By Save the Children | Global Communications
Dear supporter,
This is the final report for the "Save Syria's Children" project. We continue our work in the region to serve refugees and host communities. We hope you will take a moment to read our latest report, "Too Young to Wed" which highlights the growing problem of forced marriage and child brides.
War in Syria has killed more than 10,000 children. More than 1 million more have fled the country in fear, while millions more remain displaced inside the country. This report looks at another disturbing but less publicized impact of the crisis: the increase in the numbers of girls who have been forced to marry.
Child marriage existed in Syria before the crisis – 13% of girls under 18 in Syria were married in 2011. But now, three years into the conflict, official statistics show that among Syrian refugee communities in Jordan – who we focus on in this briefing given the lack of statistics inside Syria itself – child marriage has increased alarmingly, and in some cases has doubled.
In Jordan, the proportion of registered marriages among the Syrian refugee community where the bride was under 18 rose from 12% in 2011 (roughly the same as the figure in pre-war Syria) to 18% in 2012, and as high as 25% by 2013.
The number of Syrian boys registered as married in 2011 and 2012 in Jordan is far lower, suggesting that girls are, as a matter of course, being married off to older males.
Child marriage has also reportedly increased in camps of Syrian refugees in Erbil, Iraq and among Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Incidences of child marriages and forced marriages among Syrian girls have also been reported in Egypt and in Turkey.
There are a number of reasons why families are opting for child marriage for their daughters. As refugees, Syrian families are reliant on dwindling resources and are lacking economic opportunities. At the same time, they are all too aware of the need to protect their daughters from the threat of sexual violence. Given these pressures, some families consider child marriage to be the best way to protect their female children and ease pressures on the family resources.
Thank you for your support of the Save Syria's Children project.
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