Save the Children Launches Global Girlhood Report 2022

New Delhi: Global Girlhood Report 2022: Girls on the Frontline a study commissioned by Save the Children along
with Tufts University and was launched today. This report shares evidence for government  policymakers and child advocates as well as civil society organisations including grassroots girl-led, feminist and women’s rights organisations, humanitarian responders and private sector champions for gender equality.

 

Despite promises by world leaders, girls stand at the frontline of the world’s most pressing issues, and child marriage continues, all over the world. Before COVID-19, global estimates of the rate of child marriage was decreasing but the world was still a long way off meeting the Sustainable Development Goal deadline to end child marriage by 2030.2 The number of girls marrying each year was estimated to be around 12 million and 2 million of those girls were married before their 15th birthday.

Speaking on the report, Mr. Sudarshan Suchi, CEO, Save the Children, also known as Bal Raksha Bharat said, India@100 cannot achieve its full potential unless we secure 100% of its children, and especially the girl child today. India @75 has a large number of its girls not able to equitably secure themselves with their basic rights is a tale by itself! With this report, we would like to reaffirm our commitment to being a part of the solution. Along with the various specific steps the report provides a way forward for all of us and more importantly, the obligation to include the agency of children – the primary stakeholders – to shift the approach from a process of planning for them to planning with them. Children Cannot wait – not any longer!

 

Ten years ago, governments and people working for gender equality and girls’ rights around the world agreed to dedicate one day every year to celebrate girls’ achievements and bring attention to the challenges they face. This led to the creation of International Day of the Girl, which has been celebrated around the world every 11th of October since 2012, making 2022 the tenth anniversary. The theme for the first International Day of the Girl was child marriage – an issue of particular importance to girls,1 which can only be prevented during childhood.

 

 Following are the key findings from the report:

Nearly 90 million (89.2M) adolescent girls face higher risk factors for child marriage, induced by increasing poverty and food shortages, are exposed to other forms of gender-based violence, with the likelihood of unintended pregnancy, and a breakdown of systems that are meant to protect them.

 

Increased risk of child marriage linked to conflict is higher for girls in East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia.

We found no difference in levels of risk for girls affected by conflict in sub-Saharan Africa (or West and Central Africa) and girls living in areas not affected by conflict.These regions are home to the highest rates of child marriage in the world, where millions of girls live in poverty and areas that place them at high climate risk – circumstances that also increase the risk of child marriage.

More research is urgently needed to understand the impacts of these conditions on child marriage and how to respond to them effectively. 

However, as per WINGS 2022 report, In India, the prevalence of child marriage has declined from 74 per  cent in 1970 to 27 per cent in 2015. There has been a decrease in absolute numbers as well in the number of girls being married before 18 years from 12.3 million in 1992-93 to 10.7 million in 2015-16.

Progress made in ending child marriage could get reversed: The prevalence of child marriage in India has seen a sharp reduction in terms of the rate and absolute numbers in recent years. The prevalence of child marriage has declined from 74 per cent in 1970 to 27 per cent in 2015.There has been a decrease in absolute numbers as well in the number of girls being married before 18 years from 12.3 million in 1992-93 to 10.7 million in 2015-16. Findings from the study suggest that:

 a) Job losses and reduced household incomes due to the pandemic have increased the likelihood of child marriages.

b) One in seven (14 per cent) mothers felt that the pandemic has increased the risk of early marriage among girls.

c) Girls face greater risk of early marriage than boys as one in two mothers (52.4 per cent) perceive that the chances of girls rather than boys getting married early are higher due to COVID-19.

d) There is lack of awareness about the issue of child marriage. About one in ten mothers (10 per cent) believe that appropriate age of marriage is below 18 years.

e) Nine in ten mothers (92 per cent) shared that they have not come across any awareness building activity around the issues of child marriage during the pandemic.

Addressing Child Marriage

Develop community-based monitoring systems to prevent child marriages: with the involvement of different committees established at the ward/village and gram panchayat level such as Child Protection Committee (CPC),Village Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Committee (VHSNC) and others. These committees should jointly conduct a census of adolescent children, particularly adolescent girls, and protect them from becoming potential victims of marriage and trafficking.

 

 Invest in building the agency of girls and women: There is a need to empower girls and women so that they exercise their life choices. Civil society organizations can play an important role in doing the same. This will require supporting monthly meetings of adolescent girls, advocating with government for improved services and functioning of protection mechanisms for children. It is also important to create opportunities for child and young people-led advocacy and accountability on child marriage through forums such as children's groups and youth groups. l Support girls’ life skills education: This can be done by introducing self-paced learning on life skills and incorporating this in their academic learning. l Encourage home visits: It is important to encourage home visits by frontline workers and committee members to the households having adolescent girls to educate the parents or caregivers with the right message to break the prevailing harmful social and gender norms that make girl child vulnerable.

Strengthen law enforcement agencies: Strengthening law enforcement agencies is critical to make them more effective in (i) spreading awareness about the criminal provisions under different child protection laws including the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) and (ii) enforcing provisions in law that punish officers for dereliction of duties.

Rapidly scale up inclusive digital and remote learning: This will require developing programs to support the safe return of the girls to school including access to WASH and SRHR services, introducing tele-counseling and information support services on SRHR and menstrual health and hygiene, as well as information on contraceptives and family planning methods. 

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