Targeting men, women or both to reduce child marriage

This study tested an educational intervention in Pakistan designed to delay child marriage by targeting men, women, or both with the same programme. The research found that targeting men reduced child marriages in directly targeted households, while targeting women led to broader reductions across entire villages. The findings suggest that women are more hesitant to break from social norms individually, but when targeted, their influence spreads through gender-segregated social networks to reduce child marriage more widely.

Key points

• Targeting men alone or with women reduced child marriages only in directly targeted households
• Targeting women alone or with women and men reduced child marriages at the village level
• The intervention was an edutainment programme in a context where community norms favour early marriage
• Gender-segregated information transmission from targeted women to other households explains village-level effects
• Women are more hesitant to deviate from social norms without the support of spreading influence through networks

Limitations

The study was conducted only in Pakistan, so findings may not generalise to other contexts with different social norms or intervention delivery methods. The document does not provide detailed information about the specific content of the edutainment intervention or long-term follow-up beyond the initial measurements.