1.This Act may be cited as the
International Child Marriage
Prevention and Protection Act of 2007
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)Research shows
that child marriage in developing nations is often associated with adverse
economic and social consequences and is dangerous to the health, security, and
well-being of girls and detrimental to the economic development of
communities.
(2)The issue of
child marriage is interwoven with broader social and cultural issues and is
most effectively addressed as a development challenge through integrated,
community-based approaches to promote and support girls’ education and
skill-building and healthcare, legal rights, and awareness for girls and
women.
(3)As Charlotte
Ponticelli, Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues for the
Department of State, stated on September 14, 2005: It is unconscionable
that in the 21st century girls as young as 7 or 8 can be sold as brides. There
is no denying that extreme poverty is the driving factor that has enabled the
practice to continue, even in countries where it has been outlawed…We need to
be shining the spotlight on early marriage and its underlying causes…We must
continue to do everything we can to ensure that girls have every opportunity to
become agents of change and to expand the realm of what is
possible
for their societies and the world at large.
(4)The severity of
the adverse impact of child marriage increases as the age at marriage and first
childbirth decreases.
(5)A Department of
State survey in 2005 found that child marriage was a concern in 64 out of 182
countries surveyed and that the practice is especially acute in sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia.
(6)According to the
United Nations Children’s Fund, in Ethiopia and in parts of West Africa
marriage at the age of 7 or 8 is not uncommon.
(7)In developing
countries, girls aged 10 to 14 who become pregnant are 5 times more likely to
die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20 to 24.
(8)Girls in
sub-Saharan Africa are at much higher risk of suffering obstetric
fistula.
(9)According to the
Department of State: Pregnancy at an early age often leads to obstetric
fistulae and permanent incontinence. In Ethiopia, treatment is available at
only 1 hospital in Addis Ababa that performs over 1,000 fistula operations a
year. It estimates that for every successful operation performed, 10 other
young women need the treatment. The maternal mortality rate is extremely high
due, in part, to food taboos for pregnant women, poverty, early marriage, and
birth complications related to FGM [Female Genital Mutilation], especially
infibulation.
.
(10)Adolescents are
at greater risk of complications during childbirth that can lead to fistula
because they have less access to health care and are subject to other
significant risk factors related to the mother’s physical immaturity.
(11)In nearly every
case of obstetric fistula, the baby will be stillborn.
(12)The physical
symptoms of obstetric fistula include incontinence or constant uncontrollable
leaking of urine or feces, frequent bladder infections, infertility, and foul
odor. The condition often leads to the desertion of fistula sufferers by
husbands and family members and extreme social stigma.
(13)Although data on
obstetric fistula are scarce, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates
that there are more than 2,000,000 women living with fistula and 50,000 to
100,000 new cases each year. These figures are based on the number of women who
seek medical care. Many more suffer from the disabling condition.
(14)Adolescent girls
are more susceptible than mature women to sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV, due to both biological and social factors.
(15)Research in
several countries with high rates of HIV infection indicates that married girls
are at greater risk for HIV than their unmarried peers.
(16)Child marriage
can have additional long-term consequences when combined with female genital
cutting because the girls who have undergone that procedure can experience
greater complications during pregnancy, leading to lasting health problems for
themselves and their children.
(17)Child marriage
is a leading barrier to girls’ education in certain developing
countries.
(18)A high incidence
of child marriage undermines the efforts of developing countries and donor
countries, including the United States, to promote economic and social
development.
(19)The causes of
child marriage include poverty, custom, and the desire to protect girls from
violence or premarital sexual relations.
(20)Child marriage
may also be a product of gender violence in which a man abducts and rapes a
girl and then, sometimes through negotiations with traditional leaders,
negotiates a settlement with the girl's parents, including marriage to the
victim.
(21)The practice of
child marriage is considered a harmful traditional practice
by
the United Nations Children’s Fund.
