UNICEF: 26 Percent of Brazilian Adolescents Marry Before Age Eighteen

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The figure is close to the average in Latin America of 25 percent of child marriages and early unions. The Child Marriage and Early Union Profile report were published this week.

The region’s average has been the same for the past 25 years.

Should it persist, by 2030 Latin America will have the second-highest child marriage rate in the world, behind only sub-Saharan Africa, a region comprising countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The report alerts that the practice compromises the development of these youths in subsequent years.

“Early unions or child marriage make it harder for girls to have a life project,” said Bernt Aasen, UNICEF’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to the study, these young women are more likely to live in impoverished, rural areas and with less access to education.

The document shows the relationship between early marriage and adolescent pregnancy. More than 80 percent of these girls gave birth before their 20th birthday.

Shelly Abdool, a regional gender adviser at UNICEF’s Latin America and Caribbean office, said these girls’ futures are at risk, leveraged by “the strong impact on early motherhood, the high risks of violence from partners, and the consequences of dropping out of school.”

For the United Nations (UN), programs to support the independence of these adolescents are required, as well as policies to prevent child marriage and early unions.

Source: Agência Brasil

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