MANILA: Years of fighting to end child marriage in the Philippines paid off with a recent law banning the practice, but rights groups say much more needs to be done to implement the ban in an effective way.

According to UNICEF, the Philippines, a country of 110 million people, has the 12th highest number of child brides in the world, with around 15% of girls married before the age of 18.

The practice became illegal in the country on January 6 when a law banning child marriage took effect, with President Rodrigo Duterte signing the “Girls Not Brides Act” after it was ratified by Congress in September.

The law closes loopholes allowing child marriage and provides prison sentences of up to 12 years for anyone who marries or enters into an informal union with someone under the age of 18. The same penalty applies to persons organizing or celebrating unions of minors.

Humanitarian groups have welcomed the passage of the law, but as its criminal provisions will not apply for a one-year transition period, rights activists have called for a multi-sectoral approach to its implementation.

“There are still a lot of things to do other than working to implement the rules and regulations of the new law,” Jeanette Dulawan, Oxfam Philippines’ gender justice program manager, told Arab News.

His comments came after Plan International Philippines country director Ana Maria Locsin released a statement saying the law was ‘the first step in reclaiming space with women and children who have been forced into marriage’. .

Dulawan said Oxfam was advocating for “effective coordination between duty bearers and stakeholders” because without it communities, especially those in conflict-affected and geographically isolated areas, would not be able to access to interventions.

Child marriage is often seen in disadvantaged communities as a way to secure a girl’s future or as a way to prevent pregnancy out of wedlock. But the data shows that its effects are the exact opposite.

“Statistically, (it) increases the risk of early, unplanned or unwanted pregnancies,” Dulawan said, adding that it also increases the risk of death or complications during pregnancy and childbirth, which in the Philippines is already high.

She cited a recent 2019 report from UNFPA’s Asia-Pacific regional office that compared data from various Asian countries between 1970 and 2010, showing that the Philippines saw little change in the percentage of married women between the ages of 15 and 19. years, while countries like South Korea, Indonesia and India have cut that figure to less than half over the past 50 years.

“Now that we have the law, it’s very important that it gets implemented,” Dulawan said.

“As we have seen, child marriage is truly a serious human rights violation and it is a serious public health concern.”