[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3357 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3357
To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of
child marriage, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 3, 2011
Ms. McCollum (for herself, Mr. Schock, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Ms. Eshoo,
Mr. LaTourette, Ms. DeGette, Mrs. Emerson, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Chandler,
Mr. Tiberi, Ms. Moore, Mr. Dent, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs.
Napolitano, Mr. Moran, Mr. McDermott, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Rangel,
Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Honda, Mr. McGovern, Mr.
McNerney, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Payne,
Ms. Hirono, Mr. Israel, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Kind, Ms. Lee of California,
Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Paulsen, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Murphy of
Connecticut, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Towns, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Markey, Mr.
Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Hastings
of Florida, Ms. Richardson, Ms. Norton, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Johnson of
Georgia, Mrs. Capps, and Ms. DeLauro) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of
child marriage, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Child Marriage Violates the Human
Rights of Girls Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Child marriage, also known as ``forced marriage'' or
``early marriage'', is a harmful traditional practice that
deprives girls of their basic human rights.
(2) Child marriage as a traditional practice, as well as
through coercion or force, is a violation of article 16 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, ``Marriage
shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of
intending spouses.''.
(3) According to the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), an estimated 60,000,000 girls in developing countries
now ages 20 to 24 were married under the age of 18, and if
present trends continue, more than 100,000,000 more girls in
developing countries will be married as children over the next
decade, according to the Population Council.
(4) The rape, violent abuse, and physical exploitation of
young girls, at times as young as ten years old, are frequent
consequences of children forced into marriages in countries
such as Bangladesh where 57 percent of girls are married by age
15.
(5) Factors perpetuating child marriage include poverty, a
lack of educational or employment opportunities for girls,
parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within marriage,
the dowry system, and the perceived lack of value of girls.
(6) Child marriage has negative effects on girls' health,
including significantly increased risk of maternal death and
morbidity, obstetric fistula, sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV/AIDS, and infant mortality and morbidity.
(7) Girls' schooling, creating safe community spaces for
girls, and programs for skills building for out-of-school girls
are all effective and evidence-based strategies for preventing
child marriage and creating a pathway to the empowerment of
girls by addressing conditions of poverty, low status, and
norms that contribute to child marriage.
(8) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has stated
that, ``Stopping child marriage is not just a must for moral or
human rights reasons--it lays the foundation for so many other
things we hope to achieve. Primary education. Improved child
and maternal health. Sustainable economic development that
includes girls.''.
SEC. 3. CHILD MARRIAGE DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``child marriage'' means the marriage of a
girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in
the country in which the girl or boy is a resident or, where there is
no such law, under the age of 18.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) child marriage is a violation of human rights and the
prevention and elimination of child marriage should be a
foreign policy goal of the United States;
(2) the practice of child marriage undermines United States
investments in foreign assistance to promote education and
skills building for girls, reduce maternal and child mortality,
reduce maternal illness, halt the transmission of HIV/AIDS,
prevent gender-based violence, and reduce poverty; and
(3) educational opportunities for girls, economic
opportunities for women, and reducing maternal and child
mortality are critical to achieving the global health and
development objectives of the United States, including efforts
to prevent HIV/AIDS.
SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND DATA.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, and the heads of
other relevant departments and agencies shall--
(1) collect and make publicly available data on the
incidence of child marriage in countries that receive foreign
or development assistance from the United States where the
practice of child marriage is prevalent, including to the
extent appropriate the countries listed in subsection (b); and
(2) collect and make publicly available data on the impact
of the incidence of child marriage and the age at marriage on
progress in meeting key development goals.
(b) Countries.--The countries referred to in subsection (a)(1) are
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African
Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican
Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Honduras, India, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
(1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(g)(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall include, for
each country in which child marriage is prevalent, including to the
extent appropriate the countries listed in paragraph (2), a description
of the status of the practice of child marriage in such country and the
type and amount of United State foreign assistance being used for the
primary goal of preventing child marriage in such country.
``(2) The countries referred to in paragraph (1) are Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Guinea, Honduras, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,
Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
``(3) In this subsection, the term `child marriage' means the
marriage of a girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage
stipulated in law or under the age of 18 if no such law exists, in the
country in which such girl or boy is a resident.''; and
(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(j)(1) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, for
each country in which child marriage is prevalent, including to the
extent appropriate the countries listed in paragraph (2), a description
of the status of the practice of child marriage in such country and the
type and amount of United State foreign assistance being used for the
primary goal of preventing child marriage in such country.
``(2) The countries referred to in paragraph (1) are Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Guinea, Honduras, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,
Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
``(3) In this subsection, the term `child marriage' means the
marriage of a girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage
stipulated in law or under the age of 18 if no such law exists, in the
country in which such girl or boy is a resident.''.
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