(22)The Convention
on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of
Marriages, adopted at the United Nations, December 10, 1962, requires the
parties to the Convention to overcome all customs, ancient laws, and
practices by ensuring complete freedom in the choice of a spouse, eliminating
completely child marriages and the betrothal of young girls before the age of
puberty
.
(23)The African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which entered into force in
1990, provides that child marriage and the betrothal of girls and boys
shall be prohibited and effective action, including legislation, shall be taken
to specify the minimum age of marriage to be eighteen years
.
(24)In Ethiopia,
Girls’ Activity Committees, community-based groups formed to support girls in
school and advocate for girls’ education, have conducted community awareness
and informational campaigns, enlisted the assistance of traditional clan and
religious leaders, discouraged families from practicing child marriage,
encouraged girls’ school attendance, and taken steps to reduce gender-based
violence and create safer environments for girls en route to or from school and
in the classroom.
(25)Recognizing the
importance of the issue and the effects of child marriage, the Senior
Coordinator for International Women’s Issues of the Department of State
initiated an effort in 2005 to collect and assess information on the incidence
of child marriage and on the existence and effectiveness of initiatives funded
by the United States to reduce the incidence of child marriage or the negative
effects of child marriage and to measure the need for additional
programs.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Administrator means the Administrator of the Agency.
(2)Except
as otherwise provided in this Act, the term Agency means the
United States Agency for International Development.
(3)The term child marriage means the legal or
traditional marriage of a girl or boy who has not yet reached the minimum age
for marriage stipulated in law in the country of which they are a
citizen.
(4)The term developing nation means any nation
eligible to receive assistance from the International Development Association
or the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
(5)The
term HIV has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the
United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of
2003 (22 U.S.C. 7602).
(6)The
term HIV/AIDS has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the
United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of
2003 (22 U.S.C. 7602).
(7)The term obstetric fistula means a rupture
or hole in tissues surrounding the vagina, bladder, or rectum that occurs
during prolonged, obstructed childbirth.
(8)Relevant
executive branch agenciesThe term relevant executive
branch agencies means the Department of State, the Agency, the
Department of Health and Human Services, and any other department or agency of
the United States, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation, that is
involved in implementing international health or development policies and
programs of the United States.
(9)Except
as otherwise provided in this Act, the term Secretary means the
Secretary of State.
4.It is the sense of
Congress that—
(1)the untapped
economic and educational potential of girls and women in many developing
nations represent an enormous loss to those societies;
(2)expanding
educational opportunities for girls and economic opportunities for women and
reducing maternal and child mortality are critical to the achievement of
internationally recognized health and development goals and of many global
health and development objectives of the United States, including efforts to
prevent HIV/AIDS;
(3)since child
marriage is a leading barrier to the continuation of girl’s education in many
developing countries, it is important to integrate this issue into new and
existing United States-funded efforts to promote education, strengthen legal
rights and legal awareness, reduce gender-based violence, and promote
skill-building and economic opportunities for girls and young women in regions
with a high incidence of child marriage; and
(4)effective
community-based efforts to reduce and move toward the elimination of child
marriage as part of an integrated strategy to promote girls’ education and
empowerment will yield long-term dividends in the health and economic sectors
in developing countries.
5.Development of
child Marriage prevention strategy
(a)Requirements
for StrategyThe Secretary shall develop a comprehensive
strategy, taking into account the work of the relevant executive branch
agencies, to reduce the incidences of child marriage around the world by
further integrating this issue into existing and planned relevant United States
development efforts.
(b)
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the strategy
described in subsection (a), including a discussion of the elements described
in paragraph (2).
(2)The elements referred to in paragraph (1) are the
following:
(A)A description of
existing or potential approaches to prevent child marriage and address the
vulnerabilities of populations who may be at risk of child marriage.
(B)A description of
programs funded by the United States that address child marriage, and an
assessment of the impact of such programs in the areas of health, education,
and access to economic opportunities, including microfinance programs.
