The first lady of Sierra Leone, Her Excellency, Fatima Bio, launched the

“Hands off Our Girls” campaign to protect girls from sexual abuse, early girl
child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
The “Hand off Our Girls” campaign has gained a national and international
attention due to it social, economic and cultural implications it will posed to
girls if not addressed.
The “Hands off Our Girls” campaign is a milestone project in ensuring that
some of the social evils affecting girls such as rape, sexual abuses, early girl
child marriage and teenage pregnancy are curtailed drastically. The campaign
has been taken to all districts of Sierra Leone in order to raise awareness about
some of the negative Issues affecting teenage girls in the country.
On Friday, 13th December 2019, the “Hands off Our Girls” campaign was held
in Freetown geared towards public awareness and sensitization. During this
event, one of the main social problem discussed by the first lady, Fatima
Bio during her keynote address and other stakeholders was about early girl
child marriage which they maintained has enormous effects on the future
of the girl child.
Sadly, recent demographic and health surveys point to the fact that 13 per cent
of girls are married by their 15th birthday and 39 per cent of girls before their
18th birthday.
According to “World Health Organization Report on Maternal Mortality 2018”
teenage pregnancy as a result of early girl child marriage is also a leading cause
of death for mothers in Sierra Leone, with the maternal mortality rate at 1,360
deaths per 100000 live births. Early girl child marriage is a major social
problem in the country as discussed during this event.
Girl Child marriage is technically illegal in Sierra Leone where the law states
that you cannot marry a girl child below 18 or before 16 if there is parental or
equivalent consent. Yet, we recorded as a country one of the highest rates of
child marriage in the world with 44 per cent of girls and women married before
they reach 18. There is also a huge pressure from parents on many girls living in
slum areas to enter into early sexual activity as a way to earn support for the
family.
Why is Early Girl Child Marriage Consider as a Social Problem?
Firstly, it is a deviation from the ideal situation in Sierra Leone which many
frowns at. This is so because, it leave disastrous consequences on the girls and
on the society at large. It leaves them with trauma and physical torture which
hurts them for the rest of their lives. It even short-lived their life spans.
Secondly, I consider it as a social problem because it is a condition which
affects large number of people especially teenage girls who are victims of such
social problem. This is so because it is regarded by a substantial part of society
as being in violation of one or more generally accepted or approved norms.
Furthermore, the issue of early girl child marriage is considered a social
problem because it arises out of some pathological social conditions such as
poverty, child labour, sexual abuses and lack of girl child empowerment. These
pathological social conditions have penetrated the system which is now
considered as a major social problem affecting girls in the country.
Citing Fuller and Mayer, the issue of early girl child marriage is considered a
social problem because it has “awakening the interest of people in a given
locality, with the urgent realization of certain cherished values that are
threatened by the conditions which have become acute”. This issue has become
so acute that it has spur feminists institutions in Sierra Leone to take robust
actions to curtail such social problem. Prior among these feminists’ institutions
are “Purposefully” and the “Black Tuesday” launched by the Asmaa James
Foundation.
Moreover, early girl child marriage is a social problem because it has created
changes in existing social order. Before now, girls were not too exposed to the
use of contraceptives. The issue of early girl child marriage has raised more
awareness in that direction. Today, it is a common sight to see young school
going girls actively engaged in using contraceptives. This is really bad and calls
for concern from important stakeholders in the country; even though some of
these contraceptives are geared towards family planning, yet they must not be
made accessible to teenage girls as it poses long term effects. Rather, they
should be exposed to sex education at secondary school level so as to get them
abreast with the pros and cons of some of these contraceptives.
From a rational point of view, girl child marriage constitute a social problem
because it is viewed by a majority of people in Sierra Leone using a lens of
harm that it causes to affected adolescent girls. Growing up in sexually
threatened environments, rather than finding safety and protection in their
husbands, girls often experience marriage as a source of more sexual violence.
They are frequently coerced into a violent sexual initiation, continuing with
undignified treatment that poses physical and psychological damages to affected
adolescent girls. To this end, girl child marriage is seen as a channel to sexual
abuse and exploitation of children, also for commercial purposes. This is so
serious a social problem that needs to be given serious attention.
Consequently, it further constitutes a social problem because girl child marriage
endangers the emotional and physical wellbeing of girls by prematurely forcing
them into sexual activity and exposing them to systematic sexual violence. To
this end, an appreciation is mounting globally of the stark reality of girl child
marriage as a serious human right violation that undermines the enjoyment of
the full range of fundamental rights and liberties to which girls are entitled to.
Child brides are pushed out of childhood and forced into extremely exploitative
conditions which disturb their human development. These conditions compel
them to perform adult roles despite having the capacities of children and, in fact
being children in all respects- developmentally, biologically, physically and
emotionally. (Thematic report: Unrecognized sexual abuse and Exploitation
of Children in Child, Early and Forced Marriage; ECPAT International,
Plan International; October). Early marriage is indeed detrimental to many
girls who are victims of such social encroachment and must stop.

