The economic hard times caused by COVID is forcing families to make some hard choices. It's often these kinds of economic realities that contribute to instances of child marriage or early unions, merely to make ends meet.
Statistics show that 30% of Belizean women found themselves in a marriage or union before the age of 18. That could have meant early withdrawal from school, an early pregnancy, and even higher instances of domestic abuse. It's a cultural norm that UNICEF and the National Council for Families and Children are trying to combat. And this morning I attended, albeit virtually, the launch of a road map to end child marriage & Early Unions in Belize.
Belize took a step toward leading a movement in the Caribbean, with this morning's launch of A Road map to end child marriage and early unions in Belize.
And we've had to take the lead because instances of child marriage are higher here than anywhere else in the region. It's a silent endemic crisis and one that's of particular concern for young girls.
An issue that, if you look back far enough is part of all of our stories.
Shelly Abdool, Regional Gender Advisor, UNICEF
"I began to have memories come flooding back of my grandmother and my grandmother telling me that when she was sitting under the kitchen table in Trinidad at the age of 12 or 14, and she could never remember which age it was as people around her sat at the table to decide to whom she was going to get married and it was a man much older than she was who was my grandfather."
"As she told me this story it stayed with me it was very much a part of my adolescence but then as I began to work much deeper in the region and started to dig into the barriers for gender equality for girls I realized that this story of my grandmother is not a story of the past and it's not a story of a woman of her generation, that it's very much a story of girls and women of today."
But it's a reality that has to change because, as it stands victims of child marriage and early unions are at a disadvantage, a disadvantage that's often supported by our very laws.
Stephen Diaz, Representative, Youth Advisory Group
"Although we have a lot of legislation and a lot of ways forward in addressing a lot of these issues regarding vulnerable populations we still have legal loopholes within our systems that exist and this allows for violations to happen within those loopholes. For example within the whole idea of unions young persons can engage in sexual acts with consent form a legal guardian allowing for transactional and sexual explotation. So young persons are then pre-exposed to these situations where because of the vulnerability of being young they're affected negatively and it also affects the way that they're developed."
"Developmentally they're also affected at the stage of maturity and the socialization that occurs within these years, this discussions are distorted when it comes to like spacing of children, youth contraceptives, domestic violence is a huge issue within young unions or forced unions, sexual exploitation and also house and home responsibilities are affected by cultural norms so these are all issues that affects us as young persons and it prevents us from being our true selves and experiencing our true potential."
And often it's not the law but cultural norms such as religion that can push young people and their families into agreeing to early unions.
But that seems to be changing with Anglican Bishop Phillip Wright calling this morning's launch an opportunity to move Belizeans toward their fullest potential. He's vowed to use the churches arms to spread awareness of how damaging child marriage can be.
Bishop Phillip Wright, Belize Council of Churches
"I would say the church needs to continue to raise it's prophetic voice and support initiatives geared toward the growth and development of children and adolescents and finally if you remember that the church on a weekly or even sometimes on a daily basis has access to thousands of our citizens, the church becomes a wonderful avenue through which information can be shared and awareness campaigns can gain real momentum."
Child marriage is such a systemic problem that could affect the achievement of certain Sustainable Development goals, relating to poverty, gender equality, and Good Health and well being.
