End Child Marriage in Jordan

  • by: Walk Free
  • recipient: Minister Bishop (Australia), Secretary Kerry (US), Secretary Hammond (UK) and Minister McCully (New Zealand)
Forced child marriage amongst the Syrian refugee population in Jordan is rising sharply[1] as more and more families see child marriage as a way to lessen their financial burden and protect girls from sexual violence.[2]

Frontline agencies are working hard to stem the tide of child marriages with education and protection programmes, but are heavily underfunded.[3]

We know these programmes are reaching thousands of men, women and children talking about the dangers of early marriage and supporting survivors of sexual and gender based violence.[4]

Most of the world are doing the right thing. It is some of the world's richest nations like Australia, the UK, the US and New Zealand that are not contributing their fair share of aid.[5]

Call on the world's richest nations to help fund the fight to end child marriage in Jordan.Reports indicate that there is heightened vulnerability of Kenyan children from foreigners including UK nationals. According to a report by End Child Prostitution in Kenya (ECPIK), more than 50,000 children are involved in Child Sex Tourism (CST).[4] CST is most rampant along the Kenyan Coast where a majority of the tourism activities take place.

Recently, cases have been documented whereby British nationals; some convicted sex offenders, have travelled to Kenya where they sexually abused children and avoided prosecution in both Kenya and the UK. Consequently, victims went unnoticed without the vital protection and support they needed. The case of Simon Harris, a British former teacher, is just one case reported out of thousands that go unnoticed.

Now is the time to take the next step to do our part and help stop the nightmare of sexual slavery for children in destinations around the world by calling on the UK and Kenyan governments to strengthen their commitment in the fight against transnational child abuse by implementing international obligations and setting up national and international law enforcement teams to protect children everywhere.

SOURCES
1. http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Too_Young_to_Wed.pdf
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28250471
3. UN WOMEN (2013) Inter-agency assessment: Gender-based Violence and child Protection amongst Syrian Refugees in Jordan, with a focus on early marriage.
4. http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
5. Oxfam (2014) A Fairer Deal for Syrians, http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp190-fairer-deal-syrians-090914-en.pdf
Dear Minister Bishop (Australia), Secretary Kerry (US), Secretary Hammond (UK) and Minister McCully (New Zealand),

We request that you increase overseas development assistance to help stop forced child marriage amongst the Syrian refugee population in Jordan.

With the security and economic situation for refugees becoming dire, teenage girls are being 'married-off' to lessen the financial burden on refugee families and shockingly as a form of protection from sexual violence.

Child brides are at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation. Child marriage often results in separation from family and friends and lack of freedom to participate in community activities, which can all have major consequences on girls’ mental and physical well-being.

There are programs in place to address the issue but the almost 50% shortfall in funding for the Syria Regional Response Plan (RRP6) in 2014 means many efforts are underfunded.

[Your comments here]

Contributing a fair share of international assistance will give frontline programs the chance they need to stop this terrible practice.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
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