Young girls studying in a madrasah in Tanzania.
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One in four girls between the ages of 15 and 19 globally who have been in a relationship have suffered abuse. Forty percent of these are in Africa.
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Emotional, violent and sexual abuse are rife at an age when victims are scarred for life.
Refugees, some of them children, in Hargeisa, Somaliland.
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Exploring the potential intersections between climate change and violence against children is crucial.
People have been fleeing from the war in Sudan.
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Research shows that young girls can be pushed into marriage in refugee camps or during national disasters.
The reasons that explain why girls don’t get into secondary begin in primary school.
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Deep-seated cultural practices – such as female genital mutilation and child marriage – prevent girls from making progress in school.
Early marriage has a number of negative effects on the lives of girls and their own children.
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Though child marriage rates are declining globally, the practice remains worryingly common in some African countries.
Ugandans watch the start of the International Criminal Court trial of former child soldier-turned-warlord Dominic Ongwen.
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Armed conflicts today involve slavery in many different forms, from forced marriage to child soldiers.
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Girls and women will experience climate change in unique ways. This includes being vulnerable to gender-based violence as climate change brings about forced migration, loss of housing and income.
There are significant barriers to the development of African children.
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Policy changes and advocacy efforts have lead to improvements in the protection and wellbeing of children on the continent. But a lot more still needs to be done.
A group of young Muslim girls on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania.
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Policies are needed to prevent child marriage and protect women who marry as children from abusive relationships.
A school girl helps her family herd cows back home after school in the Prey Mou village outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia,
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Around 33,000 child marriages took place in 2020 in Indonesia, a new report shows. This comes with more girls in Australia’s region dropping out of school and taking on more caring responsibilities.
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Psychological services for girls who have been abused and traumatised in their marriages would help alleviate and reduce distress.
Sub-Sahara African countries are on a campaign to reduce cases of early marriage.
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The mental health implications of child marriage on young girls are significant
Access to clean water remains a huge problem in Zimbabwe and many other African countries.
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The 17 goals seek to end all forms of poverty everywhere by 2030, by achieving 169 targets. Progress in achieving them does not match the hype.
Most young, married girls in Ethiopia don’t have the family planning information they need.
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Over 60% of girls in Ethiopia are married by the age of 18. Many don’t have support in negotiating with their husbands and families to take control of their own fertility.
Nigeria must do more on child rights
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All 36 states in Nigeria must adopt the Child Rights Act to safeguard their children.
Arresting pregnant teenagers won’t curb pregnancy rates.
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Tanzania’s government must focus on the drivers of teenage pregnancy, which are entirely overlooked in current punitive policies, instead of expelling and arresting schoolgirls.
Morocco reformed its family law in 2004 to increase the legal age of marriage to 18.
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The region has made progress but efforts must continue to end a harmful practice rooted in poverty and tradition.
Many children in Indonesia do not know that having sexual relations may lead to them being pregnant and forced to marry their partners.
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Raising the minimum age for Indonesian women to marry to 19 years is important, but on its own is not enough to reduce rates of child marriage.
Teenage girls who fall pregnant in Zambia are often mocked and feel isolated.
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There isn’t much space in Zambia’s rural areas for open, judgement-free communication with friends and parents about sexual matters.