Child marriage is a complex issue with multidimensional impacts on the quality of life of children and adolescents, especially girls. Ponorogo Regency ranks relatively high in the number of marriage dispensation requests, particularly in Ngrayun District. This community engagement program aims to build a multisectoral partnership based on interactive governance to address the phenomenon of child marriage through youth education, community empowerment, and cross-sector stakeholder collaboration. The methods employed include English language training for adolescent girls, public outreach sessions, focus group discussions, and creative digital campaigns. The results of the program indicate an increase in participants’ understanding of the issue of early marriage and the importance of education, as well as the emergence of joint initiatives among stakeholders to continue advocacy efforts. This activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the areas of quality education, gender equality, and strong institutions.
Sulikah Asmorowati, Jusuf Irianto, Farah Haya et al.
BACKGROUND: Child marriage has powerful implications for a young woman's reproductive health, education, and personal development as well as the development of communities and nations. Child marriage frequently marks the beginning of a young woman's sexual activity and early childbearing. As a country where child marriage is common, Ethiopia has placed additional emphasis on addressing child marriage over the past years. METHODS: Using data from Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys for 2005, 2011 and 2016, this paper explores trends in child marriage over the last decade in various locations and regions of Ethiopia. RESULTS: Between 2005 and 2016, the percentage of young Ethiopian women married before age 18 declined from 49 to 40%, a reduction of 18% from 2005 levels. The percentage of women married before age 15 experienced even greater reductions, declining by 26% in the same period. The greatest reductions in child marriage took place in the Addis Ababa, Amhara, and Tigray regions. Over the period, estimates for Oromia and Somali suggest that child marriage has increased in these regions. Notwithstanding recent declines, Afar, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Somali, and Oromia are regions where nearly half or more of all girls are married before age 18. CONCLUSIONS: Nationally, Ethiopia has experienced impressive declines in child marriage over the last decade. However, progress has also been uneven. Trends in the last decade have resulted in a geographical shift in where child marriage is most prevalent. In particular, locations that are challenging in terms of access, including the most remote and hard to reach, pose persistent challenges to those attempting to eradicate the practice. Intensifying efforts in rural areas and underserved regions can facilitate further declines in child marriage in Ethiopia.
In northern Nigeria, there are cultural and religious pressures on girls to marry early. Up to 43% of girls in Nigeria are married before 18, rising as high as 87% in the northwest. The study, using a mixed method approach, examines behaviours of community members towards adolescent girls’ time of marriage with perspectives from adolescent girls, faith leaders, and community members. The study found that the practice of early marriage exists in the areas studied: 35% of survey respondents had one or more daughters married before the age of 18, although most community members believed that a girl should be married when she is “mature”. Only 9.6% of survey respondents noted that they would never marry off an underage daughter. As major stakeholders in multi-component interventions, the study identifies the crucial roles of faith leaders in efforts to reduce the practice of early marriage in northern Nigeria.
: Adolescent girls and young women constitute a vulnerable population worldwide and an easy target to secondary impacts of a pandemic due to societal norms, existing age, gender-based inequalities, leading to a condition known as “second pandemic”. Due to local and national lockdowns to prevent coronavirus spread, educational institutions, workplaces, and health services have been shut down, making adolescent girls and women prone to sexual, physical exploitation, gender-based violence, educational, financial loss, lack of sexual and reproductive services. The present review briefs some of these secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent girls and women, which, if taken care of, can prevent many long-term consequences. Methodology: The literature was searched from governmental, non-governmental sites and agencies like WHO, UN, UNICEF, Guttmacher Institute, International Labor Organization, and English peer-reviewed journals, using the USA National Library of Medicine (Pubmed) database, the regional portal of Virtual Health Library, and Scientific Electronic Library Online. The data from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic till March 2021 about the impact of COVID-19 on women and children were searched and studied. The descriptors used were school drop-out children, adolescent girls, women suffering at home/work, unmet need for contraception, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortion, child marriages, and female genital mutilation. Results and Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a “hidden pandemic” against women and children. There is a skyrocketing rise in violence against women/girls, teenage pregnancies, school drop-outs, child marriages, abuse, and female genital mutilation. Hence, women and adolescent girls should be protected from the shadowing effects of the pandemic.
