The devastating impact of child marriage

•Health: Five times more likely to die in childbirth•Education: Schooling often ends with marriage•Human rights violation

Why does child marriage happen?•Tradition•Gender roles•Poverty•Security

Why act to end child marriage now?

•Large scale; little action 25,000 girls every day 10 million girls/year•Direct impact on development goals•Lost potential of millions of girls

What are the solutions?

Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage

• Our members are working in partnership to:– Raise awareness about the impact and solutions– Empower those seeking to end child marriage– Call for global action– Give girls a voice

What action can be taken by the UN human rights machinery?

• Recognise child marriage as a cross-cutting human rights issue

• Implement the recommendations of treaty monitoring bodies

• Encourage UN special rapporteurs to report on child marriage

• Highlight child marriage in the Universal Periodic Review

‘Let girls be girls, not brides’

www.icrw.org

www.GirlsNotBrides.org