Ensemble pour un Senegal sans Mariage d'Enfants
It Takes Senegal to End Child Marriage
This year, World Vision International launched the "June Global Moment": a global mobilization where adults and children from all over the world, throughout the month of June, advocated around the issue of violence against children. The main objective of this action is to talk about the situation, to raise awareness to help change people's attitudes to put an end to all practices harmful to children.
In June 2017, World Vision launched the campaign "Together for a Senegal without Child Marriage" with the aim of contributing to the goal of the Government and the African Union, which is to significantly reduce child violence in Senegal by 2030.
One of the strong messages of the campaign "Together" is a plea for the harmonization of the institutional and legal framework for the protection of the child according to the international conventions ratified by the State of Senegal, in particular compared to the recovery of the age of marriage of girls at 18 years old.
To achieve the objectives of the "Ensemble" campaign, it is urgent that all citizens mobilize and commit themselves to put an end to this practice which has harmful consequences both to the well-being of children and on the economic development of the country.
Article 19 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child commits signatory countries to the protection of children against all forms of violence.
However, many people still do not know that in Senegal, one in three girls is married before the age of 18!
In fact, the prevalence of children married before the age of 18 is 31% and 8.5% before age 15. These national statistics hide important disparities between regions. For example, in the Kedougou, Kaffrine, Kolda and Tambacounda regions, approximately three out of five girls are victims of child marriage. This percentage reaches 2 out of 3 girls in Kedougou (66%).
Child marriage is not only a serious violation of human rights, it also has significant negative impacts on children's lives in terms of:
- School leaving;
- Perpetuation of women's lower status and poverty;
- Health risks (629 deaths per 100,000 births for mothers aged 15-19);
- Abuse, violence and sexual abuse
Let's commit to say: STOP child marriage!
Let's mobilize for this goal to be achieved!