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A year after聽Guatemala passed a law banning child marriage, poor families who聽regard聽girls as a financial burden are still marrying them off聽as prolonged drought plunges many into deeper poverty,聽campaigners say.

Guatemala has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Latin America, long driven by poverty and cultural acceptance especially among the country鈥檚 Mayas indigenous communities, with around one-third of girls married by 18.

Each year more than 15 million girls worldwide are married聽before they turn 18, campaign group says.

Under the new law, the minimum age for marriage in Guatemala聽was raised to 18 but聽children can still get married at 16 with a聽judge鈥檚 permission.聽Since the ban on child marriage, judges have approved 12 of聽37 requests for marriage for children aged 16 or 17.

In one petition for marriage that was overturned by a judge,聽a 16-year-old girl told the聽judge her father was forcing her to聽marry a man more than double her age so he聽could pay off a debt.聽

鈥淭he girl told the judge she wanted to have nothing to do聽with the man and that she was聽getting married because her father聽needed to pay a debt,鈥� said Debora Cobar, head聽of charity in Guatemala and a former children鈥檚 state聽prosecutor.

In some rural communities, girls are still sold off in聽exchange for cattle, cash and or plots of land, Cobar said.

Others are living with older men, pushed into marriage as聽families struggle to put food on聽the table or break with聽long-held traditions, she said.聽

鈥淕irls are exploited. They become a servant, a sex slave,鈥澛燙obar told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone. 聽 聽

Two consecutive years of drought in Guatemala and other聽parts of Central America has聽exacerbated poverty and hunger in聽the agriculture-dependent country since mid-2014.

鈥淭he drought means girls face an increased risk of getting聽married or living with an older聽man because the drought affects聽a household鈥檚 income and people are worse off,鈥澛爏aid Marilis聽Barrientos, advocacy director for in Guatemala.聽

鈥淭his puts more pressure on girls to have to find a man to聽live with and leave home,鈥� she聽said.

Child marriage deprives girls of education, keeps them in聽poverty, and puts them at聽greater risk of domestic and sexual聽violence, according to the (UNFPA).

One key way to prevent child marriage is to educate girls聽about their rights and ensure they go to school.

鈥淭he law is important but it鈥檚 not enough,鈥� said Aida Siman,聽UNFPA鈥檚 representative in聽Guatemala.聽鈥淲hen girls aren鈥檛 in school, they are more likely to get聽married early and聽get pregnant.鈥� 聽 聽

Local government youth community liaison officer Alida聽Maczchen says spreading the聽message about the marriage ban and聽ensuring girls know about their rights remains a聽challenge.

Travelling to rural areas to try to persuade parents against聽marrying off their girls, she聽says some communities remain聽unaware of the ban.

鈥淎round 10% of the communities I鈥檝e visited have聽opposed the law because of machismo聽and because of their聽economic situation,鈥� said Maczchen, who was 12 when聽her mother鈥檚聽cousin tried to married her off to an older man.

Given Guatemala鈥檚 patriarchal and macho culture that tends 聽to view women as child-bearers, Maczchen said most people are聽surprised she is still unmarried at the age of 21.

鈥淚 would have had several children by now and dropped out of聽school. I broke away from聽those chains,鈥� she told the Thomson聽Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.