Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department provided to organisations fighting or giving assistance to people affected by forced and illegal marriage in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to end Child, Early and Forced Marriage since hosting the Girl Summit in 2014. DFID focuses on the causes and consequences of child marriage, recognising many instances of child marriage are forced marriages.

The main UK Aid-funded programme to prevent and respond to child, early and forced marriage, Accelerating Action Against Child Marriage, includes UNICEF, UNFPA and civil society organisations. The programme has reached over 1.6 million people. This includes three quarters of a million girls at risk of child marriage, or already married; as well as community members and leaders who influence practices and behaviours around child marriage. UKAid funds totalled £4.1m in 2015, £11.3m in 2016, and £9.4m by end of the 2017/18 financial year.