Child marriage

Child marriage is a recognized marriage or careless union entered into by an entity before reaching the age of 18. The legally arranged marriageable age in many jurisdictions is below 18 years, above all in the case of girls; and even when the age is set at 18 years, many jurisdictions permit earlier marriage with parental approval or in special cases, such as teenage pregnancy. Age of consent laws are anticipated to defend children from astonish to sexualisation and sexual utilization, and child trafficking is also, to some extent, associated with child marriage. Child marriage affects both boys and girls, though the irresistible better part of those artificial are girls, most of whom are in poor socioeconomic situations.

Child marriage is correlated to child betrothal and anxious early marriage because of the pregnancy of the girl. In many cases, only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female. Child marriages are also driven by poverty, bride price, dowry, cultural ethnicity, laws that allow child marriages, religious and social pressures, regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, illiteracy, and perceived inability of women to work for money.

 

Child marriages were frequent throughout history for a variety of reasons, including poverty, insecurity, as well as for political and financial reasons. Today, child marriages are still fairly extensive in some upward countries, such as parts of Africa, South Asia, Southeast and East Asia, West Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. The prevalence of child marriage has been falling in most parts of the world. The countries with the highest observed rates of child marriages below the age of 18 are Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea and the Central African Republic, with a rate above 60%. Niger, Chad, Bangladesh, Mali and Ethiopia were the countries with child marriage rates greater than 20% below the age of 15, according to 2003-2009 surveys.

Child marriage has lasting consequences on girls, from their health, education and social improvement perspectives. These consequences last well beyond adolescence. One of the most commons causes of death for girls aged 15 to 19 in mounting countries was pregnancy and child birth.