(C)A description of
programs funded by the United States that are intended to prevent obstetric
fistula.
(D)A description of
programs funded by the United States that support the surgical treatment of
obstetric fistula.
(E)A description of
the impact of child marriage on the United States efforts to assist in
achieving the goals set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 8, 2000 (resolution
55/2), including specifically the impact on efforts to—
(i)eliminate gender
disparity in primary and secondary education;
(ii)reduce child
mortality;
(iii)improve
maternal health; and
(iv)combat HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, malaria, and other disease.
(F)A description of
the impact of child marriage on achieving the purposes set out in section 602
of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701).
(G)A description of
how the issue of child marriage can best be integrated into existing or planned
United States programs to promote girls' education and skill-building,
healthcare, legal rights and awareness, and other relevant programs in
developing nations.
(c)Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with other appropriate officials,
shall submit to the Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations of the
Senate and the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Appropriations of the House of
Representatives a report that describes—
(1)United States
assistance programs that address child marriage;
(2)the impact of
child marriage on maternal mortality and morbidity and on infant mortality in
countries in which child marriage is prevalent;
(3)the projected
effect of such programs on increasing the age of marriage, reducing maternal
mortality and morbidity, reducing the incidence of obstetric fistula, reducing
the incidence of domestic violence, increasing girls’ access to and completion
of primary and secondary education, reducing the incidence of early
childbearing, and reducing HIV infection rates among married and unmarried
adolescents;
(4)the scale and
scope of the practice of child marriage in developing nations; and
(5)the status of
efforts by the government of each developing nation with a high incidence of
child marriage to eliminate such practices.
6.Authorization of
assistance to reduce incidences of childhood marriage and obstetric
fistulaThe President is
authorized to provide assistance, including through international,
nongovernmental, or faith-based organizations or through direct assistance to a
recipient country, for programs to reduce the incidences of child marriage and
promote the empowerment of girls and young woman. Such assistance may
include—
(1)improving the
access of girls and young women in developing nations to primary and secondary
education and vocational training;
(2)supporting
community education activities to educate parents, community leaders, and
adolescents of the health risks associated with child marriage and the benefits
for adolescents, especially girls, of access to education, health care,
employment, microfinance, and savings programs;
(3)supporting
community-based organizations in encouraging the prevention or delay of child
marriage and its replacement with other non-harmful rites of passage;
(4)increasing access
of women to economic opportunities, including microfinance and small enterprise
development;
(5)supporting
efforts to prevent gender-based violence;
(6)improving access
of adolescents to adequate health care;
(7)supporting
programs to promote educational and economic opportunities and access to health
care for adolescents who are already married;
(8)supporting the
surgical repair of fistula, including the creation or expansion of centers for
the treatment of fistula in countries with high rates of fistula, and the care,
support, and transportation of persons in need of such surgery; and
(9)supporting
efforts to reduce incidences of fistula, including programs to increase access
to skilled birth attendants, and to promote access to family planning where
desired by local communities.
7.Research and
data collectionThe Secretary
shall work through the Agency and any other relevant agencies of the Department
of State, and in conjunction with relevant executive branch agencies as part of
their ongoing research and data collection activities, to—
(1)collect and make
available data on the incidence of child marriage in countries that receive
foreign or development assistance from the United States where the practice of
child marriage is prevalent; and
(2)collect and make
available data on the impact of the incidence of child marriage and the age at
marriage on progress in meeting key development goals.
8.The Secretary shall
include in the Department of State’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices a section for each country where child marriage is prevalent,
outlining the status of the practice of child marriage in that country.
9.Authorization of
appropriations and other fundingThere are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out the provisions of this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, in
addition to funds otherwise available for such purposes, amounts as
follows:
(1)$15,000,000 for
fiscal year 2008.
(2)$20,000,000 for
fiscal year 2009.
(3)$25,000,000 for
fiscal year 2010.