Child Marriages Common in Nations Getting U.S. Aid

New legislation being introduced in Congress seeks to discourage child marriage in countries receiving US aid. In 2006, $623 million in US funds went to 16 of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage, according to the Washington-based International Center for Research on Women (ICRW).

"This custom is not marriage, but rather sanctioned sexual abuse and a human rights violation that destroys girls' lives," said Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), who has introduced -- along with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) -- bills to require the State Department to include child marriage statistics in its annual human rights reports on countries.

ICRW Vice President Anju Malhorta said the custom deprives girls of education, threatens their health and that of their children, and impedes the fight against HIV/AIDS. "[Child brides] cannot negotiate the terms of sex" with husbands who are usually older and more sexually experienced, said Kathleen Selvaggio, the report's author. These young brides, she said, "can't insist on fidelity or condom use."

The proposed legislation would authorize $100 million over four years to discourage child marriage, which is most common in West Africa and South Asia.

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