The Civil Society Organization (CSO) has held a forum that seeks to include the protection of women’s rights and prohibit forced marriage among children in the Eastern and Southern African regions, through the adoption of a multi-sectoral approach discussed by a panel of partners.

The CSO forum seeks to bring together 50 representatives of Civil Society Organizations, activists, survivors and experts from across the 22 countries in the region.

The focus of this convening is to facilitate the exchange of lessons, CSO’s collective power to push for the implementation of laws, and capacity building towards ending child marriage.

Child, Early and Forced marriages remain an urgent human rights issue in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region, where over 50 million girls are married before the age of 18.

According to the regional report, despite the many gains made within the region in the fight to end child marriage, progress to eradicate this harmful practice has been slow.

The CSO’s campaigns are centered on 4 programme areas including: legal equality, end sexual violence, end harmful practices and end sexual exploitation with their main concern focusing on the needs of adolescent girls.

The CSO’s campaign also stressed on development of advocacy strategies targeting the regional and sub-regional mechanisms.

Speaking during the forum, Esther Mugure from Department of Children Services said that they had come up with a concise plan on how to implement laws around children including the Children Act.

Mugure stressed that family support is key when dealing with ending child marriage.

‘Parenting programs are available, where we give the parents tips, educating them on positive parenting so that the issues of Child marriage as well as violence against children are reduced. We also have Cash Transfer Programmes that are focusing on various groups of people (the orphans and vulnerable people with disability) through the help of various partners in different counties. This will ensure that all of us are working towards eliminating child marriage,’ disclosed Mugure.

She added that Child marriage has an element of culture, and so there is a need to approach the community by having several community engagements to change the harmful norms.

Mugure said the Department of Children Services ensures that once the children are rescued from early marriage, they receive quality healthcare and education.

‘The department’s mandate through the help of our partners is to place children in institutions for a short period of time as we look for alternative ways to assist them. We also give counseling and psychosocial support to children and ensure the perpetrator is charged in a court of law,’ she re-affirmed, adding that the National Committee that was created last year focuses on addressing harmful practices in a coordinated manner.

A panelist in the forum Susan Mutambasere, said that there is a policy framework that prioritizes child marriage as a national issue.

Mutambasere emphasized that the education sector plays a major role in ending child marriage since it helps keep children in school, adding that poverty is a key contributor of child marriage.

She urged the government to set aside money from the profit made to go towards ending child marriage.

‘Justice for children is paramount and therefore disseminating information on child marriage goes a long way in curbing the vice. Child marriage is continuous rape, let’s call it as it is,’ she reiterated.

Source: Kenya News Agency