Suggestions or Recommendations on How Early Child Marriage could be

sustained.
In recent years, early girl child marriage has gained increasing attention on both
national and international development agendas. Today, Sierra Leone has a
unique opportunity to act on this menace and to accelerate our efforts to help
change this sickening narrative.
Ending girl child marriage requires work across all sectors and at all levels. It
requires us to understand the complex drivers behind the practice in different
contexts and adapt our interventions accordingly as a country.
Also, ending girl child marriage also requires increased targeted investments
from both national and international donors in prevalence countries especially
Sierra Leone. To this end, I recommend or suggest the following ways on
how early girl child marriage could be sustained.

Firstly, the government of Sierra Leone through the office of the First Lady
should push through to adopt tougher and workable laws to eliminate all
harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital
mutilation.
Secondly, ensuring there are adequate girl child protection mechanisms in place
is an important part of our efforts as a country to end early girl child marriage.
Establishing protocols on identifying the warning signs and addressing the risks
of girl child marriage is also of importance in order to minimize this social
problem. Girl Child protection services need to be accessible via a number of
channels, including education, health care providers, community workers and
the police. Working with service providers to build their capacity; can help to
ensure that cases of child marriage in communities are responded to effectively
and perpetrators are dealt with adequately.
Importantly, empower girls to give them the opportunity to build skills and
knowledge to understand and exercise their rights and develop support
networks. Using an empowerment approach can lead to positive outcomes for
girls and their families by supporting girls to become agents of change and to
resist any form of pressure to succumb to the demands of marriage at a tender
age. Further, helping them envisage what alternative roles could look like in
their communities and ultimately helping them to forge their own pathway in
life.
Carving out safe space programmes which offer a varied curriculum covering
life, skills, health and financial literacy can provide girls with an opportunity to
build their skills learn and meet friends and mentors in the informal setting and
learn about services they can access in their communities. Safe space
programmes can successfully build girls self esteem, confidence which they
need to thrive. Having a safe space regular meeting place allows girls to meet
with peers and share experiences which can reduce their sense of isolation and
vulnerability. This will go a long way to kick back against early girl child
marriage in Sierra Leone.
Going forward, religious and traditional leaders have the potential to play a key
role(s) in speaking out against early girl child marriage and changing
community attitudes. In communities where religious and traditional leaders
play a prominent role in decision making or influencing the prevailing norms,
targeted interventions can support them to become positive advocates in order
to raise awareness on the implications of early girl child marriage for girls and
their families.
Mobilize families and communities to have a rethink. Many families and
communities see girl child marriage as a deeply rooted practice which has been
part of their culture for generations. For change to happen, the values and norms
which support the practice of girl child marriage need to shift. Working with
families and the wider community to raise awareness on the consequences of
child marriage can change attitudes and reduce acceptance among those who
make the decision to marry girls. Interventions targeting fathers, brothers,
husbands and future husbands are important in helping men and boys reflect on
the status quo and see the benefits of a community which values and supports
girls and women to fulfil their potential.
Lastly, the government must ensure that separate laws which are very tough
exist for these groups of people; teachers, Bike riders, policemen, tailor men,
pastors, imam, government officials, college boys, and school boys. These
groups of people are mostly identified as tampering with young girls who are
susceptible to their demands because of what they have to offer.
To this end, the family support unit must be empowered to ensure that rape
cases are not swept underneath family lines and connection or treated with
levity, but must ensure that they respond adequately and effectively so that
perpetrators are dealt with accordingly to deter further occurrence.

Reference.
(Thematic report: Unrecognized sexual abuse and Exploitation of Children
in Child, Early and Forced Marriage; ECPAT International, Plan
International; October 2015).