UNICEF says most vulnerable girls at risk of child marriage due to COVID-19 pandemic
To mark this year’s International women’s Day, the United Nations Children funds (UNICEF) has disclosed in a report that 10 million more girls will be at risk of becoming child brides as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic before the end of the decade.
UNICEF stated in the new report tagged: “COVID-19 A Threat to Progress against child marriage” that 25 million child marriages were averted in the last decade, warning that these gains are now under serious threat.
UNICEF further warned that school closures, economic stress, service disruptions, pregnancy, and parental deaths due to the pandemic are putting the most vulnerable girls at increased risk of child marriage.
“Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade, despite significant reductions in several countries in recent years. In the last ten years, the proportion of young women globally who were married as children had decreased by 15 percent, from nearly 1 in 4 to 1 in 5, the equivalent of some 25 million marriages averted, a gain that is now under threat.”
READ ALSO: UNICEF, others partner to pay for COVID-19 drugs for poor countries
Reacting to the report, UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, said: “COVID-19 has made an already difficult situation for millions of girls even worse. Shuttered schools, isolation from friends and support networks, and rising poverty have added fuel to a fire the world was already struggling to put out. But we can and we must extinguish child marriage.
“International Women’s Day is a key moment to remind ourselves of what these girls have to lose if we do not act urgently – their education, their health, and their futures.”
The report also noted that Girls who marry in childhood face immediate and lifelong consequences. They are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school. Child marriage increases the risk of early and unplanned pregnancy, in turn increasing the risk of maternal complications and mortality.
The practice can also isolate girls from family and friends and exclude them from participating in their communities, taking a heavy toll on their mental health and well-being
“COVID-19 is profoundly affecting the lives of girls. Pandemic-related travel restrictions and physical distancing make it difficult for girls to access the health care, social services, and community support that protect them from child marriage, unwanted pregnancy, and gender-based violence.
“As schools remain closed, girls are more likely to drop out of education and not return. Job losses and increased economic insecurity may also force families to marry their daughters to ease financial burdens’” the report noted.
Worldwide, an estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, with about half of those occurring in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, and Nigeria. To off-set the impacts of COVID-19 and end the practice by 2030 – the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals – progress must be significantly accelerated.
One year into the pandemic, immediate action was needed to mitigate the toll on girls and their families Fore stressed
“By reopening schools, implementing effective laws and policies, ensuring access to health and social services – including sexual and reproductive health services – and providing comprehensive social protection measures for families, we can significantly reduce a girl’s risk of having her childhood stolen through child marriage,” Fore added.
