II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3651 

To reduce child marriage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2006 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. HAGEL, and Mrs. CLINTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To reduce child marriage, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Child 

5 Marriage Prevention and Assistance Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Research shows that child marriage in de9 veloping nations is often associated with adverse eco10 nomic and social consequences and is dangerous to 

11 the health, security, and well-being of girls and detVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:14 Jul 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3651.IS S3651

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1 rimental to the economic development of commu2 nities. 

3 (2) The issue of child marriage is interwoven 

4 with broader social and cultural issues and is most 

5 effectively addressed as a development challenge 

6 through integrated, community-based approaches to 

7 promote and support girls’ education and skill-build8 ing and healthcare, legal rights, and awareness for 

9 girls and women. 

10 (3) As Charlotte Ponticelli, Senior Coordinator 

11 for International Women’s Issues for the Depart12 ment of State, stated on September 14, 2005: ‘‘It is 

13 unconscionable that in the 21st century girls as 

14 young as 7 or 8 can be sold as brides. There is no 

15 denying that extreme poverty is the driving factor 

16 that has enabled the practice to continue, even in 

17 countries where it has been outlawed. . .We need to 

18 be shining the spotlight on early marriage and its 

19 underlying causes. . .We must continue to do every20 thing we can to ensure that girls have every oppor21 tunity to become agents of change and to expand the 

22 ‘realm of what is possible’ for their societies and the 

23 world at large.’’ 


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1 (4) The severity of the adverse impact of child 

2 marriage increases as the age at marriage and first 

3 childbirth decreases. 

4 (5) A Department of State survey in 2005 

5 found that child marriage was a concern in 64 out 

6 of 182 countries surveyed and that the practice is 

7 especially acute in sub-Saharan Africa and South 

8 Asia. 

9 (6) According to the United Nations Children’s 

10 Fund, in Ethiopia and in parts of West Africa mar11 riage at the age of 7 or 8 is not uncommon. 

12 (7) In developing countries, girls aged 10 to 14 

13 who become pregnant are 5 times more likely to die 

14 in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20 to 

15 24. 

16 (8) Girls in sub-Saharan Africa are at much 

17 higher risk of suffering obstetric fistula. 

18 (9) According to the Department of State: 

19 ‘‘Pregnancy at an early age often leads to obstetric 

20 fistulae and permanent incontinence. In Ethiopia, 

21 treatment is available at only 1 hospital in Addis 

22 Ababa that performs over 1,000 fistula operations a 

23 year. It estimates that for every successful operation 

24 performed, 10 other young women need the treat25 ment. The maternal mortality rate is extremely high 


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1 due, in part, to food taboos for pregnant women, 

2 poverty, early marriage, and birth complications re3 lated to FGM [Female Genital Mutilation], espe4 cially infibulation.’’. 

5 (10) Adolescents are at greater risk of com6 plications during childbirth that can lead to fistula 

7 because they have less access to health care and are 

8 subject to other significant risk factors related to the 

9 mother’s physical immaturity. 

10 (11) In nearly every case of obstetric fistula, 

11 the baby will be stillborn. 

12 (12) The physical symptoms of obstetric fistula 

13 include incontinence or constant uncontrollable leak14 ing of urine or feces, frequent bladder infections, in15 fertility, and foul odor. The condition often leads to 

16 the desertion of fistula sufferers by husbands and 

17 family members and extreme social stigma. 

18 (13) Although data on obstetric fistula are 

19 scarce, the World Health Organization (WHO) esti20 mates that there are more than 2,000,000 women 

21 living with fistula and 50,000 to 100,000 new cases 

22 each year. These figures are based on the number of 

23 women who seek medical care. Many more suffer 

24 from the disabling condition. 


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1 (14) Adolescent girls are more susceptible than 

2 mature women to sexually transmitted infections, in3 cluding HIV, due to both biological and social fac4 tors. 

5 (15) Research in several countries with high 

6 rates of HIV infection indicates that married girls 

7 are at greater risk for HIV than their unmarried 

8 peers. 

9 (16) Child marriage can have additional long10 term consequences when combined with female gen11 ital cutting because the girls who have undergone 

12 that procedure can experience greater complications 

13 during pregnancy, leading to lasting health problems 

14 for themselves and their children. 

15 (17) Child marriage is a leading barrier to girls’ 

16 education in certain developing countries. 

17 (18) A high incidence of child marriage under18 mines the efforts of developing countries and donor 

19 countries, including the United States, to promote 

20 economic and social development. 

21 (19) The causes of child marriage include pov22 erty, custom, and the desire to protect girls from vi23 olence or premarital sexual relations. 

24 (20) Child marriage may also be a product of 

25 gender violence in which a man abducts and rapes 


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1 a girl and then, sometimes through negotiations with 

2 traditional leaders, negotiates a settlement with the 

3 girl’s parents, including marriage to the victim. 

