[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 414 Referred in House (RFH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 414
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 29, 2012
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
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 2011''.
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.''.
Passed the Senate May 24, 2012.
Attest:
NANCY ERICKSON,
Secretary.