According to UNICEF data from 2019, among the general population of married women in Serbia aged 20 to 49 or those in a common-law marriage, 7.9 % entered their first union before the age of 18. Among their peers from Roma communities, this percentage is as high as 57.2 % (UNICEF, 2020:396). Click or tap here to enter text.Marriage among adolescent girls and boys, who are physically and psychosocially immature, uneducated, and economically dependent, can no longer be justified by the specific customs and traditions of a community. Understanding and combating this cultural practice requires an explicit public articulation of its harmful nature, particularly because this practice is forbidden by the Serbian legislative system and violates universal human rights. The persistence of the practice of early marriage of Roma girls in the twenty-first century, a phenomenon with multiple harmful consequences for the Roma population, only confirms its complex and multidimensional nature and the necessity of considering it in interaction with numerous social factors, such as poverty, unemployment, education, social norms, customs, and gender roles in the community, lack of efficiency among institutions and policy instruments, etc. This paper offers the concept of a marginalized environment as an explanatory framework within which the practice of child marriage among the Roma in Serbia has been functioning and perpetuated (UNICEF, 2017). By means of measures aimed at protecting Roma children from all forms of neglect, violence, and abuse (formulating and implementing appropriate legal solutions, raising social awareness, and providing alternatives to at-risk children and their families), state authorities would significantly contribute to reducing existing prejudices against the Roma and empowering members of the Roma community in Serbia for more successful inclusion into Serbian society.
Many adolescent girls in Kenya face considerable risks and vulnerabilities that affect their education status, health, and general well-being. In addition to low educational attainment and health risks, other factors that impact education and health outcomes include household poverty, lack of economic independence, limited income-earning opportunities, illiteracy, violence, and social isolation. Younger adolescent girls who live in environments laden with these vulnerabilities are at risk of experiencing negative outcomes such as school dropout, early sexual initiation, unintended pregnancy, early marriage, and sexual and gender-based violence. The Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya (AGI-K) delivered multisectoral interventions to over 6,000 girls aged 11–15 in two marginalized areas of Kenya: the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, and Wajir County in Northeastern Kenya. This report describes both the intervention and research design of AGI-K, and presents findings from the midline data collection. The objective of the RCT is to describe and compare the impact of the different program packages. Endline data will be collected in 2019 and will reflect the impact of the program packages two years post-intervention.
Karen Austrian, Erica Soler‐Hampejsek, Joyce Mumah et al.
In South Sudan, child marriage is often positioned as a cultural practice tied to conflict and displacement as well as gender norms affirming that girls should marry. Based on findings of a multi-sectoral gender assessment conducted by Save the Children in Rumbek, Torit, Malualkon, Bor and Kapoeta, our paper draws attention to multiple, connected drivers of child marriage. Drawing specifically on findings related to child marriage, we suggest the need to understand child marriage in the context of cycles of poverty and inter-clan fighting. In many communities, cattle form the basis for the ‘bride price’, driving cattle raiding, due to pressure on males to marry. The ability to pay the bride price may be an indicator of manhood in some pastoralist communities of South Sudan. We suggest that while humanitarian interventions tend to fixate on empowering girls or addressing gender norms girls face, less attention is placed on the ‘demand side’ of child marriage – on the gender norms pushing boys and men to marry girls. Our paper emphasises the importance of tackling norms from both the perspective of girls as well as boys and men within a broader context of improving livelihoods in South Sudan.
Michelle Lokot, Lisa DiPangrazio, Dorcas Acen et al.
Background: Child marriage is a serious public health issue with dire implications at the individual and societal level. Almost half of all child marriages globally originate from South Asia. The aim of this study is to identify consistent factors associated with and resulting from child marriage in South Asia through a review of available evidence. Methods: This systematic review adhered to the 2015 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Six computerized bibliographic databases, namely PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Ovid Medline, PUBMED, and Scopus were searched. Retrieved studies were exported to EndNote and screened for eligibility using pre-determined criteria. The quality of the included studies was rated using 14 quality appraisal criteria derived from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tool. Results: A total of 520 articles were retrieved from six databases. Of these, 13 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in this study. Factors consistently associated with child marriage in South Asia were rural residence, low level of education, poor economic background, low exposure to mass media and religion (Hindu and Muslim in particular countries). Maternal health care factors resulting from child marriage included: low utilization of antenatal care services, low institutional delivery, and low delivery assistance by a skilled birth attendant. Conclusions: Child marriage results from an interplay of economic and social forces. Therefore, to address the complex nature of child marriage, efforts targeting improvement in education, employment, exposure to health information via mass media, and gender egalitarianism are required. This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO [CRD42020190410].
S Daarwin Subramanee, Kingsley Agho, Josyula K. Lakshmi et al.
