Panalangin at Paglaya

Oct 10, 2018 "Panalangin at Paglaya" (Prayer and Emancipation) talks about the impact of child, early and forced marriage on the health and development of children, particularly girls. Although the Family Code of the Philippines sets the minimum legal age for marriage at 18, child marriage (or a marriage where one or both parties are below 18 years old) is practiced, particularly in indigenous cultural communities and Muslim communities. Under Presidential Decree 1083 or the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, children are allowed to be married off by their parents at the onset of puberty, which is assumed to be at 15 years old, but may be younger. In non-indigenous and non-Muslim communities, co-habitation among young people is seen as a result of teenage pregnancies. Thus, advocates of women and children's rights are seeing policy reforms as instrumental in creating lasting solutions to the issue. The campaign called "Creating Spaces to Take Action on Violence against Women and Girls" aims to reduce violence against women and girls, and reduce the prevalence of child, early, and forced marriage through policy development, capacitating stakeholders towards empowerment and the prevention of violence, and strengthening response to the needs of those who have experienced violence. Funded by Global Affairs Canada, Creating Spaces is a five-year project that works with 214,000 beneficiaries across six countries, engaging influencers, men and boys, and women and girls who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing violence, as well as with institutions and alliances that are engaged in influencing change. In the Philippines, Creating Spaces is implemented by Al-Mujadilah Development Foundation (in Lanao del Sur), United Youth of the Philippines-Women (in Maguindanao), Philippine Business for Social Progress, Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development, and Oxfam. To know more about the project, get in touch with us at [email protected] or [email protected].