Breaking Vows: Early and Forced Marriage and Girls’ Education

Plan UK’s new report ‘Breaking Vows: Early and Forced Marriage and Girls’ Education’, examines the causes and consequences of child marriage, and the impact on girls’ education and life chances. 10 million girls under the age of 18 are married off each year, or around one girl every three seconds worldwide. Plan believes that implementing the recommendations set out in the report will enable the Government to meet its existing commitments and will ensure that early and forced marriage is raised up the international agenda to: Strengthen global commitment to girls’ rights; All countries ensure girls have legal protection from early and forced marriage and actively prosecute perpetrators; Funding is increased for programmes that encourage families and communities to prioritise girls’ education over marriage; Government and donors invest in the support services for girls wanting to escape marriage; Increased scrutiny strengthens monitoring and reporting of global early and forced marriage.