Background: Teenage pregnancies is shaped by a mix of cultural, social, and economic factors that vary globally. In some societies, it’s seen as a natural milestone, while in others, it’s a life-altering events, often exacerbated by lack of support and preparation. Adolescent girls face health risks due to physical immaturity and limited healthcare access. Key factors include socioeconomic disadvantages, family dynamics, peer pressure, and educational barriers. In low-income countries, issues like early marriage, malnutrition, and lack of support systems worsen the problem. The WHO reports 11% of births are girls under 20, with 95% in low and middle-income countries. Countries like India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, especially rural areas, report high pregnancy rates, driven by cultural practices like child marriage. In developed countries, teenage pregnancy often relates to balancing child-rearing with education, while in developing countries, it results from early or forced marriages. This study correlate the knowledge and attitudes regarding Teenage Pregnancy among adolescent girls in a selected community area (baghanki) Gurugram, Haryana. Methods: This is a questionnaire-based study including 60 adolescent girls. Results: A majority of the participants (50%) demonstrated adequate knowledge, while 40% had moderate knowledge and 10% had inadequate knowledge regarding teenage pregnancies. Attitudinally, 58.3% of participants had positive attitude and 33.3% had a neutral attitude, and 8.3% had a negative attitude. A significant positive correlation (r =0.76) was found between knowledge and attitude.
Komal Kadian, Kelvin Joseph Shajan, Aditya Aditya et al.
Girl-child marriage, a practice defined as any formal marriage or informal union where the female is under the age of 18. Girl-child marriage is a public health concern that represents a profound violation of human rights and a significant impediment to the development of young girls [1,2]. Child marriage perpetuates gender inequality, disproportionately impacting girls [3]. The practice has devastating consequences on the lives of millions of girls worldwide such as sexually transmitted infections, poor reproductive outcomes, intimate partner violence and mental ill health. Across the globe, one in every 5 girls below 18 years is married, with the prevalence ranging from 23% to 19% in the past decade. Over 640 million women alive today were married as children [4]. In Africa about 30 million girls got married before 18 years, with the practice being worse in West and Central Africa, where nearly 4 in 10 young women were married before age 18. This prevalence has remained constant for the last ten years [5]. In the Sahel belt the prevalence is as high as 70% [4]. Lower levels of child marriage are seen in Eastern and Southern Africa at 32%. Nigeria has one of the highest rates of child marriage globally with about 22 million girls and women affected with significant regional variations [6]. Current reports show that about 30% of girls in Nigeria are married before the age of 18, and 12% are married before the age of 15 [7]. This high prevalence is not uniform across the country, with significantly higher rates in the northern regions and rural areas [8]. The causes of girl-child marriage are complex and multifaceted. Poverty is a significant driver, as families may view early marriage as a means of economic survival. The level of education of the parents also play a role[8]. Cultural and traditional beliefs contribute to the practice, with some communities viewing early marriage as a way to preserve family honor or ensure social status [8,9]. Lack of access to quality education, particularly for girls, further exacerbates the problem, as girls who are out of school are more vulnerable to early marriage [5]. Additionally, inadequate enforcement of existing laws and policies contributes to the persistence of this practice, as the Child Rights Acts prohibits marriage before age 18 [10]. The health consequences of girl-child marriage are severe. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for girls aged 15-19 globally [11]. Early marriage significantly increases the risk of maternal mortality and morbidity, as young girls' bodies are not fully developed for delivery. Childbirth before age 19 leads to obstetrics complications [12,13]. Furthermore, early marriage often leads to psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and social isolation [14]. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 aims to end this harmful practice against the girl child by 2030 [15]. In Nigeria more than 40% of women between ages 20 and 24 were married before 18 years with varying prevalence across regions. The prevalence of girl-child marriage is about 12% in the southern part and about 60% in the north-west region of the country [3,7]. About 43% of married women between 15 -49 years were married before 18 years [16]. In the southeastern Nigeria, the prevalence is about 33% and the prevalence of high adolescent fertility rates was reported to be the highest in the south [17]. This highlights the need for regional strategies to address the root causes of the practice, including poverty and gender inequality. While national statistics provide a broad overview, there is a critical need for localized research to understand the specific dynamics of girl-child marriage in Abia State and, particularly, in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area (LGA). The socio-cultural and economic context of this specific community may present unique challenges, factors that contribute to their vulnerability and opportunities for intervention. It is crucial to understand the specific context within the LGA to develop effective strategies to combat this harmful practice and safeguard the future of young girls in the community in line with eradicating early girl marriage by the year 2030 [18]. Although the state has adopted Child Rights Acts since 2006, its implementation is weak and this study would possibly assess the effectiveness of its implementation [19]. This study aims to determine the prevalence determinants and perceived effects of girl-child marriage among married women in Osisioma Ngwa LGA, Abia State, Nigeria.
Olugbemi Oluseyi Motilewa, Faith Ubani, Kudighe Patrick Udoh
