Child abuse and early marriage
Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, emotional and/or
psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may
include any act or failure to act by a parent or a caregiver that results in actual or potential wrongful harm
to a child and can occur in a child's home, or in organizations, schools, or communities the child interacts
with.
Different jurisdictions have different requirements for mandatory reporting and have developed different
definitions of what constitutes child abuse, and therefore have different criteria to remove children from
their families or to prosecute a criminal charge.
child marriage
Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes
an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.
Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative consequences for child brides and
grooms. Girls who marry as children often lack access to education and future career opportunities. It is also
common for them to have adverse health effects resulting from early pregnancy and childbirth. Effects on
child grooms may include the economic pressure of providing for a household and various constraints in
educational and career opportunities. Child marriage is part of the practice of child betrothal, often
including civil cohabitation and a court approval of the engagement. Some factors that encourage child
marriages include poverty, bride price, dowries, cultural traditions, religious and social pressure, regional
customs, fear of the child remaining unmarried into adulthood, illiteracy, and the perceived inability of
women to work.
Research indicates that comprehensive sex education can prevent child marriages.[9] The rate of child
marriages can also be reduced by strengthening rural communities' education systems. Rural development
programs that provide basic infrastructure, including healthcare, clean water, and sanitation, may aid
families financially. Child marriages have historically been common and continue to be widespread,
particularly in developing nations in Africa, SouthAsia, Southeast Asia,West Asia,Latin and North America,
and Oceania. However, developed nations also face a lack of protections for children. In the United States,
for instance, child marriage is still legal in 37 states. Although the age of majority (legal adulthood) and
marriage age are typically 18 years old, these thresholds can differ in different jurisdictions. In some regions,
the legal age for marriage can be as young as 14, with cultural traditions sometimes superseding legal
stipulations. Additionally, jurisdictions may allow loopholes for parental/guardian consent or teenage
pregnancy.
Child marriage is increasingly viewed as a form of child sexual abuse.It is an internationally recognized
health and human rights violation disproportionately affecting girls, globally. It is described by experts as
torture; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and contrary to human rights. The Committee on the
Rights of the Child "reaffirms that the minimum age limit should be 18 years for marriage."
Child marriage has been decreasing in prevalence in most of the world. UNICEF data from 2018 showed that
about 21% of young women worldwide (aged 20 to 24) were married as children. This shows a 25%
decrease from 10 years prior. The countries with the highest known rates of child marriages were Niger,
Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea, the Central African Republic, Mozambique and Nepal, all of which had rates
above 50% between 1998 and 2007. According to studies conducted between 2003 and 2009, the marriage
rate of girls under 15 years old was greater than 20% in Niger, Chad, Bangladesh, Mali, and Ethiopia.Each
year, an estimated 12 million girls globally are married under the age of 18.
Real life scenarios
In 1533, 17-year-old Princess Emilia of Saxony was wed to
George the Pious, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, then aged 48 years. Early marriages have
been common in historical times, including in Europe
Most religions practiced throughout history have established a minimum age for marriage.[citation
needed] Christian canon law forbade the marriage of a girl before the onset of puberty.Within the
Catholic Church, before the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the minimum age for a dissoluble betrothal
(sponsalia de futuro) was seven years in the contractees. The minimal age for a valid marriage was
puberty, or nominally 14 for males, and 12 for females.The 1917 Code of Canon Law raised the
minimal age for a valid marriage to 16 for males, and 14 for females. The 1983 Code of Canon Law
maintained the minimal age for a valid marriage at 16 for males and 14 for femalesEnglish
ecclesiastical law forbade the marriage of a girl before the age of puberty.
Effects of early marriage
Child marriage has lasting consequences on girls, from their health (mental and physical),
education, and social development perspectives. These consequences last well beyond
adolescence.One of the most common causes of death for girls aged 15 to 19 in developing
countries was pregnancy and childbirth. In Niger, estimated to have the world's highest rate of
child marriage, approximately three out of four girls marry before their 18th birthday
Boys are sometimes married as children, almost always to a female minor. UNICEF states that "girls
[are] disproportionately affected by the practice. Globally, the prevalence of child marriage among
boys is just one-sixth that among girls." Research on the effects of child marriage on underage boys
is scant, which researchers state is likely because child marriage involving boys is less common and
boys do not face the adverse health effects as a result of early pregnancy and childbirth.The effects
of child marriage on boys include being ill-prepared for certain responsibilities such as providing for
the family, early fatherhood, and a lack of access to education and career opportunities.As of
September 2014, 156 million living men were married as underage boys
Why do people marry early
A traditional, formal presentation of the bride price
at a Thai engagement ceremony.Providing a girl with a dowry at her marriage is an ancient practice
that continues in some parts of the world, especially in the Indian subcontinent. Parents bestow
property on the marriage of a daughter as a dowry, which is often an economic challenge for many
families. The difficulty in saving for dowry was common, particularly in times of economic hardship,
or persecution, or unpredictable seizure of property and savings. These difficulties pressed families
to betroth their girls, irrespective of their age, as soon as they had the resources to pay the dowry.
Thus, Goitein notes that European Jews would marry their girls early, once they had collected the
expected amount of dowry.
Akan
traditional marriage list
2.Bride kidnapping
depiction of bride kidnapping
Bride kidnapping,[99] also known as marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a practice in
which a male abducts the female he wishes to marry. Bride kidnapping has been practiced around
the world and throughout history. It continues to occur in countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus
region, parts of Africa, among people as diverse as the Hmong in Southeast Asia, the Tzeltal in
Mexico, and the Romani in Europe.[citation needed] Bride kidnapping is a widespread issue in
Ethiopia. A 2003 study found the custom's prevalence rate was estimated at 69 percent
nationally,with reports of girls as young as 11 being taken for marriage. In response, Ethiopia has
enacted laws to outlaw this practice and established a minimum marriage age of 18.However, the
effectiveness of these measures in reducing bride kidnapping remains unclear
3.Politics and financial relationships
Child marriage in 1697 of Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, age 12 to Louis, heir apparent of France age 15.
The marriage created a political alliance.
Child marriages may depend upon socio-economic status. The aristocracy in some cultures, as in
the European feudal era tended to use child marriage as a method to secure political ties. Families
were able to cement political and/or financial ties by having their children marryThe betrothal is
considered a binding contract between the families and the children. The breaking of a betrothal
can have serious consequences both for the families and for the betrothed individuals themselves
Ways of preventing child marriage
Child marriage is always forced marriage, according to the OHCHR, because children cannot give
full informed consent to marriage. Many organizations offer ways to help prevent child marriage
and forced marriage.[
For children
Child marriage is illegal in many places; however, children who have been forced into marriage
have not broken the law. There are organizations that offer help, such as housing and legal aid, to
children who are trying to escape or prevent a marriage
Thank you.
ref.wikipedia and google