[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6087 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6087

  To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of 
                child marriage, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2012

  Ms. McCollum (for herself and Mr. Schock) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of 
                child marriage, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Protecting Girls by 
Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Child marriage, also known as ``forced marriage'' or 
        ``early marriage'', is a harmful traditional practice that 
        deprives girls of their dignity and human rights.
            (2) Child marriage as a traditional practice, as well as 
        through coercion or force, is a violation of article 16 of the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, ``Marriage 
        shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of 
        intending spouses''.
            (3) According to the United Nations Children's Fund 
        (UNICEF), an estimated 60,000,000 girls in developing countries 
        now ages 20 through 24 were married under the age of 18, and if 
        present trends continue more than 100,000,000 more girls in 
        developing countries will be married as children over the next 
        decade, according to the Population Council.
            (4) Between \1/2\ and \3/4\ of all girls are married before 
        the age of 18 in Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea, the 
        Central African Republic, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, and Nepal, 
        according to Demographic Health Survey data.
            (5) Factors perpetuating child marriage include poverty, a 
        lack of educational or employment opportunities for girls, 
        parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within marriage, 
        the dowry system, and the perceived lack of value of girls.
            (6) Child marriage has negative effects on the health of 
        girls, including significantly increased risk of maternal death 
        and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity, obstetric 
        fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
            (7) According to the United States Agency for International 
        Development (USAID), increasing the age at first birth for a 
        woman will increase her chances of survival. Currently, 
        pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of 
        death for women 15 to 19 years old in developing countries.
            (8) Most countries with high rates of child marriage have a 
        legally established minimum age of marriage, yet child marriage 
        persists due to strong traditional norms and the failure to 
        enforce existing laws.
            (9) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated that 
        child marriage is ``a clear and unacceptable violation of human 
        rights'', and that ``the Department of State categorically 
        denounces all cases of child marriage as child abuse''.
            (10) According to an International Center for Research on 
        Women analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data, areas or 
        regions in developing countries in which 40 percent or more of 
        girls under the age of 18 are married are considered high-
        prevalence areas for child marriage.
            (11) Investments in girls' schooling, creating safe 
        community spaces for girls, and programs for skills building 
        for out-of-school girls are all effective and demonstrated 
        strategies for preventing child marriage and creating a pathway 
        to empower girls by addressing conditions of poverty, low 
        status, and norms that contribute to child marriage.

SEC. 3. CHILD MARRIAGE DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``child marriage'' means the marriage of a 
girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in 
the country in which the girl or boy is a resident or, where there is 
no such law, under the age of 18.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) child marriage is a violation of human rights, and the 
        prevention and elimination of child marriage should be a 
        foreign policy goal of the United States;
            (2) the practice of child marriage undermines United States 
        investments in foreign assistance to promote education and 
        skills building for girls, reduce maternal and child mortality, 
        reduce maternal illness, halt the transmission of HIV/AIDS, 
        prevent gender-based violence, and reduce poverty; and
            (3) expanding educational opportunities for girls, economic 
        opportunities for women, and reducing maternal and child 
        mortality are critical to achieving the Millennium Development 
        Goals and the global health and development objectives of the 
        United States, including efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS.

