Early Marriage A Statistical Exploration. UNICEFEarly Marriage: A Statistical Exploration Early Marriage Violates the Rights of Girls and Boys The right.

Early MarriageA Statistical Exploration

UNICEF

Early Marriage: A Statistical Exploration

Early Marriage Violates the Rights of Girls and Boys

The right to free and full consent to marriage is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, and is frequently addressed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

CEDAW article 16 states that “The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage”

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Proportion of women ages 20-24 in union by age 18

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REGIONAL AVERAGES

Proportion of women aged 15-24 who were married before the age of 18

South Asia 48 percent

Sub-Saharan Africa 42 per cent

Latin America and the Caribbean

29 per cent

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SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

Place of residence Household wealth Education

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Women ages 20-24 in union by age 18, national averages

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Rural women 20-24 are more likely to married before age 18

Girls in rural areas more likely to be married by age 18

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00

TurkmenistanRwandaNamibia

KazakhstanDominican Republic

CambodiaKenya

NicaraguaZambiaMalawiGabon

MaliGuinea

BangladeshEthiopia

CameroonHaiti

NepalZimbabwe

UgandaGuatemala

BeninCôte d'Ivoire

ColombiaNiger

PhilippinesEritreaNigeriaBolivia

Tanzania, UnitedIndia

GhanaBurkina Faso

IndonesiaEgyptTogo

South AfricaViet Nam

Peru

Equally likely

2 times as likely

3 times as likely

UNICEF


Disparities in child marriage for women 20-24 in Africa according to household wealth

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Girls 15-19 who are in union are more likely to come from the poorest 40% of society than the richest 40%.

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Education is a protective factor

Women who had attended primary school were less likely to be married by age 18 than those who had not.

Women who attended secondary were even less likely to be married by age 18 than those who attended only primary school.

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Girls 15-19 who are married have a variety of educational experiences

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CHARATERISTICS OF UNION

Number of children Spousal age difference Spousal education gap

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Early marriage is related to having more children

married before age 18

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Women 20-24 married before age 18 tend to marry men 5 or more years older

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Women 20-24 who are married before the age of 18 tend to have less education than the men they marry

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REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH AND KNOWLEDGE

Comprehensive knowledge of HIV Contraceptive use

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Women who know how to prevent HIV infection are less likely to have been married by age 18 than those who do not.

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In all but 4 countries, more than 50 per cent of girls aged 15-19 currently in union know how to protect themselves from HIV transmission

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In more than half the countries considered, women who used only traditional contraceptive methods were more likely to be married before the age of 18 than those who used modern contraception.

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In most countries, girls 15-19 who are in union have never used contraception of any kind

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Profiles of married girls

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Domestic violence is more common among women 15-49 who had been married as children

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Multivariate Analysis: Main FindingsEducation is highly significant as a protective factor;High fertility levels are associated with the prevalence

of child marriage;Women more than 4 years younger than their

partners were significantly more likely to have been married early;

Women whose spouses received some education were less likely to be married before age 18 than women whose partners were uneducated.

Women who have experienced domestic violence were more likely to have been married before 18 than women who had not.

UNICEF


Conclusions and Recommendations

Improving access to education, particularly beyond the primary level, for both girls and boys and eliminating gender gaps in education are important strategies toward ending the practice of child marriage.

Efforts are needed to empower and protect girls who are in union.

Advocacy efforts are required to increase the number of countries for which data on women’s empowerment and experiences of violence are collected.

Early Marriage A Statistical Exploration. UNICEFEarly Marriage: A Statistical Exploration Early Marriage Violates the Rights of Girls and Boys The right.

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