WASHINGTON D.C. – The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) during two Capitol Hill events on Thursday, July 15, will address the lives of adolescent girls and the issue of forced child marriage.
Child brides remain prevalent in many developing countries, where girls have a one in seven chance of marrying before their 15th birthday. Forced child marriage erodes girls’ health and social well-being, and undermines global development efforts. The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act – which enjoys unprecedented bipartisan support – is a starting point for how to end this practice.
Anju Malhotra, ICRW’s vice president of research, innovation and impact, will testify at 1:30 p.m. before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission about the causes, consequences and potential solutions to forced child marriage. The hearing is scheduled to take place in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2226.
Then at 5 p.m., ICRW, along with the Coalition for Adolescent Girls, CARE and the International Women’s Health Coalition, will host a reception to celebrate the launch of the report, “Girls Speak: A New Voice in Global Development.” The report draws together girls’ voices and their ideas for how to improve their lives. Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) and ICRW President Sarah Degnan Kambou, among others, will speak. The reception also will take place in Rayburn, Room B-369.