CHILD BRIDE FACESHEET

• 700 million women worldwide were married before they turned 18

• 1 in 9 girls will be married before they turn 15
• Roughly 39,000 girls are married underage daily
• Girls are 15 times more likely to be married underage than boys
• Girls from poor families are 2.5 times more likely to marry in childhood
than girls from rich families
• Girls in rural communities are often not aware of the laws preventing
child marriage
• Young females can be seen as an economic burden, so their family
arranges a marriage to receive a dowry
• In war torn countries, marrying off a young girl is believed to protect her
from violence
• Child marriage is also believed to prevent girls from engaging in
premarital sex

Consequences
• 88% if married adolescent girls do
not use contraceptives
• Early pregnancy increases risk of
Improvement
maternal death for adolescent
girls
• Young brides have an increased
risk of contracting HIV and STD’s
• Early marriage disrupts or ends a
girl’s education
• Increase’s risk for young girl living
in poverty
Recommendations
• Increasing access to sexual
health services
• Strictly forcing laws that prevent
child marriage, even in rural
areas
• Expanding the opportunity for
girls to attend secondary school
and beyond
• Invest in girls to learn skills to
help support family’s income