Over 14,000 girls under 14 gave birth between 2018 and 2024.
On Thursday, Plan International’s annual report “The State of the World’s Girls” revealed that 38% of married girls in Guatemala have “no say in their own lives,” therefore facing violence and poverty. Plan International is a humanitarian organisation that helps children and girls in over 80 countries.
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Girls in Guatemala, Uganda, and Cambodia see marriage as “an economic escape,” though it rarely improves their situation. Poverty in these countries leads to early marriages arranged by the parents, which perpetuates dependency and vulnerability.
The Plan International study documents that 45% of girls married men at least five years older, which increases subordination and violence. The regional normalization of this problem has increased social and personal risks.
Seven out of ten girls interviewed are already mothers, which showcases cycles of poverty and limited educational and employment opportunities. Guatemala shares this crisis in children’s rights with the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
3/8 Aracely, 15, holds her child in 2014, Guatemala.
According to a 2012 UN Population Fund survey, 30 percent of Guatemalan women age 20 to 24 were married by 18, and that number may be even higher in rural areas. Teenage births are so common that there’s even a law requiring… pic.twitter.com/tGZhsP6z3G
— BrightMind History (@Brightmind24_7) December 8, 2025
Despite laws prohibiting early unions, rural communities that face poverty or practice specific religions continue to validate them. Religious and traditional leaders with social influence endorse the marriages, therefore contradicting national legislation.
Official data from Guatemala indicate that 14,696 girls under the age of 14 gave birth between 2018 and 2024. The Law Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking classifies these pregnancies as crimes.
However, “Girls Having Children,” a report by the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala, reveals that this law is never applied in predominantly Indigenous departments, such as Huehuetenango and Alta Verapaz.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Guatemala: The ninth edition of the Flower Festival took place in Antigua. The event brought together thousands of visitors to enjoy floral art and other cultural expressions. pic.twitter.com/GQUx0Nmhn9
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