Teen activists stopping hundreds of child marriages

Around the world, millions of underage girls are forced into marriages, and advocates say the practice is likely to increase as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Dola, 15, a young leader from Bangladesh, is at the United Nations in Geneva to share about her Child Forum work to end child marriages in her community. Source: World Vision

Around the world, millions of underage girls are forced into marriages, and advocates say the practice is likely to increase as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Globally, 23 girls under 18 are married every minute and over the next decade, 13 million child marriages are forecast due to the economic impacts of COVID-19, according to the United Nations Family Planning Association.

Aid organisation World Vision says being married so young can endanger a girl’s health, cut short her education, and increase the likelihood of her remaining in poverty.

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