Your wedding day. An occasion that for most, is one of the best days of your life. A day to celebrate the union of two people in love, committing to a life-long journey of happiness. Yet for some, marriage represents nothing more than the end of life as they know it, and opens a door to a world of abuse and disdain. This is a reality for many people and for a large proportion, married life is forced upon them and can begin as early as five years old, before even understanding existence preceding their title as husband or wife.

Child marriage, defined as “a formal marriage or informal union before the age of 18” is unfortunately the cold reality for both boys and girls in many countries; however it is girls who are disproportionately affected. It is估计的那every three seconds a young girl is forced to marry against her will. With these figures this is clearly a tradition that is unlikely to subside in the near future.

However this is not an issue that has gone unnoticed, with many global organisations and charities aiming to eradicate this violation of basic human rights. On 17^thNovember 2011, the联合国大会officially designated the 11^thOctober as the firstInternational Day of the Girl Child认识到女孩的权利和他们在全球范围内经历的斗争。去年的主题是专注于“结束童婚”，并强调了订婚的时间不仅是如何否认她童年时代的女孩，而且还否认她的教育，健康和安全。

A commentary published inBiomed Central的journalReproductive Health, ‘Preventing child marriages: first international day of the girl child “my life, my right, end child marriage”’ divulges into the prevalence of child marriage along with its effects and recommended action to try and tackle this issue.

Whilst child marriage is rife throughout the developing world the extent varies between each country. The highest rates can be found within West Africa, followed by southern Asia, northern Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The greatest influx can be seen in poorer regions and less developed, rural parts due to families not being able to afford the cost of schooling and basic care.

尽管在两个孩子之间进行了许多婚姻，但在某些情况下，这对夫妇将由一个孩子和一个年龄较大的伴侣组成。在某些文化中，与男人的生育能力相比，女性的童贞和女性的生殖寿命更短，这可能会导致许多女孩的新娘受到剥削和性虐待。以及诸如疾病的收缩HIV/AIDS许多孩子的新娘很早就怀孕了，在孩子的身体发展到足以应付的情况下。全球15-19岁的年龄在15-19岁之间，每年大约有70,000例与母亲有关的死亡，统计数据表明，18岁以下母亲出生的婴儿在生命的第一年就有60％的死亡机会比出生的婴儿高60％。到19岁以上的母亲。

Along with the increased risk of death, serious lasting complications such as anobstetric fistulacan not only put a child’s health at risk but can also affect them socially. Due to poor healthcare young girls who survive will continue to live with obstetric fistula which can lead to being ostracised, or at worse can be rejected by their husband.

Love is not always a contributing factor when it comes to marriage, however pure desperation and economic necessity are. To the child’s parents it is seen as a way to protect them from sexual assault, pregnancy outside of marriage and assures they will have a roof over their head and food on the table. But this decision deprives millions of children of one fundamental right; choice. The basichuman right释放并充分同意他们想要的生活以及他们想与之分享的人。

有关童婚和预防访问的更多信息Plan, a global children’s charity who work with children in the poorest countries to help them build a better future.