UNICEF released staggering new data Tuesday outlining the prevalence of child marriage and genital mutilation that continues to impact hundreds of millions of girls and women around the world.
More than one in three women in 2014 (some 250 million) were married before they were 15, the data says. Some 700 million women alive today were married before they were 18.
And while girls are one third less likely to experience female genital mutilation (FGM) today than they were 30 years ago, more than 130 million girls and adult women have experienced FGM in the Middle East and Africa, according to information released as part of UNICEF’s first-ever Girl Summit with the UK Government.
UNICEF is calling for accelerated action because even if the numbers decline at a steady rate, 63 million more girls will be mutilated by 2050. “The numbers tell us we must accelerate our efforts. And let’s not forget that these numbers represent real lives,” UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake said in a release.
“While these are problems of a global scale, the solutions must be local, driven by communities, families and girls themselves to change mindsets and break the cycles that perpetuate FGM/C and child marriage. We can’t let the staggering numbers numb us – they must compel us to act.”
- Inside the Massive Effort to Change the Way Kids Are Taught to Read
- Dubai's Real Estate Market is Booming. One Company is Making It Possible to Invest From Anywhere in the World
- How to Exercise When It's Really Hot Outside
- A New Documentary Sheds Light on a Pivotal Movement in Asian American History
- Far From Home: Afghan Women are Attempting to Build New Lives Abroad
- What Experts Say About How Valuable The Inflation Reduction Act's Green Subsidies Will Be
- What to Know About Long COVID in Kids
- Want to Do More Good? This Movement Might Have the Answer