4 (21) The practice of child marriage is consid5 ered a ‘‘harmful traditional practice’’ by the United 

6 Nations Children’s Fund. 

7 (22) The Convention on Consent to Marriage, 

8 Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of 

9 Marriages, adopted at the United Nations, Decem10 ber 10, 1962, requires the parties to the Convention 

11 to overcome all ‘‘customs, ancient laws, and prac12 tices by ensuring complete freedom in the choice of 

13 a spouse, eliminating completely child marriages and 

14 the betrothal of young girls before the age of pu15 berty’’. 

16 (23) The African Charter on the Rights and 

17 Welfare of the Child, which entered into force in 

18 1990, provides that ‘‘child marriage and the be19 trothal of girls and boys shall be prohibited and ef20 fective action, including legislation, shall be taken to 

21 specify the minimum age of marriage to be eighteen 

22 years’’. 

23 (24) In Ethiopia, Girls’ Activity Committees, 

24 community-based groups formed to support girls in 

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1 ducted community awareness and informational 

2 campaigns, enlisted the assistance of traditional clan 

3 and religious leaders, discouraged families from 

4 practicing child marriage, encouraged girls’ school 

5 attendance, and taken steps to reduce gender-based 

6 violence and create safer environments for girls en 

7 route to or from school and in the classroom. 

8 (25) Recognizing the importance of the issue 

9 and the effects of child marriage, the Senior Coordi10 nator for International Women’s Issues of the De11 partment of State initiated an effort in 2005 to col12 lect and assess information on the incidence of child 

13 marriage and on the existence and effectiveness of 

14 initiatives funded by the United States to reduce the 

15 incidence of child marriage or the negative effects of 

16 child marriage and to measure the need for addi17 tional programs. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis21 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Agency. 

22 (2) AGENCY.—Except as otherwise provided in 

23 this Act, the term ‘‘Agency’’ means the United 

24 States Agency for International Development. 


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1 (3) CHILD MARRIAGE.—The term ‘‘child mar2 riage’’ means the legal or traditional marriage of a 

3 girl or boy who has not yet reached the minimum 

4 age for marriage stipulated in law in the country of 

5 which they are a citizen. 

6 (4) DEVELOPING NATION.—The term ‘‘devel7 oping nation’’ means any nation eligible to receive 

8 assistance from the International Development Asso9 ciation or the International Bank for Reconstruction 

10 and Development. 

11 (5) HIV.—The term ‘‘HIV’’ has the meaning 

12 given that term in section 3 of the United States 

13 Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and 

14 Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7602). 

15 (6) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘‘HIV/AIDS’’ has 

16 the meaning given that term in section 3 of the 

17 United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tu18 berculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 

19 7602). 

20 (7) OBSTETRIC FISTULA.—The term ‘‘obstetric 

21 fistula’’ means a rupture or hole in tissues sur22 rounding the vagina, bladder, or rectum that occurs 

23 during prolonged, obstructed childbirth. 

24 (8) RELEVANT EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGEN25 CIES.—The term ‘‘relevant executive branch agenVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:14 Jul 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3651.IS S3651

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1 cies’’ means the Department of State, the Agency, 

2 the Department of Health and Human Services, and 

3 any other department or agency of the United 

4 States, including the Millennium Challenge Corpora5 tion, that is involved in implementing international 

6 health or development policies and programs of the 

7 United States. 

8 (9) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided 

9 in this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec10 retary of State. 

11 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that— 

13 (1) the untapped economic and educational po14 tential of girls and women in many developing na15 tions represent an enormous loss to those societies; 

16 (2) expanding educational opportunities for 

17 girls and economic opportunities for women and re18 ducing maternal and child mortality are critical to 

19 the achievement of internationally recognized health 

20 and development goals and of many global health 

21 and development objectives of the United States, in22 cluding efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS; 

23 (3) since child marriage is a leading barrier to 

24 the continuation of girl’s education in many devel25 oping countries, it is important to integrate this 


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1 issue into new and existing United States-funded ef2 forts to promote education, strengthen legal rights 

3 and legal awareness, reduce gender-based violence, 

4 and promote skill-building and economic opportuni5 ties for girls and young women in regions with a 

6 high incidence of child marriage; and 

7 (4) effective community-based efforts to reduce 

8 and move toward the elimination of child marriage 

9 as part of an integrated strategy to promote girls’ 

10 education and empowerment will yield long-term 

11 dividends in the health and economic sectors in de12 veloping countries. 

13 SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD MARRIAGE PREVENTION 

14 STRATEGY. 

15 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR STRATEGY.—The Secretary 

16 shall develop a comprehensive strategy, taking into ac17 count the work of the relevant executive branch agencies, 

18 to reduce the incidences of child marriage around the 

19 world by further integrating this issue into existing and 

20 planned relevant United States development efforts. 

21 (b) REPORT ON STRATEGY.— 

22 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.—Not later 

23 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

25 on the strategy described in subsection (a), including 


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1 a discussion of the elements described in paragraph 

2 (2). 

3 (2) REPORT ELEMENTS.—The elements re4 ferred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 

5 (A) A description of existing or potential 

6 approaches to prevent child marriage and ad7 dress the vulnerabilities of populations who may 

8 be at risk of child marriage. 