SEC. 5. STRATEGY TO PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

    (a) Assistance Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide 
        assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, 
        and faith-based organizations, to prevent the incidence of 
        child marriage in developing countries through the promotion of 
        educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of 
        girls and women.
            (2) Priority.--In providing assistance authorized under 
        paragraph (1), the President shall give priority to--
                    (A) areas or regions in developing countries in 
                which 40 percent or more of girls under the age of 18 
                are married; and
                    (B) activities to--
                            (i) expand and replicate existing 
                        community-based programs that are successful in 
                        preventing the incidence of child marriage;
                            (ii) establish pilot projects to prevent 
                        child marriage; and
                            (iii) share evaluations of successful 
                        programs, program designs, experiences, and 
                        lessons.
    (b) Strategy Required.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall establish a multi-year 
        strategy to prevent child marriage and promote the empowerment 
        of girls at risk of child marriage in developing countries, 
        which should address the unique needs, vulnerabilities, and 
        potential of girls under age 18 in developing countries.
            (2) Consultation.--In establishing the strategy required by 
        paragraph (1), the President shall consult with Congress, 
        relevant Federal departments and agencies, multilateral 
        organizations, and representatives of civil society.
            (3) Elements.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) focus on areas in developing countries with 
                high prevalence of child marriage;
                    (B) encompass diplomatic initiatives between the 
                United States and governments of developing countries, 
                with attention to human rights, legal reforms, and the 
                rule of law;
                    (C) encompass programmatic initiatives in the areas 
                of education, health, income generation, changing 
                social norms, human rights, and democracy building; and
                    (D) be submitted to Congress not later than one 
                year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Report.--Not later than three years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President should submit to Congress a report 
that includes--
            (1) a description of the implementation of the strategy 
        required by subsection (b);
            (2) examples of best practices or programs to prevent child 
        marriage in developing countries that could be replicated; and
            (3) an assessment, including data disaggregated by age and 
        sex to the extent possible, of current United States funded 
        efforts to specifically prevent child marriage in developing 
        countries.
    (d) Coordination.--Assistance authorized under subsection (a) shall 
be integrated with existing United States development programs.
    (e) Activities Supported.--Assistance authorized under subsection 
(a) may be made available for activities in the areas of education, 
health, income generation, agriculture development, legal rights, 
democracy building, and human rights, including--
            (1) support for community-based activities that encourage 
        community members to address beliefs or practices that promote 
        child marriage and to educate parents, community leaders, 
        religious leaders, and adolescents of the health risks 
        associated with child marriage and the benefits for 
        adolescents, especially girls, of access to education, health 
        care, livelihood skills, microfinance, and savings programs;
            (2) support for activities to educate girls in primary and 
        secondary school at the appropriate age and keeping them in 
        age-appropriate grade levels through adolescence;
            (3) support for activities to reduce education fees and 
        enhance safe and supportive conditions in primary and secondary 
        schools to meet the needs of girls, including--
                    (A) access to water and suitable hygiene 
                facilities, including separate lavatories and latrines 
                for girls;
                    (B) assignment of female teachers;
                    (C) safe routes to and from school; and
                    (D) eliminating sexual harassment and other forms 
                of violence and coercion;
            (4) support for activities that allow adolescent girls to 
        access health care services and proper nutrition, which is 
        essential to both their school performance and their economic 
        productivity;
            (5) assistance to train adolescent girls and their parents 
        in financial literacy and access economic opportunities, 
        including livelihood skills, savings, microfinance, and small-
        enterprise development;
            (6) support for education, including through community and 
        faith-based organizations and youth programs, that helps remove 
        gender stereotypes and the bias against girls used to justify 
        child marriage, especially efforts targeted at men and boys, 
        promotes zero tolerance for violence, and promotes gender 
        equality, which in turn help to increase the perceived value of 
        girls;
            (7) assistance to create peer support and female mentoring 
        networks and safe social spaces specifically for girls; and
            (8) support for local advocacy work to provide legal 
        literacy programs at the community level to ensure that 
        governments and law enforcement officials are meeting their 
        obligations to prevent child and forced marriage.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND DATA.

    It is the sense of Congress that the President and all relevant 
agencies should, as part of their ongoing research and data collection 
activities--
            (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.

SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
              PRACTICES.

    The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
            (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by adding at the end 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(g) The report required by subsection (d) shall include, for each 
country in which child marriage is prevalent, a description of the 
status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this 
subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or 
boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or under 
the age of 18 if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl 
or boy is a resident.''; and
            (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(j) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, for each 
country in which child marriage is prevalent, a description of the 
status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this 
subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or 
boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or under 
the age of 18 if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl 
or boy is a resident.''.
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