How COVID-19 Has Impacted Child Marriage

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every person on the planet, turning good situations bad, and bad situations even worse. One of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. This includes ending child marriage across the globe. 

Before the pandemic, the U.N estimated that 100 million girls would become child brides by 2030. But due to the effects of COVID-19, nearly 10 million more girls are estimated to be involved in child marriages by then. Here’s how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and increased child marriage:

• Families Seek Financial Stability – The pandemic has also caused financial hardship for many families and devastated those already struggling. This has contributed to child marriages as parents marry their children off at a young age to reduce the financial burden on the family. Fewer children mean less food to provide, less education to pay for, and fewer resources required for the household. 
  

• Parents Attempt to Protect Daughters – Many parents also believe that if their daughters are married, their husbands will at the very least provide for their basic needs. In this sense, poor families often believe they are protecting their daughters by resorting to underage marriage.
  

While these factors always contribute to child marriage, they have severely impacted the rate of child marriage during the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) advocates for the rights of all uprooted people, including women and girls forced into child marriages, as well as all survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. 

We are currently working to end child marriage in Jordan and all around the world by increasing access to education for girls. We are also trying to eliminate poverty by protecting labor rights and improving working conditions for these vulnerable communities. In addition, we’ve released a video addressing child marriage and its negative consequences within the Rohingya refugee community in Malaysia. Find out how you can make a difference and help us fight for gender equality and end child marriage today!