9 (B) A description of programs funded by 

10 the United States that address child marriage, 

11 and an assessment of the impact of such pro12 grams in the areas of health, education, and ac13 cess to economic opportunities, including micro14 finance programs. 

15 (C) A description of programs funded by 

16 the United States that are intended to prevent 

17 obstetric fistula. 

18 (D) A description of programs funded by 

19 the United States that support the surgical 

20 treatment of obstetric fistula. 

21 (E) A description of the impact of child 

22 marriage on the United States efforts to assist 

23 in achieving the goals set out in the United Na24 tions Millennium Declaration adopted by the 

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1 tember 8, 2000 (resolution 55/2), including spe2 cifically the impact on efforts to— 

3 (i) eliminate gender disparity in pri4 mary and secondary education; 

5 (ii) reduce child mortality; 

6 (iii) improve maternal health; and 

7 (iv) combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, 

8 malaria, and other disease. 

9 (F) A description of the impact of child 

10 marriage on achieving the purposes set out in 

11 section 602 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 

12 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701). 

13 (G) A description of how the issue of child 

14 marriage can best be integrated into existing or 

15 planned United States programs to promote 

16 girls’ education and skill-building, healthcare, 

17 legal rights and awareness, and other relevant 

18 programs in developing nations. 

19 (c) REPORT ON CHILD MARRIAGE.—Not later than 

20 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Secretary, in consultation with other appropriate officials, 

22 shall submit to the Committees on Foreign Relations and 

23 Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on 

24 International Relations and Appropriations of the House 

25 of Representatives a report that describes— 


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1 (1) United States assistance programs that ad2 dress child marriage; 

3 (2) the impact of child marriage on maternal 

4 mortality and morbidity and on infant mortality in 

5 countries in which child marriage is prevalent; 

6 (3) the projected effect of such programs on in7 creasing the age of marriage, reducing maternal 

8 mortality and morbidity, reducing the incidence of 

9 obstetric fistula, reducing the incidence of domestic 

10 violence, increasing girls’ access to and completion of 

11 primary and secondary education, reducing the inci12 dence of early childbearing, and reducing HIV infec13 tion rates among married and unmarried adoles14 cents; 

15 (4) the scale and scope of the practice of child 

16 marriage in developing nations; and 

17 (5) the status of efforts by the government of 

18 each developing nation with a high incidence of child 

19 marriage to eliminate such practices. 

20 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE 

21 INCIDENCES OF CHILDHOOD MARRIAGE AND 

22 OBSTETRIC FISTULA. 

23 The President is authorized to provide assistance, in24 cluding through international, nongovernmental, or faith25 based organizations or through direct assistance to a reVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:14 Jul 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3651.IS S3651

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1 cipient country, for programs to reduce the incidences of 

2 child marriage and promote the empowerment of girls and 

3 young woman. Such assistance may include— 

4 (1) improving the access of girls and young 

5 women in developing nations to primary and sec6 ondary education and vocational training; 

7 (2) supporting community education activities 

8 to educate parents, community leaders, and adoles9 cents of the health risks associated with child mar10 riage and the benefits for adolescents, especially 

11 girls, of access to education, health care, employ12 ment, microfinance, and savings programs; 

13 (3) supporting community-based organizations 

14 in encouraging the prevention or delay of child mar15 riage and its replacement with other non-harmful 

16 rites of passage; 

17 (4) increasing access of women to economic op18 portunities, including microfinance and small enter19 prise development; 

20 (5) supporting efforts to prevent gender-based 

21 violence; 

22 (6) improving access of adolescents to adequate 

23 health care; 


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1 (7) supporting programs to promote educational 

2 and economic opportunities and access to health care 

3 for adolescents who are already married; 

4 (8) supporting the surgical repair of fistula, in5 cluding the creation or expansion of centers for the 

6 treatment of fistula in countries with high rates of 

7 fistula, and the care, support, and transportation of 

8 persons in need of such surgery; and 

9 (9) supporting efforts to reduce incidences of 

10 fistula, including programs to increase access to 

11 skilled birth attendants, and to promote access to 

12 family planning where desired by local communities. 

13 SEC. 7. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION. 

14 The Secretary shall work through the Agency and 

15 any other relevant agencies of the Department of State, 

16 and in conjunction with relevant executive branch agencies 

17 as part of their ongoing research and data collection ac18 tivities, to— 

19 (1) collect and make available data on the inci20 dence of child marriage in countries that receive for21 eign or development assistance from the United 

22 States where the practice of child marriage is preva23 lent; and 

24 (2) collect and make available data on the im25 pact of the incidence of child marriage and the age 


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1 at marriage on progress in meeting key development 

2 goals. 

3 SEC. 8. HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT. 

4 The Secretary shall include in the Department of 

5 State’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Prac6 tices a section for each country where child marriage is 

7 prevalent, outlining the status of the practice of child mar8 riage in that country. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND OTHER 

10 FUNDING. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 the provisions of this Act, and the amendments made by 

13 this Act, in addition to funds otherwise available for such 

14 purposes, amounts as follows: 

15 (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

16 (2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

17 (3) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

Æ 


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