Save the Children

Thank you for supporting Save the Children! We are always excited to share information about our programs with our generous donors - read more to learn about our programming dedicated to ending child marriage around the world. 

SUMMARY

Child marriage is a gross violation of human rights and an irreversible end to childhood. It cuts across countries, cultures, religions, and ethnicities, disproportionately affecting adolescent girls. As both a form and cause of gender-based violence, the practice has profound and life-changing impacts on the lives of girls, their families, and their communities.

Save the Children, a global child rights organization, is committed to ending the practice. Our vision is a world where girls and women enjoy equal rights and status and can achieve their full potential in all aspects of their lives. We are privileged to highlight progress towards our vision, made possible by donations from supporters like you.

ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE

In the time that you take to read this report, 100 girls will marry before they turn 18. It is estimated that 41,000 girls are married per day, 28 girls every minute.

The consequences of child marriage are irreversible and devastating for girls. Child brides are often expected to prove their fertility shortly after marriage, becoming mothers while still children. When girls under 15 give birth, they are five times more likely to die in labor.

Married girls are less likely to complete their education, have lower earnings and are often trapped in a cycle of poverty. They are more likely to marry older men and experience intimate partner violence, including sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

Child marriage is driven by factors such as poverty, fears about girls' safety, and a perceived lack of other options. Rates of child marriage rise during conflict or disaster, when families struggle to cope with economic shocks and instability. But ultimately, families marry girls because they are girls. Child marriage is caused by gender inequality including social beliefs that devalue girls and deny their human rights.

So, what can be done about this?

Save the Children seeks to understand specific drivers of child marriage in different contexts and work hand-in-hand with local governments, communities and girls themselves. We recognize that change in the lives of girls will happen when families and communities embrace gender equality, and see other roles for girls beyond marriage and motherhood.

For families and communities to envision alternatives for girls, change must happen on a larger scale. We need laws and policies that support girls to say no to marriage. Girls must have access to education, health care, child protection, livelihood and justice services. Families and communities must recognize the rights of women and girls.

And most importantly, we must nurture girls’ self-confidence, dignity, self-worth and power, and foster their ability to make life choices. When we invest in gender-transformative programing that is multisectoral and multilevel, with a focus on girls’ empowerment, societies experience enormous positive ripple effects that impact future generations.

Our projects to combat child, early, forced marriage and unions (CEFMU) are based on the following strategies:

• Conducting a Gender and Power Analysis to understand the local context and drivers of CEFMU.
• Supporting girls’ empowerment so they have control over their own lives.
• Mobilizing families and communities to shift inequitable gender social norms and beliefs.
• Providing access to services including education, healthcare, child protection, and economic security.
• Partnering with girls to advocate that governments establish and implement laws and policies against child marriage.
• Working holistically, as no single strategy will end child marriage.

COMING TOGETHER FOR THE RIGHTS OF YOUNG WOMEN

While we recognize that child, early, forced marriage and unions is a complex problem perpetuated by social, economic, cultural, and political factors, we also firmly believe that every girl has the right to a childhood and to a future in which she is free to live, free to learn and free from harm.

Your support today will help us achieve our goals and make a real difference in the lives of girls around the world. 

Links:

• Child Marriage: A Violation of Child Rights (Save the Children)

Thank you for supporting Save the Children! Your generous donation allows us to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm, in the U.S. and around the world. Here is a story about a child in our programs:

Conflict and Education: Ousmane*'s Story

We all know special people who it is a joy to be around – 11-year-old Ousmane* is one of those people. “The whole village loves him,” says Awa*, Ousmane's aunt. “Once he had a malaria attack. The whole village came to see him, even the teachers.”

Now consider that Ousmane is a relative stranger here. He came to live with Awa, after his father was killed during the violence sweeping Mali, and neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. With his mother struggling to cope with her loss and with raising other children alone, Awa, offered to take Ousmane in.

 She is glad that she did. “I've only had happiness since he's been here,” says Awa. “His presence is a joy.”

 He attends a Save the Children-supported school now, and has thrown himself into his studies:

“I have strength, I am courageous. No one works more than me,” Ousmane says. “No one gets ahead of me at school.”

Strength and courage are qualities that Ousmane, who has been through so much and yet can still offer those around him so much, has every right to claim his own.

Save the Children is a global leader in child education.

•  We have delivered quality education to over 273 million children in the last decade — more than any other global development organization.

•  We helped reduce the number of out-of-school children by one-third since 2000, resulting in 180 million more children getting the education they deserve.

•  We are working to make sure kids can learn during the COVID-19 crisis, with more than 300K kids served since the start of the pandemic. 

None of this would be possible without support from donors like you!