Costa Rica hopes to keep girls in school by raising marriage age

Costa Rica has聽raised the minimum age for marriage to 18 under a law that聽experts hope will prevent teen pregnancy and girls dropping out聽of school –聽but enforcement could be a challenge among indigenous聽communities where child marriage is prevalent.

Under the new law, which came into effect this month,聽children age 15 and above are no longer allowed to get married聽with their parent’s permission.

The law also sets out a maximum penalty of three years聽imprisonment for adults who have sex with children under 15 if聽the age difference between a child and adult is five years or聽more.

UNICEF hailed the law as an important step in protecting聽girls’ rights and moving Costa Rica towards meeting the global聽goal to eradicate child marriage by 2030. One in five girls in聽the Central American nation of five million people are married by聽18.聽

“This law guarantees the protection of children and聽adolescents in situations that flagrantly harm and violate their聽dignity and rights,” Gordon Jonathan Lewis, UNICEF聽Costa Rica聽representative, said in a statement.

“In addition, the country takes a very important step聽towards fulfilling the national agenda for children and聽adolescents and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.”

But implementing the law will be particularly challenging聽among Costa Rica’s indigenous communities, who live in poor聽rural areas where child marriage is most common, experts say.

In the Ngabe community, for example, indigenous girls become聽eligible for marriage once they reach puberty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o34m8jk-QUk

“There’s a social and cultural acceptance and tolerance of聽these types of inappropriate relationships between girls and聽older men. Changing the social fabric takes time,” Paula聽Antezana, deputy representative for the UN聽Population Fund聽(UNFPA) in Costa Rica, said by telephone.

Implementing the law involves educating girls about their聽rights, empowering them to say no to relationships with older聽men聽and raising awareness among judicial officials about the聽new law, Antezana said.

When girls get married at an early age, they are more likely聽to get pregnant as teenagers and in turn drop out of school,聽depriving them of an education.

Costa Rica education

30% of national budget was invested in education over 30 years.

• Primary school enrolment rate for both sexes聽is 96.6% says UNESCO.
• 8.4% of girls of lower secondary age and 12.4% of of upper secondary age聽are out of school.

Teenage pregnancy carries significant health risks.聽Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the second highest聽cause of death for 15- to 19-year-old girls globally, according聽to the聽World Health Organization.

In Costa Rica, 16% of all births are among girls聽under 18聽and in rural and coastal areas the rate rises to as聽much as 27%.

“For a middle-income country like Costa Rica that’s a very聽high rate,” Antezana said. “In Costa Rica, teenage pregnancy is聽practically an epidemic.”

Child marriage traps girls in poverty聽and puts them at聽greater risk of domestic and sexual violence.

Each year more than 15 million girls worldwide are married聽before they turn 18, campaign group聽Girls Not Brides听蝉补测蝉