mccollumA bill authored by Rep. Betty McCollum passed the U.S. House on Wednesday after being included in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. It’d work to end child marriage by increasing State Department staffing on the issue and direct the federal government to create a strategy to work with other countries to decrease the incidence of the practice.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rates of child marriage; in some African countries, 76 percent of girls are married by the time they turn 18. In parts of West Africa, girls are married as young as age 7.

Child marriage is implicated in higher maternal mortality, lower educational attainment, higher rates of HIV infection and much higher rates of spousal abuse.

“Millions of girls are robbed of the opportunity to learn, be free, choose their own husband, and contribute fully to the future of their family and community because of this harmful, traditional practice,” McCollum said in a press release Wednesday. “By prioritizing and valuing girls in the developing world, the U.S. sends a signal to countries like Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Yemen that the practice of allowing 10, 11, or 12 year olds to be married to much older men is a human rights violation.”