Las niñas adolescentes en matrimonios y uniones infantiles, tempranas y forzadas en Guatemalael Programa Kawil para su prevención

Abstract

Child Early and Forced Marriage / Union (CEFMU) or child marriage involves persons under the age of 18 and is recognized as a harmful practice due to its adverse effects by forcing, especially girls, to perform activities for which they are neither physically nor emotionally prepared, and away from any possibility of further growth and personal development. This practice increases as the level of income and education decreases, people live in rural areas and / or they are indigenous populations, thus being crossed by social, economic, and educational gaps. In Guatemala, the MUITF remains normalized, constituting an obstacle to gender equality and making this practice invisible. This research presents the results of a bibliographic review of the evidence of programs around the world related to child marriage from 2000-2019 to identify the fundamental elements that prevent, mitigate, and eradicate it to design a program proposal for Guatemala. The designed proposal is focused on adolescent girls and has five fundamental elements that have proven to be successful in the world by empowering girls and adolescents, connecting them to health and education services, offering them training for livelihoods, connecting them to job opportunities, and influencing social norms by reformulating gender relations so that they are more equitable. This is done by involving families, community actors and monitoring the progress of compliance with national legal regulations that prohibit the CEFMU practice.