CAMPAIGN TO END CHILD MARRIAGE
Zonta International has a major campaign to End Child Marriage. ZI states on its website:
“Globally, 21% of girls are married while they are still children, robbing them of their childhood.
In the last decade, about 25 million child marriages have been prevented. However, due to COVID-19, an additional 10 million girls are at risk of becoming child brides by 2030. The pandemic is fueling increased risk for child marriages by interrupting education, creating food and economic insecurity, disrupting programs and services, increasing adolescent pregnancy, and causing deaths of parents and caregivers.”
Child Marriage is not restricted to other countries but also occurs here in Australia. District 22 is collecting information and data to support its advocacy efforts to stop this practice occurring.
The paper below by Stephen Page provides some Australian data on the subject and was recently presented at a Zonta Club of Brisbane Inc meeting. It is published here with his permission>