[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.--
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(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
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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.
____________________