[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8353-S8355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTERNATIONAL PROTECTING GIRLS BY PREVENTING CHILD MARRIAGE ACT OF 2010

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 637, S. 987.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant editor of the Daily Digest read as follows:

       A bill (S. 987) to protect girls in developing countries 
     through the prevention of child marriage and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with 
an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``International Protecting 
     Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010''.

     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 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.

     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.--

[[Page S8354]]

       (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, and should include addressing 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 relevant 
     stakeholders.
       (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, 
     and programmatic initiatives in the areas of education, 
     health, income generation, changing social norms, human 
     rights, and democracy building; and
       (C) be implemented 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 shall 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 programs 
     for advancing appropriate age and grade-level basic and 
     secondary education through adolescence, ensure school 
     enrollment and completion for girls, 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 the Senate that the President and all 
     relevant agencies should work through the Administrator of 
     the United States Agency for International Development 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.

     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 at 
     rates at or above 40 percent in at least one subnational 
     region, 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:
       ``(i) The report required by subsection (b) shall include 
     for each country in which child marriage is prevalent at 
     rates at or above 40 percent in at least one subnational 
     region, 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.''.

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, with the passage of the 
International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act, the 
Senate takes a step toward ending child marriage.
  Child marriage is often carried out through force or coercion. It 
deprives young girls, and sometimes boys, of their dignity and human 
rights. And it poses grave health risks. In some countries, it is not 
uncommon for girls as young as 7 or 8 years old to be married.
  Child marriage also undermines U.S. foreign assistance to developing 
countries. We invest in education and skills-building for girls, 
improving maternal and child health, ending the transmission of HIV/
AIDS, preventing gender-based violence, and reducing poverty. But where 
the girls targeted for assistance are married, these development 
strategies only go so far.
  UNICEF estimates that 60 million girls in developing countries now 
ages 20 to 24 were married under the age of 18. The Population Council 
estimates that the number will increase by 100 million over the next 
decade if trends continue.
  The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act 
seeks to reverse those trends. Thanks to Senator Olympia Snowe and 41 
other cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, the leadership of 
Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar on the Foreign Relations 
Committee, and Representatives Betty McCollum and Ander Crenshaw in the 
House for supporting the legislation to make ending child marriage a 
priority in foreign affairs.
  I would also like to thank The Elders, a group of world leaders 
including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and President Jimmy Carter, who 
work together to address major causes of human suffering around the 
globe. Their help and persistence on the legislation have been 
invaluable.
  The human rights community has rightly identified the practice of 
child marriage as a major concern that treats young girls as property 
and traps them in a life of servitude. It denies girls educational and 
economic opportunities, sustaining a cycle of poverty in some of the 
world's poorest countries.
  Many child brides live their lives in crushing hopelessness. Some are 
driven to attempt suicide to escape their misery.
  A recent New York Times article entitled, ``For Afghan Wives, a 
Desperate, Fiery Way Out,'' shared the story of Farzana, engaged at 8 
and married by 12. By the age of 17, she had endured years of verbal 
and physical abuse from her husband and his family.
  She thought of ways to get out. She thought of running away but 
worried it would offend her family's sense of honor.
  Finally, seeing no other way out and desperate, Farzana doused 
herself in cooking fuel and lit herself on fire.
  Before this hell, Farzana had dreamed of becoming a teacher. Now, 
after 57 days in the hospital and multiple skin grafts, she has 
recovered from burns that covered more than half of her body.
  Today she says, ``Five years I spent in his house with those people. 
My

[[Page S8355]]

marriage was for other people. They should never have given me in a 
child marriage.'' Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, stories 
like these are common. Except, unlike Farzana, many succeed in killing 
themselves. Young girls in the developing world should not be made to 
face the choice between life as a child bride without hope or dying at 
their own hands to escape their torment.
  In addition to denying tens of millions of women and girls their 
dignity, child marriage also endangers their health. Marriage at an 
early age puts girls at greater risk of dying as a result of 
childbirth. Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading 
cause of death for women 15 to 19 years old in developing countries. 
Their children also face higher mortality rates.
  In September 2009, a highly publicized example of this occurred in 
Yemen. A 12-year-old girl died of severe bleeding after three agonizing 
days in labor. Her child died as well. She was married to a 24-year old 
man. Child brides are also at an increased risk of contracting a 
sexually transmitted disease, including HIV and AIDS.
  The bill we passed today would require our government to develop an 
integrated, strategic approach to combating child marriage with the 
goal of eliminating this scourge worldwide. It authorizes assistance to 
prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the 
educational, health, economic, social and legal empowerment of girls 
and women. It would require priority for regions in developing 
countries with a high prevalence of child marriage.
  The bill also would require the Federal Government to do a better job 
of tracking child marriage prevalence overseas.
  In the Senate today, we take a big step toward helping children we 
will never meet in places we will never visit. There are some issues we 
must look at through the shared experience of humanity. Ensuring that 
children throughout the world do not have their childhoods robbed of 
them is one such issue.
  The United States has always tried to be a leader in international 
human rights. By passing this bill, the Senate shows its determination 
to keep the United States at the forefront of human rights protection 
around the world.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to work with Representatives 
McCollum and Crenshaw and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman 
Howard Berman and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Speaker Pelosi 
to do the same.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I ask unanimous consent that the Durbin amendment be 
agreed to; the committee-reported substitute, as amended, be agreed to; 
the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed with no 
intervening action or debate; and that any statements be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 4725) was agreed to.
  (The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text 
of Amendments.'')
  The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended, 
was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 987), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

                          ____________________