New global report warns child marriage is evolving in 2025
Social media exploitation and political shifts threaten decades of progress on girls’ rights
TORONTO, Oct. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the world marks International Day of the Girl on October 11, Plan International, the leading global expert on girls’ rights, warns of a dangerous evolution in child marriage. A new report finds that shifting political priorities, cuts to aid funding, and the expansion of digital platforms are creating new pathways for girls to be forced into marriage – often more hidden and harder to prevent than ever before.
Plan International’s 2025 State of the World’s Girls report, Let Me Be a Child, Not a Wife, is one of the largest global studies on child marriage, amplifying the voices of more than 250 girls across 15 countries who were married as children. It documents how child marriage is changing shape: increasingly moving online, increasingly informal, and invisible to child-protection systems.
“Each year, over 12 million girls are married. That’s one girl every three seconds. Quite literally, girls are being pushed out of classrooms and into marriages, and we cannot afford to look away,” said Dena Allen, vice president of communications and public engagement at Plan International Canada. “Plan International’s recent research into child marriage reveals a dangerous new shift. Child marriage is not fading away – it’s reinventing itself. Unless we adapt faster than these risks evolve, a generation of girls could be lost. Which means we all lose out on their ideas, energy, and leadership.”
Alarming findings
- 100% of girls interviewed said they would never want their own child to marry before 18.
- 71.5% of girls are already mothers, despite pregnancy and childbirth complications being the leading cause of death for older adolescent girls worldwide.
- 45% were married to men at least five years older, some 10–20 years their senior, entrenching power imbalances.
- 63% are not in education, employment, or training, and 35% dropped out of school after marriage.
In the past year alone, 120+ countries have reversed progress of girls’ and women’s rights, in many cases cutting off access to school, health care, and public participation – fueling conditions in which child marriage thrives.
The report also uncovers a new and disturbing trend: Social media is being weaponized by older men to exploit girls’ vulnerabilities and draw them into marriage. These unions are increasingly informal and hidden, escaping parental oversight and official records and making them harder to detect, prosecute, or prevent.
A call for urgent global action
This International Day of the Girl, Plan International Canada is calling for coordinated, urgent action to end child marriage. That means:
- Stronger enforcement of laws that already prohibit child marriage.
- Investment in education and health care so girls can thrive, not just survive.
- Challenging harmful norms that normalize child marriage.
- Support for girl activists and youth-led movements already driving change in their communities.
“For nearly two decades, through in-depth research and working alongside girls in over 80 countries, Plan International’s State of the World’s Girls reports have shone a light on what it’s really like to be a girl. Sadly, things are getting worse for girls – they’re facing more risks and have fewer choices,” said Allen. “Yet even in the face of growing challenges, girls continue to show remarkable resilience, leadership, and a powerful determination to shape a better future for us all.”
Read the full report: PlanCanada.ca/DayOfTheGirl
Notes to editors
Research included interviews with 251 girls and young women in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
An online survey with 244 youth activists in the same countries was also conducted, as was an analysis of existing legislation and policy frameworks around the world.
Plan International defines child, early, and forced marriages and unions (CEFMU) as any marriage or informal union where one or both parties are under 18 and/or where full and free consent has not been given.
About Plan International Canada
Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships with and for children for over 85 years and is now active in more than 80 countries.
We stand with children, especially girls, wherever they are oppressed, exploited, left behind, or not equally valued. We’re determined optimists, and we’ll continue to persevere until we are all equal.
Visit plancanada.ca for more information.
About International Day of the Girl
Plan International Canada led an extensive two-year campaign beginning in 2009 that engaged thousands of Canadians and activists around the world in a call for an International Day of the Girl, a global initiative to recognize girls’ rights as human rights. In December 2011, with unanimous all-party support, the Canadian government led the United Nations to officially declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl.
Media contact
Plan International Canada
PR & Communications
PRteam@plancanada.ca
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
