Consequences of early marriage and incestuous marriage

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Child marriage and incestuous marriage are backward customs that still exist, especially in ethnic minority areas. Child marriage and incestuous marriage not only violate the law but also leave many consequences for individuals, families and society, directly affecting population quality.

Consequences

Consanguineous marriage is the marriage or cohabitation between a man and a woman of the same bloodline (those who are related by blood, in which one person gives birth to the other in succession); between relatives within three generations (those who are born from the same origin, including parents as the first generation; full siblings, half siblings, and half siblings as the second generation; and children of uncles, aunts, and paternal uncles as the third generation). Women who marry consanguineous children are very likely to die or get sick when they give birth. Consanguineous marriage also limits women's educational opportunities.

Early marriage is the act of getting married when one or both parties are under the legal age of marriage (Point a, Clause 1, Article 8 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family). Early marriage, pregnancy and childbirth during adolescence, when the mother's body is not fully developed, lacks knowledge, experience and is not psychologically ready to get pregnant and give birth, greatly affects the mother's health and the normal development of the fetus and newborn.

Children born from early marriages and consanguineous marriages have a higher rate of genetic diseases, birth defects, developmental delays, malnutrition, and neonatal mortality than other normal children. Diseases that children born from consanguineous marriages often suffer from include: albinism, metabolic disorders, congenital hemolytic anemia, G6PD deficiency, mental retardation, color blindness, albinism, etc.

Pharmacist CKII. Bui Hong Thuy, Head of the Thanh Hoa Province Population Department, said: The current situation of early marriage and consanguineous marriage still exists in the ethnic minority communities in remote, isolated and extremely disadvantaged areas, causing many consequences for individuals, families and society. In addition to the causes arising from residential conditions, economy , and backward customs; the intellectual level of the people is still low, there is little access to information, awareness and sense of law compliance is limited, and the consequences of early marriage and consanguineous marriage are not fully understood; in some places, local authorities have not really paid attention to propaganda activities, dissemination of legal education, especially the Law on Marriage and Family; the punishment of cases of early marriage is not enough to deter...

Early marriage and consanguineous marriage have caused bad consequences, causing the degeneration of the race, seriously affecting the quality of the population. Among children born from consanguineous couples, there is a 25% chance of getting sick and 50% carrying the genetic disease Thalassemia (currently there is no cure, patients need lifelong treatment, at a very high cost). These diseases will be passed on to the next generation, causing the degeneration of the race, becoming a burden for the family and society.

Muong Lat District Medical Center cooperates with Quang Chieu commune to propagate legal policies and health care for women and children in the commune.

Efforts to prevent early marriage and incestuous marriage

Implementing Decision No. 498/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the Project "Reducing the situation of child marriage and consanguineous marriage in ethnic minority areas in the period of 2015 - 2025" (hereinafter referred to as Project 498), in recent times, with the participation of the entire political system, the situation of child marriage and consanguineous marriage in ethnic minority areas of the province has made positive progress.

In Phase II of Project 498, especially when implementing Sub-Project 9.2 of Program 1719, the sectors, Party committees and local authorities have paid attention to leadership, direction and timely and effective implementation, bringing about positive changes. Specifically, 258 propaganda conferences/more than 29,000 delegates were organized; 26 training conferences/more than 2,500 delegates; 20 district-level dramatization competitions; 50 dramatization, golden bell, and extracurricular competitions at schools; printed and distributed 62 billboards, 105 banners and more than 29,000 propaganda leaflets; built: 27 model points (3 village models, 15 commune models, 9 school models)...

Implementing the Project to improve the quality of population of ethnic minorities in the community, the Department of Population has propagated on mass media about the Population-Family Planning policy in accordance with the customs of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas of Thanh Hoa. In 174 communes, the project to establish a reproductive health club for adolescents and youth with activities providing knowledge about reproductive health before marriage, early marriage and consanguineous marriage, with 348 activities and more than 17,400 participants.

