the above quotes demonstrate, child marriage disproportionately affects girls and has severe consequences for their health, happiness, development, and well-being. Girls are often subjected to violence by their own families when they refuse to marry or when they run away from their husbands. Whether or not a child can 'agree' to marry is a subject of some debate. Whereas some may argue that an adolescent is capable of consenting to marry before the age of 18, the majority of child marriage cases do not involve free, full and informed consent and can therefore be considered 'forced'. In the majority of child marriage cases girls are prevented from completing their schooling. They also are more likely to experience early childbearing, which exposes young girls to maternal mortality and obstetric fistula. Despite the fact that most countries have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and have specified 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage, child marriage continues to be a problem in many countries.
Where does it happen?
"The practice of girls marrying at a young age is most common in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. However, in the Middle East, North Africa and other parts of Asia, marriage at, or shortly after, puberty is common among some groups.
There are also parts of West and Eastern Africa and South Asia where marriages much earlier than puberty are not unusual. The marriage of girls between the ages of 16 and 18 is common in parts of Latin America and Eastern Europe.
It is hard to know the number of early marriages as so many are unregistered and unofficial." [4]
Why does it happen?
In societies where child marriage persists, the rights of women and girls are not respected. Women and girls are frequently viewed as inferior and are not allowed to make decisions about their own lives, including decisions about when and who they should marry. Child marriage might take place between families "as a means of maintaining or ensuring social, economic or political ties between families . . . [or] Parents may consent to child marriages out of economic necessity." [5] Whereas child marriage is always a violation of children's rights, parents and family members may not view the practice as a human rights issue. Rather, it is bound up in notions of tradition, honour, and kinship.
What is being done?
Programs and projects which sensitize communities and families to the negative impacts of child marriage, encourage girl-child education, and provide access to income generating opportunities for families and women, are helping to change attitudes and reduce the prevalence of child marriage. United Nations and international development agencies work with NGOs and grassroots organizations to address factors that entrench child marriage, such as poverty, gender inequalities, violence against women and girls, sexism, and other related issues. Empowering women and girls and working with communities, families, and individuals is making a difference in the lives of many girls. It is also important for victims to be able to share their stories.
Too Brief a Child
"This 13-minute video examines the impact of early marriage on the lives of girls using testimonies from teenage brides and their families in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso and Yemen." UNFPA
Sources
[1], [3], [4], [5] Child Rights Information Network. 19 July 2007 - CRINMAIL 899 - Special edition on child marriage.
http://www.crin.org/email/crinmail_detail.asp?crinmailID=2280
http://www.crin.org/email/crinmail_detail.asp?crinmailID=2280
[2] UNICEF. Child Protection Information Sheet.
More Information
International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW). How to End Child Marriage: Action Strategies for Prevention and Protection.
Linda Osarenren. Tradition at the Heart of Violence Against Women and Girls in Africa. Pambazuka News
UNFPA. Child marriage fact sheet
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