Twelve million girls are forced into marriage every year, according to UNICEF

3 May. (EUROPE PRESS) –

Some 640 million girls and women have been forced to marry in childhood, according to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which estimates that 12 million girls suffer child marriage every year, a scourge that continues to be very present in some contexts despite the fact that, at a general level, it seems to be constantly decreasing.

The percentage of young people who got married as girls has gone from 21 to 19 percent in five years, but the UN estimates that if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be met by 2030, the rate should be 20 times higher.

Those who experience child marriage suffer immediate and lifelong consequences as they are more at risk of dropping out of school and becoming pregnant prematurely, which in turn can isolate girls from families and communities and increases the likelihood of suffering psychological and physical complications.

The slowdown in the eradication of this scourge is especially pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa, to the point that it will take more than 200 years to end child marriage, while Latin America is on track to register the second worst level by area this year . On the opposite side is South Asia, which despite concentrating 45 percent of married girls, also leads the reduction in the practice and can reach zero in about 55 years.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell has warned that in a world “plunged into one crisis after another”, the hopes and dreams of vulnerable children, especially girls, who should be students and not wives.” Conflict, climate disturbances and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to this, according to the report.

“The economic and health crisis, the escalation of armed conflicts and the devastating effects of climate change are forcing families to seek a false sense of security in child marriage,” Russell warned in a statement.

To end child marriage, “continued support for girls and vulnerable families needs to continue.” Girls living in environments considered fragile are twice as likely to marry, while every time conflict-related deaths increase tenfold there is a 7 per cent increase in child marriages.