Implementing Project 7 - Taking care of people's health, improving the physical condition and stature of ethnic minorities; preventing child malnutrition, universalizing pre-marital health examination and consultation services; screening, diagnosing and treating some prenatal and neonatal diseases with the participation of the whole society in ethnic minority and mountainous areas (21 communes in region III). Organizing 84 thematic talks on population, marriage and family, pre-marital health examination and consultation, prenatal and neonatal screening in the community in 21 communes in region III of 8 districts: Muong Lat, Quan Son, Ba Thuoc, Lang Chanh, Thuong Xuan, Nhu Xuan, Nhu Thanh, Trieu Son, with 5,040 participants. Pre-marital health examination and consultation in communes in region III; supporting blood tests (total peripheral blood cell analysis using automatic counters) for 1,596 cases; Supported urine testing (total urinalysis) for 1,596 cases; supported hepatitis B testing for 732 cases. In the prevention of Thalassemia in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, 15 training courses on Thalassemia and Thalassemia prevention were organized for district health center staff, commune population staff, population collaborators, village health workers, Fatherland Front staff, Women's Union, Youth Union, teachers with 900 participants.

Along with that, the Population Department has copied 185,705 leaflets, 197 propaganda posters and 4,202 propaganda posters on Thalassemia and distributed them to the subjects, Health Centers, Health Stations of the implementing units. Communicating about Thalassemia in the community in 174 sessions with 110,440 participants. Organizing 552 conferences to provide knowledge about Thalassemia for organizations and social groups; organizing propaganda on mass media in 648 articles with 1,944 broadcasts...

Competition to propagate the reduction of early marriage and incestuous marriage in ethnic minority areas in Nhu Xuan district.

In Nhu Xuan district, the Party Committees and authorities from the district to the grassroots have paid attention to leadership, direction and implementation with many important solutions. At the same time, mobilizing the participation of the entire political system, thanks to which the rate of early marriage among ethnic minorities in Nhu Xuan district has decreased compared to the previous period. The number of early marriage couples in the period 2016-2020 was 23 couples, in the period 2021-2025, there were 8 couples, a decrease of 15 couples; in the district, there are no more cases of incestuous marriage.

Talking with Mr. Le Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nhu Xuan district, it is known that the awareness of early marriage and incestuous marriage is an illegal act, causing serious consequences in many aspects for the individual, family, clan, community, and nation. In the direction work, local authorities and schools regularly update and promptly implement the directive documents of the Provincial Steering Committee on residential models and school models without early marriage and incestuous marriage. In the district, pre-marriage clubs have been established (established by class, each class is a club, in which the homeroom teacher is the club leader, 1 class officer or youth union secretary is the club's vice-chairman). The clubs organize thematic activities once a month, flexibly using the content and forms of propaganda and mobilizing students not to get married early or get married in close relatives such as: oral propaganda, through loudspeakers, through competitions, flag-raising ceremonies, class activities, club activities, and union activities. At the same time, they hang banners and slogans to propagate the prevention of early marriage and incestuous marriage; distribute leaflets and handbooks on questions and answers about marriage and family law to students...

Thalassemia propaganda posters on the streets.

Through the Project's activities, ethnic minorities have been more widely disseminated about the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws on preventing and combating child marriage, consanguineous marriage, the Law on Marriage and Family, the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on Prevention and Combat of Domestic Violence... Since then, it has contributed to raising awareness of ethnic minorities about child marriage and consanguineous marriage, the rate of child marriage in the districts of ethnic minority and mountainous areas of the province is on a downward trend (from 2.38% in 2021 to 1.61% in 2024). Districts with high rates of child marriage are concentrated in districts such as: Muong Lat 13.33%, Quan Son 2.39%, Thuong Xuan 2.8%. Many districts no longer have child marriage rates such as: Thach Thanh, Cam Thuy, Nhu Thanh...

To Ha

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/he-luy-cua-tinh-trang-tao-hon-va-hon-nhan-can-huyet-thong-248064.htm