text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``International Protecting Girls by 
  Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress makes the following findings:
              (1) Child marriage, also known as ``forced marriage'' or 
          ``early marriage'', is a harmful traditional practice that 
          deprives girls of their dignity and human rights.
              (2) Child marriage as a traditional practice, as well as 
          through coercion or force, is a violation of article 16 of the 
          Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, ``Marriage 
          shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of 
          intending spouses''.
              (3) According to the United Nations Children's Fund 
          (UNICEF), an estimated 60,000,000 girls in developing countries 
          now ages 20 through 24 were married under the age of 18, and if 
          present trends continue more than 100,000,000 more girls in 
          developing countries will be married as children over the next 
          decade, according to the Population Council.
              (4) Between \1/2\ and \3/4\ of all girls are married before 
          the age of 18 in Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea, the 
          Central African Republic, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, and Nepal, 
          according to Demographic Health Survey data.
              (5) Factors perpetuating child marriage include poverty, a 
          lack of educational or employment opportunities for girls, 
          parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within marriage, 
          the dowry system, and the perceived lack of value of girls.
              (6) Child marriage has negative effects on the health of 
          girls, including significantly increased risk of maternal death 
          and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity, obstetric 
          fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
              (7) According to the United States Agency for International 
          Development (USAID), increasing the age at first birth for a 
          woman will increase her chances of survival. Currently, 
          pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of 
          death for women 15 to 19 years old in developing countries.
              (8) Most countries with high rates of child marriage have a 
          legally established minimum age of marriage, yet child marriage 
          persists due to strong traditional norms and the failure to 
          enforce existing laws.
              (9) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated that 
          child marriage is ``a clear and unacceptable violation of human 
          rights'', and that ``the Department of State categorically 
          denounces all cases of child marriage as child abuse''.
              (10) According to an International Center for Research on 
          Women analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data, areas or 
          regions in developing countries in which 40 percent or more of 
          girls under the age of 18 are married are considered high-
          prevalence areas for child marriage.
              (11) Investments in girls' schooling, creating safe 
          community spaces for girls, and programs for skills building 
          for out-of-school girls are all effective and demonstrated 
          strategies for preventing child marriage and creating a pathway 
          to empower girls by addressing conditions of poverty, low 
          status, and norms that contribute to child marriage.
  
  SEC. 3. CHILD MARRIAGE DEFINED.
  
      In this Act, the term ``child marriage'' means the marriage of a 
  girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in 
  the country in which the girl or boy is a resident or, where there is 
  no such law, under the age of 18.
  
  SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
  
      It is the sense of Congress that--
              (1) child marriage is a violation of human rights, and the 
          prevention and elimination of child marriage should be a 
          foreign policy goal of the United States;
              (2) the practice of child marriage undermines United States 
          investments in foreign assistance to promote education and 
          skills building for girls, reduce maternal and child mortality, 
          reduce maternal illness, halt the transmission of HIV/AIDS, 
          prevent gender-based violence, and reduce poverty; and
              (3) expanding educational opportunities for girls, economic 
          opportunities for women, and reducing maternal and child 
          mortality are critical to achieving the Millennium Development 
          Goals and the global health and development objectives of the 
          United States, including efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS.
  
