Abolishing Child Marriage in the Philippines – The Borgen Project

Report on Child Marriage in the Philippines and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Legislative Progress and Persistent Challenges

On December 10, 2021, the Government of the Philippines enacted Republic Act No. 11596, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law, marking a significant legislative advancement. This law establishes the legal age of marriage at 18 and is a critical step toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality), specifically Target 5.3, which aims to eliminate all harmful practices such as child, early, and forced marriage. Prior to the law’s implementation, data from 2017 indicated that one in six Filipinas under 18 was married. While official rates have since decreased from over 16% in 2017 to 9.4% in 2022, the practice of child marriage persists, presenting a formidable barrier to the nation’s progress on multiple SDGs.

Analysis of Root Causes and Their Link to SDGs

The continuation of child marriage in the Philippines is driven by a complex interplay of legal, cultural, and socioeconomic factors that directly undermine several Sustainable Development Goals.

Legal and Institutional Deficiencies

A primary challenge to the full eradication of child marriage is a legal conflict that weakens institutional effectiveness, a core concern of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). While Republic Act No. 11596 sets the marriage age at 18, Presidential Decree No. 1083, or the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, permits the marriage of girls as young as 15. This legal inconsistency is particularly prevalent in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), where a 2021 study recorded approximately 88,600 child brides. The lack of uniform legal protection fails to ensure justice and safety for all children.

Socioeconomic and Cultural Drivers

Several underlying factors contribute to the prevalence of child marriage, each linked to specific development challenges:

• Economic Hardship: In regions with high poverty rates, such as Mindanao, child marriage is often perceived as a strategy for economic survival. This practice traps young girls and their future families in a cycle of poverty, directly impeding progress on SDG 1 (No Poverty).
• Patriarchal Norms: Deep-seated patriarchal norms limit female autonomy and reinforce gender inequality, which is the central focus of SDG 5 (Gender Equality). These norms pressure girls into roles as wives and mothers, denying them control over their own lives.
• Health and Social Stigma: With a legal age of consent at 16, teenage pregnancies can lead to forced marriages to avoid social stigma. This severely impacts SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), as child brides face higher risks of maternal mortality, domestic violence, and adverse mental and physical health outcomes.
• Weak Law Enforcement: Inconsistent and informal enforcement of the national law undermines the rule of law, further highlighting challenges related to SDG 16.

Impact on Sustainable Development

Child marriage has cascading negative effects that hinder the achievement of a broad range of development objectives.

1. Education and Economic Opportunity: Child marriage is a primary reason for girls dropping out of school, which is a direct barrier to achieving SDG 4 (Quality Education). The resulting lack of education and skills limits their future employment prospects, undermining SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
2. Health and Well-being: The practice exposes girls to significant health risks, including complications from early childbirth and increased vulnerability to violence, which is contrary to the objectives of SDG 3.
3. Inequality: By targeting girls disproportionately, child marriage exacerbates gender and economic disparities, working against the aims of SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Strategic Interventions for Systemic Change

The Child Protection Systems Strengthening (CPSS) Framework

In 2024, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) introduced the Child Protection Systems Strengthening (CPSS) framework. This initiative is a targeted effort to build stronger institutions, in line with SDG 16, particularly within Muslim Mindanao. The framework aims to improve the implementation and enforcement of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law through the development of new policies and a dedicated child-protection workforce.

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration

The strategy emphasizes a collaborative approach to address the cultural and social norms that permit child marriage. Key actions include:

• Engaging parents, children, and community leaders in workshops to gather input and foster a collective commitment to ending the practice.
• Involving leaders from the BARMM to assist in designing and evaluating the CPSS, ensuring solutions are culturally appropriate and effective.
• Educating community leaders on child protection laws and gender-based violence to empower them to identify, prevent, and respond to child abuse.

