Today, on the World Children's Day, once again we would like to draw attention to the practice of child marriages in Serbia. 

We are recalling that child marriages constitute a gross violation of the rights of the child, harm the mental and physical health of girls and expose them to the risk of statelessness, domestic violence, trafficking in human beings, and lead to an increased rate of early school leaving, and later to poverty and economic dependence. 

On that occasion, we talked to the children from four primary schools in Serbia, who expressed their opinions on the topic “Stop to child marriages” in the form of messages addressed to their mother, father, a friend or a politician/institution representative that, in children’s opinion, could contribute to ending this harmful practice. Most of the messages indicated that child marriages were the main obstacle to education and employment and that early pregnancy was very harmful to the health of girls. Some of these messages were printed on the postcards that we have sent today to representatives of all relevant institutions in Serbia.