Blog: Child Marriage is Child Labour

Today – March 8th – marks International Women’s Day. For UNISON, with a million women in membership, this is obviously a significant date. UNISON women are at the heart of everything our union does – leading our campaigns, deciding our policies and keeping our union and public services strong. This is a day to celebrate the achievements of women, including those we’re proud to know. But it’s also a day to remember the battles won by women and the struggles still faced by women around the world. One of the most grievous examples of mistreatment of women worldwide is child marriage. Earlier this week the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that child marriage has decreased by 15 per cent over the last decade. Whilst this is welcome news, it is staggering that 21 per cent of girls across the world are still subjected to this horrendous form of abuse. Child marriage is one of the worst forms of child labour and a terrible violation of a girl’s human rights. Girls are often trafficked or sold, sexually abused, denied the right to an education and forced to perform hazardous, unpaid work for long hours. When world leaders gathered at the United Nations in September 2015 to approve the Sustainable Development Goals, they promised to end child marriage by 2030. Until now global efforts have mainly focused on education, investment in adolescent girls and positive public messaging. All of these are important, but on their own will not end child marriage. I...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: General secretary's blog News Child Labour child marriage international women's day Source Type: news