  SEC. 5. STRATEGY TO PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
  
      (a) Assistance Authorized.--
              (1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide 
          assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, 
          and faith-based organizations, to prevent the incidence of 
          child marriage in developing countries through the promotion of 
          educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of 
          girls and women.
              (2) Priority.--In providing assistance authorized under 
          paragraph (1), the President shall give priority to--
                      (A) areas or regions in developing countries in 
                  which 40 percent or more of girls under the age of 18 
                  are married; and
                      (B) activities to--
                              (i) expand and replicate existing 
                          community-based programs that are successful in 
                          preventing the incidence of child marriage;
                              (ii) establish pilot projects to prevent 
                          child marriage; and
                              (iii) share evaluations of successful 
                          programs, program designs, experiences, and 
                          lessons.
      (b) Strategy Required.--
              (1) In general.--The President shall establish a multi-year 
          strategy to prevent child marriage and promote the empowerment 
          of girls at risk of child marriage in developing countries, 
          which should address the unique needs, vulnerabilities, and 
          potential of girls under age 18 in developing countries.
              (2) Consultation.--In establishing the strategy required by 
          paragraph (1), the President shall consult with Congress, 
          relevant Federal departments and agencies, multilateral 
          organizations, and representatives of civil society.
              (3) Elements.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) 
          shall--
                      (A) focus on areas in developing countries with 
                  high prevalence of child marriage;
                      (B) encompass diplomatic initiatives between the 
                  United States and governments of developing countries, 
                  with attention to human rights, legal reforms, and the 
                  rule of law;
                      (C) encompass programmatic initiatives in the areas 
                  of education, health, income generation, changing 
                  social norms, human rights, and democracy building; and
                      (D) be submitted to Congress not later than one 
                  year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
      (c) Report.--Not later than three years after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, the President should submit to Congress a report 
  that includes--
              (1) a description of the implementation of the strategy 
          required by subsection (b);
              (2) examples of best practices or programs to prevent child 
          marriage in developing countries that could be replicated; and
              (3) an assessment, including data disaggregated by age and 
          sex to the extent possible, of current United States funded 
          efforts to specifically prevent child marriage in developing 
          countries.
      (d) Coordination.--Assistance authorized under subsection (a) shall 
  be integrated with existing United States development programs.
      (e) Activities Supported.--Assistance authorized under subsection 
  (a) may be made available for activities in the areas of education, 
  health, income generation, agriculture development, legal rights, 
  democracy building, and human rights, including--
              (1) support for community-based activities that encourage 
          community members to address beliefs or practices that promote 
          child marriage and to educate parents, community leaders, 
          religious leaders, and adolescents of the health risks 
          associated with child marriage and the benefits for 
          adolescents, especially girls, of access to education, health 
          care, livelihood skills, microfinance, and savings programs;
              (2) support for activities to educate girls in primary and 
          secondary school at the appropriate age and keeping them in 
          age-appropriate grade levels through adolescence;
              (3) support for activities to reduce education fees and 
          enhance safe and supportive conditions in primary and secondary 
          schools to meet the needs of girls, including--
                      (A) access to water and suitable hygiene 
                  facilities, including separate lavatories and latrines 
                  for girls;
                      (B) assignment of female teachers;
                      (C) safe routes to and from school; and
                      (D) eliminating sexual harassment and other forms 
                  of violence and coercion;
              (4) support for activities that allow adolescent girls to 
          access health care services and proper nutrition, which is 
          essential to both their school performance and their economic 
          productivity;
              (5) assistance to train adolescent girls and their parents 
          in financial literacy and access economic opportunities, 
          including livelihood skills, savings, microfinance, and small-
          enterprise development;
              (6) support for education, including through community and 
          faith-based organizations and youth programs, that helps remove 
          gender stereotypes and the bias against girls used to justify 
          child marriage, especially efforts targeted at men and boys, 
          promotes zero tolerance for violence, and promotes gender 
          equality, which in turn help to increase the perceived value of 
          girls;
              (7) assistance to create peer support and female mentoring 
          networks and safe social spaces specifically for girls; and
              (8) support for local advocacy work to provide legal 
          literacy programs at the community level to ensure that 
          governments and law enforcement officials are meeting their 
          obligations to prevent child and forced marriage.
  
  SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND DATA.
  
      It is the sense of Congress that the President and all relevant 
  agencies should, as part of their ongoing research and data collection 
  activities--
              (1) collect and make available data on the incidence of 
          child marriage in countries that receive foreign or development 
          assistance from the United States where the practice of child 
          marriage is prevalent; and
              (2) collect and make available data on the impact of the 
          incidence of child marriage and the age at marriage on progress 
          in meeting key development goals.
  
  SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
                PRACTICES.
  
      The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
              (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by adding at the end 
          the following new subsection:
      ``(g) The report required by subsection (d) shall include, for each 
  country in which child marriage is prevalent, a description of the 
  status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this 
  subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or 
  boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or under 
  the age of 18 if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl 
  or boy is a resident.''; and
              (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end 
          the following new subsection:
      ``(i) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, for each 
  country in which child marriage is prevalent, a description of the 
  status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this 
  subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or 
  boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or under 
  the age of 18 if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl 
  or boy is a resident.''.
  
              Passed the Senate December 1, 2010.
  
              Attest:
  
                                                  NANCY ERICKSON,
  
                                                               Secretary.
target: International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010 - (Sec. 3) Defines "child marriage" as the marriage of a girl or boy not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a resident, or where there is no such law, under the age of 18.
  
  (Sec. 4) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) child marriage is a violation of human rights and its prevention and elimination should be a U.S. foreign policy goal; and (2) expanding educational opportunities for girls, economic opportunities for women, and reducing maternal and child mortality are critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and U.S. global health and development objectives, including efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS.
  
  (Sec. 5) Authorizes the President to provide assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, and faith-based organizations, to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of girls and women. Sets forth priority assistance criteria.
  
  Directs the President to establish a multi-year strategy to prevent child marriage and promote the empowerment of girls at risk of child marriage in developing countries, and should include addressing the unique needs, vulnerabilities, and potential of girls under age 18 in developing countries. Sets forth strategy elements.
  
  (Sec. 6) Expresses the sense of Congress that the President and all relevant agencies should collect and make available data on: (1) the incidence of child marriage in countries that receive U.S. foreign or development assistance where the practice of child marriage is prevalent; and (2) the impact of the incidence of child marriage and the age at marriage on progress in meeting key development goals.
  
  (Sec. 7) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that Department of State country reports on human rights practices include a description of the status of child marriage for each country in which child marriage is prevalent.
feat_title: A bill to protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of child marriage, and for other purposes.