General Article Child marriage

Topic Selected: 'Honour-based' Abuse Book Volume: 443

Child marriage and forced marriage

Marriage involving children under 18-years-old is still an accepted practice in many societies. UNICEF estimate that about a fifth of young women worldwide were married before their 18th birthday. Although boys can be affected by the practice, it is mostly girls who suffer slavery as a consequence of child marriage. 

Not every marriage involving under-18s will amount to slavery, especially those between couples aged 16 to 18. But in many cases, child marriage causes serious harm to children’s physical and psychological health. Increasingly, countries understand the need to protect children from forced marriage. 

The 2022 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery show that there has been a significant rise in people living in forced marriages since 2016 – this increase of 6.6 million people includes a significant proportion of children. Overall, 41% of people forced to marry are children, and, while it is very rare for children under the age of 10 to be fo...

Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?

Sign up now for a no obligation FREE TRIAL and view the entire collection

We use cookies to provide website functionality and to analyse traffic on our website. We (and our service providers) use small text files called cookies and similar technology on your device. These cookies do not reveal your identity, web use or other behaviour. Our Cookie Statement provides more information and explains how to update your cookie settings. View our cookies policy.
By clicking 'Accept All Cookies', you agree that this site using cookies. If you do not want cookies to be used, you can click the "Decline All Cookies" button, but it may have an impact on the way you experience our website and others.