A new UNICEF report says 115 million boys and men were married as children. About 23 million of these married before they were 15. A lot of news focuses on young girls being forced into marriage as child brides. UNICEF's in-depth report looks at forced marriages for boys. It looked at 82 countries. It found that boys getting married was common in countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. The Central African Republic has the highest rate.
UNICEF said child marriage damaged the lives of boys. It said: "Marriage steals childhood. Child grooms are forced to take on adult responsibilities for which they may not be ready." It said early marriage and early fatherhood pressured boys to look after families and cut short their education and job opportunities. UNICEF said child marriage affected boys and girls. It said it was unfair children had to look after a family at such a young age.