Studies show that 1 out of 7 Filipino girls marries before the age of 18. Marriage under the age of 18, is a law violation according to the UN Convention on the Rights of Children, which the Philippines had ratified in 1990. Even so, 15% of young women aged 20-24 married before becoming 18 (UNICEF, 2017).
A report from UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office has revealed the data of the Philippines showing little to no change on the percentage of women that marry among ages of 15-19, while other countries like Korea have reduced the percentage up to half during the last 50 years.
Girls’ lives are impacted immensely, as they could later develop health problems and lack of knowledge and education, reducing employability, and are vulnerable to risks like abuse. Child marriage is a result of poverty and lack of empathy, as the bride would be marrying for money most of the time, said Dr. Edwin M.P. Quijano, Director of the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) of Region XII.
“Child marriage carries lifelong consequences and plays a significant role in the transmission of poverty from one generation to the next. It not only affects the girl and her household but the overall development of the community and the whole country,” said Dr. Quijano.
UNFPA is also planning to collaborate with NGO to unearth essential data to provide a more accurate picture of the child marriage situation in the country. “But even one case of child marriage is one too many. There should be no child bride,” said Sittie Rajabia Monato, UNFPA Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Coordinator in Mindanao.
Source: Reliefweb