Conclusion and Path Forward

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Law represents a foundational step for the Philippines in protecting the rights of children. However, its full impact is contingent upon addressing the legal loopholes, socioeconomic drivers, and entrenched cultural norms that allow the practice to continue. Eradicating child marriage is not only a human rights imperative but also a prerequisite for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Lasting success requires a sustained, multi-sectoral effort focused on strengthening legal frameworks, promoting gender equality, alleviating poverty, and ensuring access to education and health services for every Filipina girl. These integrated actions are essential for fostering inclusive and sustainable development for the entire nation.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality
   • The article’s central theme is child marriage, a practice that disproportionately affects young girls (“adolescent Filipinas”). It discusses how “patriarchal norms” limit women’s autonomy and force them into subservient roles, which is a core issue of gender inequality that SDG 5 aims to address.
2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • The article directly addresses legal and institutional frameworks. It discusses the “Prohibition of Child Marriage Law (Republic Act no. 11596)” and its weak enforcement. It also highlights the development of a “Child Protection Systems Strengthening (CPSS) framework” by the DSWD and CWC, which relates to building effective and accountable institutions to protect children from abuse, violence, and exploitation.
3. SDG 1: No Poverty
   • A direct link between poverty and child marriage is established. The article states that “Economic hardships can cause families to force their child into a marriage as they believe it to be their only escape to a better life.” It also notes that Mindanao, the region with the highest population of child brides, is “the poorest region in the Philippines,” and that early marriage makes the child more susceptible to “experiencing poverty.”
4. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • The article highlights the severe health consequences of child marriage. It mentions that the practice places young girls in danger of “sexual violence and childbirth” and makes them susceptible to “maternal mortality and a multitude of adverse effects on emotional and physical health.”

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
   • This target is the most directly relevant. The entire article focuses on the issue of child marriage in the Philippines, efforts to prohibit it through law, and the persistence of the practice despite legal measures.
2. Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
   • Child marriage is framed as a form of abuse. The article states the law was signed to “end the abuse and trauma of adolescent Filipinas.” It also mentions that child brides are susceptible to “domestic violence,” which falls under this target’s goal of ending all forms of violence against children.
3. Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
   • The article identifies poverty as both a cause and a consequence of child marriage. By highlighting that families in Mindanao, the “poorest region,” resort to child marriage due to “economic hardships,” the article connects the practice directly to the challenge of poverty reduction.
4. Target 3.1: By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
   • The article explicitly mentions “maternal mortality” as one of the adverse outcomes for girls forced into early marriage, linking the practice directly to this health-related target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Indicator for Target 5.3 (Indicator 5.3.1: Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 18)
   • The article provides specific data points that align perfectly with this indicator. It states that in 2017, “one out of six Filipinas under the age of 18 were married,” the rate was “more than 16%,” and it “had gone down to 9.4% in 2022.” These statistics are direct measures of the prevalence of child marriage.
2. Indicators for Target 16.2 (e.g., Indicator 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation; Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18)
   • While not providing specific numbers for these official indicators, the article implies their relevance by discussing the legal and policy measures designed to track and prevent child abuse. The enactment of the “Prohibition of Child Marriage Law (Republic Act no. 11596)” and the creation of the “Child Protection Systems Strengthening (CPSS) framework” serve as qualitative indicators of a country’s effort to establish systems to protect children and end exploitation. The mention of “sexual violence” and “domestic violence” also points to the relevance of these indicators.
3. Indicator for Target 1.2 (Indicator 1.2.1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age)
   • The article implies a correlation that can be measured. It states that “Mindanao has the highest population of child brides and is also the poorest region in the Philippines.” This suggests that tracking regional poverty rates alongside regional rates of child marriage would be a way to measure progress. A reduction in poverty in Mindanao could be an indicator of progress in reducing a key driver of child marriage.
4. Indicator for Target 3.1 (Indicator 3.1.1: Maternal mortality ratio)
   • The article directly mentions “maternal mortality” as a risk associated with child marriage. Therefore, the maternal mortality rate, especially among adolescent girls in affected regions, is an implied indicator for measuring the health impacts of this harmful practice.

4. SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table

Source: borgenproject.org