November 20, 2018 – In Breaking News – CNN
Facebook has come under fire for a “barbaric use of technology” that allowed the sale of a child bride to be held on its site.
An auction was held on the social media platform for a 16-year-old girl in South Sudan which sought dowry for her hand in marriage.
Facebook said the post was taken down as soon as the company learned of it, but that wasn’t until after the girl was married.
(A South Sudanese family auctioned off their 16-year-old daughter to marry the highest bidder. Facebook says that it removed the post and permanently disabled the account… …But that took place more than two weeks after the girl had been given away, reports Business Insider. South Sudan’s legal marriage age is 18, but more than half of the country’s girls are married before then. The family managed to complete the transaction before anybody could stop it. She was married off on November 3, according to Plan International, a British girls’ rights charity. Courtesy of Wochit News and YouTube. Posted on Nov 20, 2018.)
According to children’s rights organization Plan International, the girl was bid on by five men, some of whom were reportedly high-ranking South Sudanese government officials.
Activists are concerned that this auction — for which the father reportedly received 500 cows, three cars and $10,000 in exchange for his daughter — could inspire other families to use social media sites to receive larger dowries…
(Lamana, 17, from Cameroon, was forced to marry when she was just 15 years old. Plan International helped Lamana escape her violent husband and rebuild her life – this is her story. Courtesy of Plan International UK and YouTube. Posted on Feb 19, 2015.)
Continue reading… Child bride auctioned on Facebook in ‘barbaric use of technology’
Learn More…
(In the US nearly every state allows child marriage. In some there are even loopholes that allow child rapists to avoid prosecution by marrying the person they raped. In others parents can, in effect, force their children to get married. Courtesy of Channel 4 News and YouTube. Posted on Jun 4, 2018.)
AST strives to meet a 3 STAR trustworthiness rating, based on the following criteria:
- Provides named sources
- Reported by more than one notable outlet
- Includes supporting video, direct statements, or photos
