Featured image above shows Tuanadatu Family of Maitum, Sarangani, Mindanao, as she relates her community’s problem about young girls forced to an early marriage. (Photo: SDN)
Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-TFn
The Stand with HERoes Summit includes a number of objectives, not the least is mobilizing partners for the localization of the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy (PAP) Bill counting on local governments’ and stakeholders’ participation in an active role in the creation of sustainable, community-led interventions focused on adolescent pregnancy and help young girls make informed decisions about their lives ahead.
- X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News
DUSIT THANI MANILA, Makati City, October 28, 2025 (SDN) — Is it a surprise that child marriage still exists today in the Philippines?
That’s a question raised by the Save the Children (SCP) Philippines as the organization with Headquarters in Austria, European Union (EU), grapples with the problem that young girls face in the Philippines’ various communities.
Whether you answered “No” or “Yes”, it’s unquestionable that is still happening in our midst, in our neighborhood, in our communities, across the nation, and it’s not good.
In fact, the SCP revealed that among young Filipino girls the figure is that “9.7 percent of girls from 15 to 19 years old are already married or in some kind of union”.
At the same time, the SCP said there are cases of arranged marriages that are not documented.
Child marriage is not unique among Filipinos, it’s happening worldwide.
“This not only happens in the Philippines, but all over the globe. In fact, in some countries, girls as young as 10 are married off to much older men,” the SCP pointed out.
“Globally, every 7 seconds, one girl under 15 years old is married.”
However one looks at that figure seems staggering reality, with the impact on the adolescent girls include losing their childhood, their innocence, their dreams, their aspirations, and their freedom to do as they want like every young person. An artificial intelligence (AI) Overview on the internet shows that “adolescent age…is defined as the period between 10 and 19 years old.
That age range is the transitional stage between childhood and adulthood which covers “rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development.”
Oxford alumna created Save the Children amid ravages of World War in Europe
Apprarently, to make at least a dent on the problem about child marriage, the SCP PH has been active in initiating measures and activities by engaging with the stakeholders, such as parents, local government units (LGUs), the adolescent girls and the adults, civil society, etc., to prevent this societal phenomenon that, simply said, “victimizes” children who should be living their lives and work to reach their dreams unchained from family responsibilities that only adults should face.
Ms. Vivien Grace Martin, program director of Power-Up Girls, delivered the Program Objectives at the STAND WITH HERoes: Building the Future of Adolescents Together, retelling the stories of two young girls, one in a “liblib” community in Manila who at 13 years old already got pregnant by a 33 years old, and in a remote village in Southern Philippines, a 12-year-old girl from an Indigenous People’s (IP) enclave who was eager to continue her studies but, instead, was married off by her parents to an adult through arranged marriage as the man offered a dowry in exchange for her hand.
Ms. Martin lamented that the young IP girl “is now about to live with an adult stranger as consented by her parents.”
She then pointed out that the experience of the two young girls who where forced in an early married life “are not isolated cases.”
The Power-Up Girls program lead added:
“Maraming batang babae sa buong bansa ang may katulad na karanasan. Kaya noong 2024, ipinakilala namin ang ‘Munting Mundo ni Nene'”. Si Nene ay kumakatawan sa lahat ng batang babae na nasa panganib ng adolescent pregnancy at child, early and forced marriage and unions. Si Nene ang mukha ng libu-libong batang nawalan ng kabataan, napilitang tumanda ng maaga, at patuloy na nangangarap ng mas maayos na kinabukasan.”
(Translation: There are many young girls nationwide who have the same experience. So, in 2024, we introduced the ‘Small World of Nene’. Nene represents all the young girls who face the dangers of adolescent pregnancy and child, early and forced marriage and unions. Nene is the face of thousands of children who lost their childhood and forced to become adult early, and continue to dream of a better future.)
Ms. Martin described the problem faced by young girls as a “continuing challenge” and that they are trying to address the issue.
“We are working side by side with adolescents, their parents, communities, and local partners to co-create solutions that truly reflect their voices and realities. Together, we are building an environment where girls can grow with confidence, where they have the knowledge, skills, and courage to speak up, make decisions, and take action on issues that matter to them.”
The Save the Children emerged in 1919 in Europe from the ravages of World War I as children suffered “horrendous conditions and dying from hunger”.
Seeing this condition, an Oxford alumna, a teacher and sociologist, Eglantyne Jebb, established the SCP during which she was accused in London, England, of helping the children of enemies.
Jebb persisted, endured, even after being arrested for distribution of leaflets. She did not surrender.
Cross-collaboration vital for the well-being of adolescent girls
In 1923, Jebb wrote the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which the United Nations adopted. Finally, her dogged determination bore fruit, her work becoming an international law in 1989 as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
And soon enough Jebb’s vision spread in almost every country on Earth including the Philippines, in the process “protecting millions of children long after her death.”
Filipinos gave birth to the SCP Philippines in 1981, “working with Filipino children and their families for nearly 40 years”.
The event today here attracted the participation of government agencies, civil society organizations (CSOs), private sector partners, academic institutions, child and youth leasers, and other participants as they emersed themselves with the issues and concerns related to young girls and the problems and challenges they continue to face, specifically forced early marriage and pregnancy.
Tackled in the “Stand with HERoes” Summit, a landmark event, is a collective initiative to “bring adolescent pregnancy, early and forced marriages and union (CEFMU), and the cohabitation of young girls with older men into sharper public and policy focus.
” The landmark event underscored how diverse actors, working in solidarity, can elevate these urgent issues as national priorities and strengthen collective action to uphold and advance the rights of Filipino children,” the STP PH said in statement.
Moreover, the Stand with HERoes event stressed how important is a cross-sectoral collaboration in shaping policies, programs, and community initiatives aimed at prioritizing children’s well-being, protect their rights, and amplify their voices in decision-making spaces. — EDD K. USMAN (√)
________
To be updated