Time to Act! - Louder Than Words: Collection of Testimonies on Preventing and Ending Child, Early and Forced Marriage in the Asia-Pacific Region

"A gendered imbalance of power rooted in gender inequality, which results in gender-based discrimination and exclusion, is a major underlying cause of CEFM [child, early and forced marriage] across Asia-Pacific."

This report, published by Plan International, features personal testimonies on breakthroughs and successes in preventing and stopping child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) across the Asia-Pacific region. The collection seeks to contribute to Plan International's efforts to build evidence on effective practice and is intended to inspire practitioners and key stakeholders to step up their action and eliminate this harmful practice for good. The testimonies are from beneficiaries and participants of a range of Plan-International-supported projects across eight countries in South Asia that involve, for example, radio programmes, digital platforms, girls' clubs, economic empowerment, and the involvement of religious leaders to bring about change.

As explained in the report, CEFM "is a harmful practice and global human rights issue disproportionately affecting girls. The girls most at risk are often those hardest to reach because they come from poor families, marginalized groups, or rural areas. Child marriage frequently leads to serious negative consequences, denying millions of girls the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The scale of the problem of child marriage is enormous." South Asia is home to the largest absolute number of child brides, accounting for more than 40% of the global total. According to the report, while in the last decade, the risk of a girl marrying has declined in the region by more than one-third, it is still the region with the highest rate of CEFM, impacting 45% of girls. Over 12 million girls under 18 are married each year, translating into 23 marriages every minute or one girl every two seconds.

Plan International's regional work in Asia-Pacific uses a number of strategies to eliminate CEFM, as well as to prevent and reduce adolescent pregnancies. The key priorities are:
 

• Strengthening youth activism, engagement, and involvement to eliminate CEFM in Asia;
• Engaging traditional and religious leaders;
• Campaigning to prevent and end CEFM;
• The use of digital technology, cyber platforms, and online solutions; and
• Promoting accessible and quality gender-responsive services.

For each country, the report highlights a particular project, focusing on the personal stories or testaments of the young people participating in the project as well as the young girls and communities impacted by the project. Included are also statistics for each country reflecting the child marriage prevalence ranking of the country (in the world and in the region), as well as statistics reflecting women's first marriage by the age of 18 and statistics on secondary school completion rate over time.

The Plan International projects and their testimonies on impact are as follows: 

Bangladesh
 

• The Building Better Future for Girls project supports champion fathers and mothers to increase awareness of CEFM-related risks and harms and to help identify, report, and respond to cases in their communities. This project also includes a radio show, run by young activists, that shares news and awareness messages on preventing child marriage and advocates against this harmful practice.
• The Combatting Early Marriage in Bangladesh project supports boys and girls to help combat child marriage and reduce the vulnerability of adolescents, particularly girls. The project works to strengthen the agency of girls and boys and provides a supportive social environment to help people make a difference in their communities.

Cambodia
 

• The Reduction of Early Child Marriage and Adolescent Pregnancy for Indigenous Young Women project in Ratanakiri Province trains girls and young women in journalism skills to produce and broadcast stories about child marriage.
• The New Generation project complements the provision of vocational skills training by delivering classes on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and rights and teaches teens to be peer-to-peer educators.
• The Skill Development and Employment to Reduce Early Child Marriage project is an economic empowerment project that teaches new skills to girls who are unable to complete school. They are also offered daily food allowances and accommodation to help with attendance. The project is based on the idea that girls who receive an education are able to earn more, are better able to protect themselves and their families, have greater confidence, are better able to decide when and how to have safer pregnancies, and are less likely to marry young. 
   

India
 

• The India Girls Advocacy Alliance project provides tools and resources to young activists to get messages about CEFM across to other young people, their parents, religious leaders, local authorities, and decision-makers. The report shares numerous testimonies of the impact of this project.

Indonesia
 

• The Yes I Do project works with mullahs (Sunni Muslim mosque leaders) - who are traditional sources of authority and considered the gatekeepers of traditions - to support them to take the lead in the fight against child marriage, using their influence to inspire positive change among fathers, young men, and boys. The project also involves a community-based child protection mechanism, a network of local change agents - including girls and young women - who facilitate community discussions, respond to cases, and assist victims of child marriage.
• The Let's Talk programme is an information-sharing forum that allows teens to debate sensitive topics in a productive and informative peer counselling group.

Laos
 

• In Laos, Plan International puts education, including comprehensive sexuality education, at the forefront of its actions against child marriage. Central to this initiative are student clubs set up in secondary schools in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports. These clubs allow young people, including boys, to discuss and learn about girls' rights, including the negative impacts of child marriage, gender equality, SRH, and the importance of education. In addition, Plan International is working together with parents, teachers, village authorities, and the district education bureau to provide scholarships to children from families unable to cover education costs.

Nepal
 

• In Nepal, testimonies are given by members of children's clubs and youth clubs supported by Plan International that provide opportunities for girls and young women to meet regularly to discuss child rights, SRH, and the negative aspects of child marriage. Members of clubs are also inspired to take action within their communities to advocate for change around child marriage.

The Philippines
 

• The Reach Mindanao is an economic empowerment project that promotes inclusive education and flexible learning options for young mothers. The project teaches them about creating business proposals, managing finances, and running a small enterprise.

Thailand
 

• The Teen Power for Better Life project teaches young girls, mostly from rural parts of the country, about topics like conception, contraception, SRH, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy. It encourages participants to take the lead and become inspirational youth leaders of change.

Timor-Leste
 

• To debunk myths and misinformation on social media about sexual health, Plan International Timor Leste supported the development of an app called Reprodutiva that provides young women with SRH information, as well as information about girls' rights.  

Vietnam
 

• Plan International supported girls' clubs, where young married girls can safely tell their stories and learn how they can break down barriers and discourage their own imposed early marriages. Testimonies reveal how members of the girls' club can become ambassadors, influencers, and advisors of meaningful youth engagement in the National Youth Advisory Committee, which informs and educates people on a national level about child marriage and gender equality.
• With the internet playing a negative role in facilitating child marriage, Plan International developed the Girls' Rights Platform, an online platform that encourages dialogue, information, and exchange on girls' and women's rights issues. In particular, the project's overarching objective is for ethnic minority young people (aged 10 to 24) to use digital spaces to understand and claim their rights, access support services, and raise their voices towards policymakers.

In conclusion, the publication highlights the stories of youth activists who offer first-hand accounts of their own experiences of child marriage, as well as their calls to decision-makers to take action to prevent and stop child marriage.